The new Armed Services YMCA Child Development Center in Norfolk, VA, is a vital part of a broader initiative to alleviate the critical shortage of childcare options for military families. This project transforms an existing office building into a licensed Type I-4 Institutional occupancy, purposefully renovated to meet both the Virginia Department of Education’s Child Care Regulations and the Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) standards for Navy and Marine Corps Child Development Centers. Upon completion, the facility will be fully approved by the Department of Defense and nationally accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

This state-of-the-art center will serve over 200 military children, directly reducing the local waitlist for childcare—part of a regional backlog exceeding 2,000 children across the Norfolk and Washington, D.C. areas. As part of the Armed Services YMCA’s expanded efforts, this facility plays a critical role in ensuring that military families have access to high-quality, affordable childcare—an essential workforce enabler that supports military readiness, stability, and retention.

The 21,877 square foot facility includes 17 classrooms – 5 Infant, 4 Pre-Toddler, 4 Toddler, and 4 Preschool: each with private child sized bathrooms, adult and child height casework, and storage for cots and materials. The support spaces include reception area, training room, support staff offices, commercial kitchen, laundry facilities, staff breakroom and 2 playground areas.

This Norfolk center is the first of three new ASYMCA child development centers opening under this DoD contract, with additional locations planned in Virginia Beach and the Washington, D.C. metro area. Together, they represent a strategic, community-based solution to one of the most pressing issues facing military families today: access to quality childcare.

Design: HBA Architecture and Interior Design
Contractor: WKW Development
Furniture Dealer: IBI
Photography: Chris Cunningham Photography