Kidz Karousel is opening a downtown Baton Rouge early childhood development center after acquiring First Step Day Care & Learning Center, at the corner of Main Street and North 10th Street.
The center, called Kidz Karousel Academy Main, retained the 28 First Step employees and 140 registered children, and started operating this morning, according to Tessa Holloway, who co-owns Kidz Karousel with her husband, Derrick.
Tessa Holloway became interested in acquiring the center when she learned the owners of First Step were retiring, and says the facility’s location in downtown made it an attractive opportunity.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be downtown,” Tessa Holloway says. “There’s great families located downtown and a lot of people work down there.”
The Holloways are leasing the property from Baton Rouge businessman John Engquist, who bought the property for $2.6 million on Tuesday, according to sales documents. Engquist bought the property through Kidz Karousel-Main LLC, a subsidiary of Engquist Management LLC, from First Step Properties LLC. The deal included the building, along with all furniture and equipment.
Tessa Holloway estimates about $200,000 worth of renovations will be completed to the building to make it look like their four other properties.
The Holloways opened their first Kidz Karousel location in Port Allen in 2006 and currently operate Kidz Karousel facilities in Prairieville, Lake Charles, Mandeville and Zachary. They opened their fourth day care center in Americana, a Traditional Neighborhood Development under development in Zachary by Engquist, earlier this year and have a sixth facility planned for Rouzan, another TND by Enquist and Charles Landry.
Tessa Holloway says she’s currently looking to open more centers, adding Gonzales and Madisonville are possible locations.
