GMEDC Acquires Randolph Building

for Future Childcare Center

Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation (GMEDC) has closed on the lower building at the former Enterprise Center property on Route 66 in Randolph, the future site of a new, state-of-the-art childcare center. An innovative partnership between GMEDC and Orange County Parent Child Center (OCPCC), OCPCC - Randolph will serve 88 children and is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2024. A culmination of several years of work at the Town, regional, state, and Federal levels, this transaction secures site control and allows GMEDC to move forward with final design development and construction. “Childcare is one of the dominant issues in this legislative session, the need is clearly recognized” says Erika Hoffman-Kiess, Executive Director of GMEDC, “It feels good to make progress toward meeting that need.”

GMEDC, serving Orange and northern Windsor counties, is one of twelve Regional Development Corporations (RDC) across the state. GMEDC will own the property and lease it to the 501c3 nonprofit OCPCC as the operator of the new childcare center. OCPCC currently operates a childcare center in Tunbridge, licensed to serve 60 children and providing family support and outreach programming. The Randolph site more than doubles OCPCC’s present capacity, and its location less than a mile from exit 4 of I-89 is convenient for many commuters.  OCPCC’s Executive Director, Lindsey Trombley, says, “Beyond offering childcare services, our programs connect parents with practical strategies and skills that address the full spectrum of family joys and challenges.”

As a result of a 2018 Vermont Council on Rural Development Community Visit process - “Randolph Region Reenergized” - a Childcare Task Force was formed in January of 2019 and ultimately resulted in the GMEDC-OCPCC partnership that was formalized in 2021. In this unique relationship, the organizations agreed to develop the physical site and ECE program jointly, enabling both to tap into different funding streams. With a total project budget of over $5.5 million, the list of funding sources is long. Progress to date is made possible by contributions from the following:



• Northern Border Regional Commission
• Let’s Grow Kids
• Couch Family Foundation
• Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation
• Community Development Block Grant
• Mascoma Foundation
• Vermont Community Foundation

Eric Sakai, a Randolph resident and member of the Childcare Task Force, who also serves on the OCPCC Board, says, “Increasing affordable, high-quality childcare supports economic development in the Randolph area, attracting new families to the area and enabling parents of young children to take employment.”

Further support is in process with the Agency of Commerce and Community Development - Community Recovery & Revitalization Program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development for Congressionally Directed Spending from Senator Leahy’s office, and USDA.

“Site control is a huge step, but it is just the first step in the process,” says Ms. Hoffman-Kiess, “The pandemic intervened in the project planning and site acquisition process, but I guess the upside of those delays is that we have developed a solid plan that allows us to hit the ground running once we wrap up the next phase of funding.”