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NEW & NOTEWORTHY PRESCHOOLS

Tackling the Needs of Children—and Parents
A child care center in a full-service apartment building

When Becker + Becker architects and developers undertook the task of building an ecologically responsible, family-friendly residential tower, they looked to Roosevelt Island.

"We wanted to capitalize on the advantages of Roosevelt Island," said Bruce Redman Becker, the company's president. "It is one of the few remaining sites where there is a lot of open space. It is an ideal environment for housing, in particular for families."

Turning to what developers say is the safest zip code in the state, Becker + Becker sought not just to construct a new building where people could reside, but to redefine the concept of urban living for families.

"We conceived the project to be family-friendly," Becker said. "The emphasis is about the quality of life and how you spend your time as opposed to having to endure a lot of disadvantages of city living." One of those disadvantages, Becker said, is anxiety working parents have in transporting kids back and forth between home and child care. To address these issues, Octagon coordinated with Bright Horizons, a company that provides employee-sponsored child care and early education services.

"Bright Horizons fits into this concept of really pulling out all the stops to make family life in the city as fulfilling as possible and removes a lot of the challenges families typically have," Becker said.

Families don't have to worry about a place to park since the all-rental building factored in an underground garage for residents and visitors. And unlike many day care facilities in Manhattan that typically close around 4 p. m. before the work day concludes, Bright Horizons Octagon opens at 7:30 a. m. and doesn't close until 6:30 p. m.

"It's a full day program that's designed to meet the needs of working parents," said Kathy Baker, director of client services at Bright Horizons. "It's an incredibly exciting opportunity, particularly because Manhattan's market rate buildings don't have any full-service child care programs for working families."

Admissions are open to all families, not just Octagon residents.

Bright Horizons is part of an elite group of child care centers accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Only 8 percent of all facilities in the country have this accreditation.

"They [the NAEYC] set the standard for high-quality child care and there are more than 200 criteria to become an NAEYC-accredited center," Baker said. "Over 80 percent of [our centers] are accredited."

The remaining 20 percent are in the process of receiving accreditation but need to be open a full year before they are eligible.

Baker explained that the goal of the Octagon child care center is to make it an extension of home life and "a place where the children feel nurtured and cared for." As such, Bright Horizons Octagon was designed to emulate an intimate family-like atmosphere and can accommodate approximately 50 children up to age 5. It is on a park and has river views.

"We made sure there was a lot of natural light for the space," Becker said. The age-specific curriculum offered is called "world at their fingertips." "The infants do something much different than the toddlers and pre-schoolers do," Baker said.

The program is designed to accommodate the developmental needs of children at each stage and focuses on subjects like literacy, math, science, and art.

"The actual environment [on the park] allows us a great curriculum for outdoor learning in terms of ecological and geological things they have available," Baker said. "The program will be enriched by the outdoor environment Octagon has created."

In addition, Octagon is one of only four residential buildings in the city that participates in the state's green building program and uses 35 percent less energy than other residential sites. The building, originally designed in 1839 as the entry and administrative spaces for the New York Pauper Lunatic Asylum, but used mostly as Metropolitan Hospital, is easily spotted across the East River because of its distinct landmark octagonal rotunda. Architects intentionally kept that structure as the development's primary design element.

Although the building is already at 93 percent occupancy, there are still 35 family-size apartments available for rent—and developers are offering free pre-school through the end of December for anyone that signs a two-year lease.

For more information, visit www. OctagonNYC. com or call 212-888-8NYC (8692). Bright Horizons at the Octagon can be reached directly at 212-355-6969 or www.brighthorizons.com.

- Wendy Ilene Friedman