CommUnify has acquired the former Grace Lutheran Preschool building at 420 E. Fesler St. in Santa Maria. The property will be used for a future child care and early education campus.
The nonprofit has provided Head Start across Santa Barbara County since 1967. It purchased the Santa Maria site for $950,000 in a sale that closed on July 24.
The new child care and early education center will serve up to 70 local low-income children and their families, and will be upgraded with four classrooms, a commercial kitchen, outdoor learning space, and two play yards, CommUnify said.
Two classrooms will be geared toward infants and toddlers (ages 3 months-2 years), and two classrooms will be for pre-K children (ages 3-5 years) to get them ready for kindergarten.
“This is a tremendous milestone for CommUnify, and one that would not have been possible without the vision and support of our staff and board, the city of Santa Maria, the county of Santa Barbara, and key California state funding partners,” said Patricia Keelean, CEO of CommUnify.
“We are grateful for their belief in this project and their understanding of the need to expand access to high-quality child care and early education for Santa Maria families during this time of uncertainty and budget cuts,” she said.
“We are excited to kick-off our capital campaign to complete the project and look forward to the community’s support,” she said. “And once the center is remodeled and open, we are thrilled to provide job opportunities for local residents as well.”
CommUnify is funding the project with a $1.3 million Infrastructure Grant Program award from the California Department of Social Services together with a loan from the Low-Income Investment Fund.
The work ahead is substantial and additional funds will be raised to complete the renovation, organizers said. Project architect is Gabriel Architects of Santa Maria.
The groundbreaking will take place in the coming months, and the center should open by Summer 2028, in time for the 2028-29 academic year.
The Radius Group’s Golis Team represented CommUnify in the property sale, and Pacifica Commercial Realty represented the seller.
“Most of what we do is very transactional and concludes with a return on the investment for an individual or for a local business,” said Steve Golis, co-founder, Radius Commercial Real Estate.
“This sale was very meaningful and rewarding to our team as it will put four much-needed early education classrooms back into a building that has served Santa Maria children for decades,” he said.
“CommUnify will create a beautiful new campus to benefit this community for years to come. That is the best possible outcome, and we appreciate being able to make this happen for this great organization and the families they serve.”
The Grace Lutheran congregation built the site in 1949, expanding it into a preschool by 1960. The congregation ran the Grace Lutheran Preschool there for decades before closing it.
When the church decided to sell the property to CommUnify, it included off-site parking for staff and parent drop-off.
For more about CommUnify, visit www.CommUnifySB.org.