Red Caboose Child Care Center Open House

press release: Red Caboose Child Care Center has served the Madison area for over 50 years as the community's most innovative nonprofit child care center. Soon, they'll be serving more local families in a brand-new building! 

The child care center is holding an open house at its current 624 Williamson St. location on Saturday, March 4, from 2 to 5 p.m. Madison’s first accredited child care center will say farewell by celebrating the memories and people that have made the Willy Street home a cherished space lovingly crafted for over half a century by teachers, children, parents, and the community.

The new building, near East Washington Avenue and Sixth Street, will activate a long-vacant site, strengthen housing stability in the area and enable Red Caboose to serve more children and families. The building will have 70,000 square feet of space in four stories, with underground parking. A larger facility is needed to accommodate the growing number of children on the waitlist. This comes at the same time as the rising childcare gap for parents who are struggling. Unless parents have a local childcare option they can trust, many will not go back to work.

Before the move to a larger building better fit to serve the community, join your friends and neighbors to remember and reflect, play in the Sunshine and Moonshine Rooms, enjoy Honey Nutters and other retro snacks, and dance like bumblebees to the music of Ken Lonnquist. Attendees to the open house-style event will reconnect with their childhood by taking a walk down memory lane and finding their place on the Red Caboose timeline. 

This summer, Red Caboose Child Care Center will march forth to its new home on Winnebago Street, just down the railroad tracks from the current location. As Madison’s first accredited group child care center — formed in 1972 by a group of parents — the many memories created at the beloved Williamson Street location will be honored, which has served the Madison community with high-quality, city-accredited child care for over half a century!

Alumni staff, children, and families — old and new, from near and far, living both well-known and ordinary lives — will come together to celebrate and reflect on the treasured building at the corner of Blount and Williamson Streets in downtown Madison. 

Red Caboose recently received $26,523 from the City of Madison toward the purchase of furniture for a future Infant Room, nature-based playground, and 4-year-old classroom at 2340 Winnebago St. The inclusive center’s Capital Campaign needs to raise $300,000 to create an environment that will be the future of affordable, inclusive child care combined with accessible, affordable housing in a space that will provide great benefits to the Madison community. The child care center’s Capital Campaign is funding the multi-use building at Winnebago Street for kids and families. 

Red Caboose will own the ground floor of the new building. The new space will allow Red Caboose to serve three times more children. More than 38% of Red Caboose students are children of color, and 25% come from low-income families, qualifying for financial and meal support. Relocating to Winnebago Street will include referral and support services for children and families, including more support for special needs children. Eighty percent of the families at the center receive tuition support. 

“Red Caboose has touched so many people over the decades: children, parents, teachers, staff, and the many friends in the community. Alumni children enrolled their children. Those children often had the same teachers as their parents. How cool is that! At Red Caboose, somehow, everyone feels embraced for who they are, and that feeling stays in their hearts. You can just feel the kindness, love, and the kindness and love. And the hugs! Here's to another 50 years of the Red Caboose magic in our new home,” Wendy Rakower, Director Emeritus, said.

The move to the East side of Madison comes in partnership with Movin’ Out, Inc., which specializes in developing affordable housing. Movin’ Out Inc. partners with people with disabilities, their families, and their allies to create and sustain community-integrated, safe, affordable homes. They will own the second through fourth stories of the building, with a planned 38 apartment units. 

Red Caboose’s new home on Winnebago Street is being built in partnership with Movin’ Out to provide accessible, affordable housing and high-quality child care in one location. Red Caboose plans to move into the new location in early June, with a public grand opening scheduled for September 30, 2023.

“We have a long tradition of serving diverse communities in Madison, and we want that legacy to continue in our new location,” Red Caboose Board President Aaron Stephenson said. “Please donate today.”

The Winnebago Street location will include:

Red Caboose will own a childcare center on the ground floor (21,000 sq. ft.) 

Movin’ Out will own the second, third, and fourth floors, (a total of 38 affordable apartment units) 

Meets Wisconsin Green Built Home standards of sustainability and energy

Part of urban in-fill development, the future Bus Rapid Transit access point

About Red Caboose: Established in 1972, Red Caboose is one of Madison's oldest independent child care centers and the first center to meet the city’s rigorous child care accreditation standards. Red Caboose prioritizes paying its childcare specialists a living wage as a nonprofit. A supportive environment for staff and children lead to low turnover and positive experiential learning.

About Movin’ Out, Inc.: Movin’ Out, Inc. is a 26-year-old statewide nonprofit housing organization that partners with people with disabilities, their families, and advocates to secure safe, affordable, accessible, and community-integrated housing. They have helped to develop and operate over 1,100 units of affordable rental housing, with approximately 500 new units currently under development across Wisconsin. In addition to multi-family rental housing development, their services include information and referrals, housing counseling, homebuyer education, down payment assistance, financial assistance for repairs and modifications for safety and accessibility, and various support programs to help ensure long-term housing stability. Movin’ Out serves low- to moderate-income households, including a person with a permanent disability.