After leasing the property for five years, the owner of a Morrison day care center has purchased the building and the 5 acres of property on which it sits.

The Early Years Academy, located at 508 French Creek Road, has been open since March 2021. The center was built by Scott Selmon, owner of Climco Coils, a Morrison manufacturer in the city’s industrial park. Selmon built the center close by Climco as a way to make sure child care was available to meet the needs of the community and to also assist Climco workers who needed child care.

Since that time, Jennifer Humphrey of Dixon has been the owner/director of the academy. With a degree in early childhood education and a history in child care, Humphrey had been the director of Bright Beginnings Christian Daycare and Preschool in Dixon for about 3 years, but that ended when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

She was alerted via social media about a new daycare in Morrison, went through an interview process and took the reins at The Early Years Academy when it opened.

Humphrey said she was approached by Selmon as to whether she was interested in purchasing the 5,500-square-foot building on 5 acres of land. After pushing the pencil, she determined the time was right to purchase the building and the land. She closed on the property in February.

The 88 children who attend the academy are 6 weeks to 12 years old, with 75% of them from Morrison, she said.

“This community has been great. It’s been really great to work with,” Humphrey said.

Twenty-two employees work at the center, which is open from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The center has no openings at this time and has an estimated 45 children on the waitlist. With an eye on the future, Humphrey said she hopes to someday add to the facility so she can offer care to more children.

“I could probably triple the size of this facility and fill it,” she said. “We get that many calls all the time.”