There is a new daycare center in the city that is currently accepting registrations.

Mountain Sprouts Children’s Center, 700 Binter Road, officially opened June 24. The goal is to provide high-quality, affordable services for children ages 0 to 5. The public is invited to come see what that means, said owner and director Leanne Smock.

“We’re having a free opening party on August 16, so anyone who wants to come and tour the facility can do that,” she said. “There will be tacos, face painting and music. So it will be a kind of social gathering where the parents can get to know each other. Afterward, I’ll do a little presentation.”

Those interested in participating should register at pcmountainsprouts.com or by calling 385-645-4665.

The 4,000-square-foot facility has large classrooms for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, Smock said.

“Our infant room can accommodate up to eight infants and we have two staff members to care for them,” she said. “We have a room for one-year-olds and a room for two-year-olds.”

Mountain Sprouts can accommodate up to 12 2-year-olds and currently has 10 enrolled, according to Smock.

“Next Monday we’ll open classes for the 3- to 5-year-olds,” she said. “They’ll be doing more role-playing, father-mother-child games, dressing up at construction sites, doctor’s visits and the like to find out what they want to play with. And we don’t expect the 5-year-olds to stay with us for long because they usually go to kindergarten.”

In addition to the indoor space, Mountain Sprouts has a backyard that is nearly 1,600 square feet, Smock said.

“I believe we have the largest playground of any local daycare, and each classroom has its own door to the grassy courtyard,” she said. “We also run a seasonal gardening program, and next year it will be in full swing.”

Mountain Sprouts currently has 27 children enrolled, Smock said.

“So we’re at 54% capacity,” she said. “Right now we have five staff members, and we’ll have eight total – two teachers in each classroom.”

Most children are in school all day, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Smock said.

“We offer a space in every classroom for part-time students,” she said. “That can be either for Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Tuesday and Thursday,” she said.

To ensure affordability, Mountain Sprouts offers Upwards scholarships and accepts grants from the Department of Workforce Services (DWS), Smock said.

“I think (these things) are becoming more popular with the local daycare,” she said. “When we started this last year, there were no Upwards grants and DWS did very little. And even though there is a little more paperwork, we thought it would be worth it to have more families in Park City.”

The idea to open Mountain Sprouts came to Smock’s mind during the ten years she worked as a nanny.

“After I turned 30, I felt like I had reached my peak and wondered what to do next,” she said. “I saw there was a grant opportunity for Summit County to build a brand new child care facility that would also accept DWS. So I went down that rabbit hole and ended up being the only person who applied in a year and a half.”

When Smock found the “absolutely perfect” space, everything fell into place.

“It used to be an office and it was many things – a painting business, a dentist’s office and a holistic medical practice,” she said. “Now it’s a daycare center.”

Smock is currently negotiating with her landlord, who owns the property next door and on Rasmussen Road, to build and open a state-of-the-art Mountain Sprouts facility, scheduled to open in three to four years.

“We’re working with an architect to design child-sized sinks and toilets to accommodate more children,” she said. “But until then, we’re excited to open Mountain Sprouts Children’s Center. A lot of parents think there’s not a lot of affordable and available child care. So we’re open, we’re here, and we have spots available.”

Grand Opening Party of Mountain Sprouts Children’s Center

• When: 5pm, Friday, August 16

• Where: Mountain Sprouts Children’s Center, 700 Bitner Rd.

• Registration: facebook.com/Mountainsproutschildrenscenter

• Web: pcmountainsprouts.com or facebook.com/Mountainsproutschildrenscenter