Rooms that held computer servers, a cafeteria and a large conference area are now home to adorable toddlers as the Concord Monitor building enters its new life.
“We’ve had our eye on this building for three or four years,” said Jay Moran, who opened Inspiring Minds Childcare and Learning Center with his wife, Audrey, at 1 Monitor Drive on Nov. 3.
Audrey Moran is the director. She has been working in child care for more than two decades, including the last six years when the couple has owned their own child-care center in the former Rumford School.
Now they’re in 5,000 square feet of the first floor of the Monitor building, where each room is named after a bear, from black and brown to panda and koala, and designed as if they were separate buildings, complete with streetlights, windows and siding.
The Monitor newsroom is now on the third floor of the three-story brick building, which sits prominently off Sewalls Falls Road.
The day care’s opening comes as New Hampshire, like many places, struggles to provide enough child care despite declining birth rates, partly because of the cost. Gov. Kelly Ayotte recently said access to child care is as critical as housing for “quality of life” and pledged state support.
Inspiring Minds takes children from age 6 weeks to 12 years, providing not just preschool, toddler and infant care but also after-school care, and is open from 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays. They have nine employees and are licensed for up to 67 children.
“We depend a lot on word-of-mouth and referrals,” said Audrey Moran. “We have a good network of parents.”
The Monitor building opened in 1990 as the newspaper moved from its long-time home on North State Street. But six years ago, the printing press moved to the former Rivco building in Penacook as part of an upgrade, and the circulation and distribution departments went with it, leaving a half-empty building.
Newspapers of New England, the Monitor’s family-owned parent company, sold the three-story building this year for $1.8 million to Gino Bernard, a Merrimack-based developer. The Monitor now leases the third floor for the newsroom and advertising department. The remainder of the building is being refurbished for new tenants, of which Inquiring Minds Child Care is the first.
The daycare’s playground is on the old Monitor patio and lawn, which used to be used for lunches. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
The new location has rooms for children of different ages, including one for the youngest babies of all, decked out with all sorts of baby toys. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
The older kids have options to choose from when playing, like dolls and stuffed animals. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor
This story has been updated to reflect the correct address of the daycare.