MONROE, Conn. — Construction workers used a backhoe to scoop dirt from a large pile of material and load the bed of a dump truck on a building lot on Victoria Drive, across from Olé Soccer, Thursday morning, as the foundation was being laid for The Learning Experience (TLE), a daycare center and preschool with a playground and 43-space parking lot.
Known for its mascot Bubbles the Elephant, TLE offers preschool and daycare programs for children, who are six weeks to six-years-old, allowing them to “learn, play, and grow.”
Ben Young, senior vice president of The Learning Experience, said the Deerfield Beach, Fla., based business has 442 daycare centers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, and the Monroe location is among 250 new daycare centers under development throughout the country.
“I’m excited,” Young said of the recent expansion. “We’re very positive for the Northeast. We’re excited for the area and the location.”
Sentro LLC, owner of the approximately 8.6-acre Monroe property, is acting as the general contractor for the project. Sentro is an affiliate of Karp Associates Inc., an award-winning builder.
On Thursday morning, Young attended a groundbreaking ceremony at the construction site on Victoria Drive, which was also attended by Arnold Karp, president of Karp Associates Inc., Monroe First Selectman Terry Rooney and Paul Stone, chief financial officer of Sentro.
Stone said Sentro LLC worked closely with TLE to make the Monroe location happen.
“We looked at different options and we came up with a plan that will work for them,” Stone said. “Their prototype is a single-story, 10,000-square-foot daycare with a 5,000 square foot playground. This site fit the bill. We started construction recently.”
The Inland Wetlands Commission unanimously approved a wetlands permit on June 11 and the Monroe Planning and Zoning Commission approved a special permit and site plan application on Aug. 7, by a vote of 4 to 1 with Chairman Michael O’Reilly the lone dissenter.
O’Reilly had expressed concern over the potential for flooding, because the daycare center will be built within a 100-year flood plain, in close proximity to the Pequonnock River.
Now that construction is underway, Stone said the hope is to complete construction and for TLE to occupy the new building by the second half of 2026.
A gateway to Monroe
Karp said The Learning Experience is making an investment of over $4.5 million in Monroe, while adding to the town’s commercial tax base and creating jobs. Rooney said a 28.67 mill rate makes Monroe more attractive to businesses, and the new daycare contributes to that.
“I think the key to this is infrastructure,” Rooney said. “You need infrastructure to have an employee base. When you have daycares, more developable business sites and a lower tax rate it encourages economic growth.”
The first selectman said the construction of TLE and other development on Victoria Drive, which is just off Route 25 (Main Street), where traffic enters Monroe from Trumbull, is important due to its location.
“I’m happy to see this come to fruition,” Rooney said of the project. “This is an area that needs to be developed, because it’s a gateway to Monroe. We have very serious interest on this property.”
“We worked hard to get a national firm into Monroe, because this is the future,” Karp said, adding daycare centers and preschools are needed to maintain an active, young demographic in communities. “I tell my kids, ‘I’m not building for myself. I’m building for the next generation to keep towns current.’ Moms and dads who work need a place to bring their children when they work.”
Stone said the new daycare center will provide another option on the Stepney side of town and may be used by employees of Amazon, Victorinox and other businesses in the area.
Karp said a lot of people in Monroe have already expressed an interest in the daycare center, while also noting how Monroe’s planning and zoning administrator, Kathleen Gallagher, has a child enrolled at a TLE in neighboring Newtown.
“As a grandfather, I was never concerned over a daycare,” Karp said. “But now that my grandchildren are preschool age, I realize how important it is.”
All respectful comments with the commenter’s first and last name are welcome.
