Development News

The Georgetown Little Folks Nursery School is moving from 3224 N St NW to a historic building at 3247 Q Street NW, just six blocks away. With a construction permit issued just last week, renovations have already begun in this historical Georgetown building.

Originally built as the Lewinsville Dairy Farm back in the 1920s, the two-story building has been mostly used as a commercial building since, housing photography and architectural firms, to name a few. The new interior to the building will hold about 8,000 square feet of space, which doubles their current space.

"I think it's poetic that it's back to being a school from being a dairy," says Olvia Demetriou, principal architect of HapstakDemetriou+ architectural firm.

While the outside will see no changes except for a pair of large wooden carriage doors at the entrance, the inside will see some major renovations, including a large an interior play court that leads out to the exterior courtyard where students can have snacks and story-time. The new school is also only a half-block away from a D.C. public park, Volta Park, as well, which will make outdoor playtime that much more fun.

Drop-off and pick-up will also be made easier at the new location, says Director Gay Cioffi, since N Street could become very congested during those times.

There will be no added classrooms, though, since Cioffi stresses they are a "small school and that's what young children really need." There will still be four classrooms for their students who range in ages from two and a half to age five. The classrooms are mixed age groups and all follow the same program.

When looking for a new space, Cioffi wanted to stay in Georgetown, where the school has been for the last 40 years.

"We had a real commitment to remaining in Georgetown," she says. "Georgetown is really our home."