Fairfield And A Child's Garden Reach Agreement On New Lease

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Child's Garden, a longstanding child care facility in Fairfield that operated out of the town-owned Senior Center site on Mona Terrace, will be allowed to continue operating at the location through May 2026, under a new lease agreement with the town.

The new lease gives the facility an extra year at the site; town officials had sought to move the facility out of the Mona Terrace building at the end of the 2024-25 school year to make room for another use.

Below is the town's announcement of the new lease deal:

First Selectman Bill Gerber and Mike Miklus, owner of A Child’s Garden (ACG), announced today that the Town of Fairfield has agreed to terms to extend ACG’s lease at the Town-owned Mona Terrace location through May 2026. The Town administration and Miklus agree that Mona Terrace cannot remain the long-term location as the building is in critical need of significant renovation. The lease extension agreement is subject to approval of the Board of Selectmen, and it is anticipated that the Board of Selectmen will approve the agreement at its July 10, 2024 meeting.

Fairfield is also facing a shortage of space where Town departments can fulfill core public services. Once the Mona Terrace space has been vacated and renovated, it will provide urgently needed capacity for Town departments in clean and safe accommodations.

Miklus said that he is committed to continue to serve Fairfield families and is working with urgency to find alternative space in Fairfield. ACG’s objective is to ensure a seamless transition to a new location while continuing to care for children and maintaining jobs for its staff after May 2026.

“We want to thank First Selectman Gerber and the Town for their willingness to extend this lease, creating a workable plan for the 160 children and their families and teachers serving the Fairfield community,” Miklus said. “By offering to extend the lease at Mona Terrace, Mr. Gerber has assured us the time we need to find a new location without disrupting childcare for our local families.”

“I understand the difficulty of finding quality childcare in Fairfield County, which was the driver behind our work to find an equitable solution for both the ACG parents and children and the Town,” said First Selectman Gerber. “Our mutual goal remains ensuring continuity of childcare for ACG parents, and ultimately, to examine ways to increase the availability of quality childcare for all parents in Fairfield.”