
By Sara Beth Williams–
Plans for a recently proposed preschool seeking to occupy a building located at the Sunrise Mall appear to be moving forward.
The project is listed on a city planning map as being “under construction,” as of a Sept. 17 update, but Citrus Heights City Spokesperson Marisa Brown clarified building permits were submitted by the applicant to the city on Aug. 7 and the city issued corrections on Aug. 23. Since then, the applicant has not resubmitted building permits and construction has not begun.
Sunrise Montessori plans to occupy an existing vacant building, located adjacent to the former Sears building. The center will provide daycare, preschool, kindergarten, and child development classes for students ages two to 12, according to city documents.
According to submitted site plan documents, the layout for the new childcare center will include two classrooms for five- and six-year-olds, two classrooms for three- and four-year-olds, one classroom for two- and three-year-olds, and two classrooms for six- to 12-year-olds. Classrooms range in size from 582-square-feet to 1,369 square feet.
Each of the preschool classrooms can accommodate between 23 to 28 students. Plans indicate that the larger school-aged classroom, at 1,300 square feet, can accommodate up to 39 children, while the smaller school-aged classroom can accommodate 16 children.
Floor plans also call for the construction of a 4,500-square-foot playground area, offices, a break room area, and restroom facilities.
In an interview in July, Natalia Boyko, who submitted the plans along with her husband for the Sunrise Montessori childcare center, told The Sentinel that she has a “huge waitlist” of families seeking daycare in the area around the Sunrise Mall, including families from Citrus Heights and Fair Oaks.
Boyko could not be reached for further comment regarding when construction on the preschool would begin.
Boyko and her husband are part of the Ukrainian community, Boyko said, and work with refugees from Ukraine and Russia to try and provide daycare. Boyko owns another childcare center called Advanced Early Childhood Education, as well as her own in-home daycare, which she operates in Fair Oaks. According to the childcare center’s website, the Advanced Early Childhood Education Center is the first full-service, nonprofit preschool for Russian-speaking children.
Plans for a recently proposed preschool seeking to occupy a building located at the Sunrise Mall appear to be moving forward...
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