Renovation of former Silver Spring library to early childhood education center to be completed in June

Site will provide education, child care and parental support services

December 27, 2023 11:25 p.m.

The former Silver Spring library, which opened in 1957 and served the community for nearly 60 years, will get new life in 2024 when a new multicultural and bilingual early childhood education and development center is expected to open its doors.

The facility, the Martha Gudelsky Child Development Center, will be operated by Washington, D.C.-based non-profit CentroNía. The center aims to meet the demand in Montgomery County for high-quality early childhood education, according to Myrna Peralta, CentroNía’s president and CEO. 

CentroNía provides early childhood education, professional development and family support services with a focus on working with low-income and immigrant families, according to its website.

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Currently, the former library is undergoing renovations to transform into an educational facility called, the Martha Gudelsky Child Development Center (MGCDC). Renovations are expected to be complete by June for an early fall opening. Peralta said renovations “are going really well.”

The center will feature a community kitchen and parent support workshops including cooking, employment readiness and adult education/computer and English classes.

Once complete, the center will offer full day education and care to 127 children from birth to 5 years old, according to a press release. In addition, a minimum of 75% of infants and toddlers at the center will come from low-income households.

“It’s just exciting to get more child care slots. Demand is just so high,” Peralta said. 

Across the D.C. region, Peralta explained that there are not enough early childhood care and education slots available for families with infants and toddlers. She said as of the end of November, the waitlist for a spot at one of CentroNía’s Maryland centers sat at 1,400.

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Of those 1,400 on the waitlist, 920 are eligible for subsidized care, 568 of which are Montgomery County residents, according to Peralta. 

She added that 490 families have already indicated an interest in MGCDC. Currently, CentroNía operates six centers in the region, one of which is located in Takoma Park. The organization and serves more than 2,850 children and family members, per the release.

The former library, which was located on Colesville Road, closed in 2015. Peralta said the Homer and Martha Gudelsky Family Foundation approached CentroNía after news came out about the library’s closing and proposed the idea of partnering on a child care center at the site. 

“The house that the [Gudelsky family] children were raised in was just a couple of blocks down the street on Colesville Road and the family used the library extensively. And so, they felt a real attachment to the facility and had been looking for an opportunity to invest in something that the family feels strongly about,” Peralta said. “Childcare was one of those areas.” 

The Homer and Martha Gudelsky Family Foundation is a private foundation, headquartered in Silver Spring, according to the release. The center was established to honor Martha Gudelsky’s vision to improve the lives of children and create early childhood learning opportunities for families in Silver Spring, her hometown.

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Peralta said that the project would not have been possible if the Gudelsky Family Foundation had not stepped up to help with expenses. According to Peralta, renovation of the library costs around $10 million and is completely funded by private donations from the family foundation. 

In 2018 county officials chose the proposal for the child care center over a competing pitch to build affordable senior housing at the former library site. Peralta said that the county stepped up to support the center and helped by sorting out the permitting process. 

“The county has been really steadfast on saying that they support child care and want to grow the number of seats in the community for its residents,” she said. 

When renovations are complete, the center will go through the licensing process with the state and hopes to open to families in August or September. Peralta said she is keeping her fingers crossed that crews don’t run into issues as the construction process continues into the new year.  

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