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Carol Stream day care to expand into liquor store, deli space

A longtime day care facility in Carol Stream is planning to expand again — this time, inside a storefront that until last week was occupied by a liquor store and deli.

Rainbow Academy, which currently operates its day care center at 1280 Kuhn Road, is planning to open another center this year in a portion of an adjacent building.

The new 3,900-square-foot facility would be designed for after-school use by children in first and second grades.

The village board voted unanimously Monday to approve a special-use permit for Rainbow that allows its owners to operate the day care center in a retail zoning district.

Goodies Deli & Liquor moved out of the multitenant building at 1270 Kuhn Road last week, according to Jim Erwin, the day care owner.

Erwin says he and his wife have already signed a lease for the space, and plan to open the new center in the next four to six weeks.

The Erwins opened the first Rainbow 30 years ago inside a strip mall at County Farm and Army Trail roads, and their operations expanded over the years into nearby storefronts, until they moved in 2006 into their current building on Kuhn.

Now there's a waiting list of children looking to enroll at Rainbow — particularly those who have entered elementary school and may be outgrowing the existing Rainbow facility.

“We're trying to take them out of a day care setting and put them into more of a kid setting,” Erwin said.

The new facility will feature a kitchen where children can get snacks, library, game room, theater and craft rooms. It will have a homework space where students might also be able to get tutoring assistance, Erwin said.

A 1,800-square-foot outdoor playground area is also planned east of the building. It will contain picnic tables and a soccer net and be surrounded by a 4 foot fence — the minimum height required by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

It's expected the facility could serve as many as 75 children.

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