ACHIEVE, which has taken ownership of the former CWS plant on East Main Street in Norwich, is partnering with The Place in Norwich to bring a child care center back to Chenango County for the first time in a decade. (Photo by Shawn Magrath)

NORWICH – Pointing to a need for child care that has been plaguing Chenango County for the last decade, local nonprofit entities are teaming up to bring a certified daycare center back to the Norwich community.

Plans are underway to open an accredited daycare center inside the former CWS facility on East Main in Norwich. The once manufacturing plant, which has been mostly vacant since 2021, was purchased earlier this year by ACHIEVE, a nonprofit provider of services to individuals with intellectual, developmental and other disabilities in Chenango, Broome and Tioga counties.

ACHIEVE now owns the building of the proposed daycare site and has undertaken a $5 million renovation project in order to relocate its facility from Country Club Road in Norwich to the heart of the city. However, prospective child care services, if successful, would be overseen by The Place in Norwich. The Place is a fully licensed, community-based youth service organization that would tackle Chenango County’s status as a child care desert by administering a center for children under the age of three.

The partnership is a perfect collaboration of the two nonprofit entities, according to ACHIEVE CEO Amy Howard.