Bettye Hyde nursery makes move to new Sandy Hill hub

Residents in Sandy Hill are celebrating the purchase and renovation of a former carriage house on Blackburn Avenue as the new home of the venerable Bettye Hyde nursery.

The home at 43 Blackburn Avenue was on the market for nine months last year, and resident Leanne Moussa feared it might join the many other buildings in the community that would be converted to rooming houses for students.

Instead, Moussa created a corporation and got residents to buy shares to purchase and renovate the building. In January, a wellness centre offering an array of medical services opened in the newly named Childhood, Adolescent, and Family Centre of Ottawa. And on Thursday, the 71-year-old nursery moved from its previous home in the basement of the nearby All Saints Church.

"We kept the daycare centre facility here, Bettye Hyde centre here in Sandy Hill and allowed neighbours to preserve this corner as a real community hub for families," said Moussa.

The new day care centre has space for about 40 children and there are few spaces available, according to the president of school's board of directors.

Resident Claire Macdonald said the new centre fills a needed void for the community.

"The nursery school has been in this community for 40 years and we didn't want to lose it," said Macdonald. "It's something that appeals to families and encourages families to live well in Sandy Hill."