Families scrambling as Halifax daycare set to close with less than 2 months' notice
Celina Aalders | CBC News | Posted: March 21, 2025 9:00 AM | Last Updated: March 21
Landlord has plans to 'redevelop the property,' according to daycare owner
It took Brittany Naugler over 17 months on various waitlists to finally secure a daycare spot for her two-year-old daughter. But now she has to start that process all over again.
Families were notified on Monday that the Children's Garden Day Care in Halifax, N.S., which is licensed for 80 kids from 18 months to 12 years old, will close on April 30 and they should start looking for alternative child-care options.
In an email to parents, the centre's co-owner Adnan Masad said their lease is set to expire at the beginning of May and the landlord has "chosen not to renew it due to plans to redevelop the property."
Naugler said she was completely taken aback by the news, and there was no indication that this was coming. She said when parents learned that the Children's Garden was under new ownership just a couple weeks ago, they were assured that things would go on business as usual.
"I was devastated. I was hyperventilating. I had a full panic attack," she said. "The other parents and the teachers are shocked, hopeless, devastated."
Naugler and her husband both work full time and they don't have any family members nearby who could help out in the meantime.
"I'm worried that I'm going to lose my job or have to use all my vacation until I can find somewhere," said Naugler.
When she found out about the closure earlier this week, she immediately started applying to dozens of child-care centres across the city. So far, she said she's been rejected or put on a waitlist by at least 20 of them, and has one potential prospect.
Masad and Enas Jawad took over the daycare as co-owners on March 7. They said because the transfer of ownership only concluded recently, they could not share updates with families about the future of the centre until now.
They declined an interview about the closure, but said in an email to CBC News on Thursday afternoon that they are in the "final stages" of negotiations for a new location and will share more details soon.
In an email sent to parents on Wednesday, Masad said he understands that this is a stressful situation for families.
"We want to assure you that we are committed to saving and growing child care spaces for our community," he wrote.
Masad and Jawad also own Little Picasso Daycare & Art Centre, which recently opened a new location in Bayers Lake Business Park in Halifax.
Lina Hamid, NDP MLA for Fairview-Clayton Park, said she has heard from a constituent that's been impacted by this closure.
"This is a loss to the community," said Hamid. "Any time that we lose daycare spaces, it's a loss to the families in the area, particularly when there isn't much alternative."
She said the provincial government needs to do more to stabilize the sector and support both new and existing child-care providers.
In an email Friday morning, a spokesperson for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development said the department is working with the new owners to find solutions. The department also have staff available to help connect impacted families to other programs in the area.
"We understand that when child-care operators make the decision to close it causes uncertainty and stress for families. These are third-party organizations who make their own business decisions, including the decision to sell or close," said Krista Higdon.
The building is owned by Amir Arab, president of Savoir Living Developments Limited, according to a copy of the lease agreement obtained by CBC.
CBC News has made multiple attempts to contact Arab for some clarification on what the redevelopment will entail. However, he could not be reached.
According to real estate database ViewPoint, Arab purchased the building on May 15, 2024, the same day he signed a roughly one-year lease with the previous owner of the Children's Garden.
For Alyssa Clayfield, a mother of two and full-time student, the daycare's closure is causing a sense of worry and uncertainty.
Her 18-month-old daughter just started at the centre three weeks ago, and her nearly six-year-old daughter used to attend until recently.
She said it took about a year to secure a spot for her younger daughter.
"We've been part of the daycare for so long, and it's really close to our house too," said Clayfield. "We're really worried that we're not going to be able to get another spot for Lila."
Like Naugler, Clayfield has been frantically reaching out to other daycares in hopes of securing something before the end of April.
Out of the 15 to 20 places she's called and emailed — no luck.
"There's such a shortage right now … it wasn't like this when my older daughter went. There's just no space, I guess," she said.
Both mothers and other parents who spoke to CBC said they're still hopeful that the owners can find a suitable location for the Children's Garden, and soon. But they're not holding their breath, so their search for new child-care continues.
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