What decides the site · Capacity
The Number the Business Plan Depends On
Licensed capacity comes from the building and the site, and it is the number every part of the business model rests on.
The site, the age groups, and the capacity your model needs. We will tell you whether the building and the outdoor space can support it.
Capacity
Decided by the building, not by the business plan
Outdoors
Play area frequently caps licensed capacity, not the building
Licensed
We build to what the licensing authority requires
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
The plan is built on the wrong number
An operator models revenue on a capacity figure taken from the building area or from a similar center. Actual licensed capacity is the lowest of several constraints — indoor usable area, outdoor play area, restroom provision, egress — and it is frequently well below the assumed figure.
What limits capacity
- Usable indoor area per child, by age group.
- Outdoor play area, which is frequently the binding one.
- Restroom fixture counts.
- Egress capacity from each room and from the building.
- Parking and drop-off, where a local requirement applies.
How we handle it
- 01Test all constraints, not just the indoor area.
- 02Report capacity as the lowest binding constraint.
- 03Show what would have to change to increase it.
- 04Give the figure before the lease or purchase.
Work out capacity as the lowest of all the constraints, not from the classroom area alone. An operator who models on indoor area and licenses on outdoor area has a business plan built on a number the site cannot deliver.
Said plainly
Where we stop
Capacity is what the building and site allow. We can show what would have to change to raise it and we cannot raise it by design alone where the site is the constraint.
FAQ
Common questions
- How is licensed capacity determined?
- The lowest of indoor usable area, outdoor area, restrooms and egress.
- Which usually binds?
- Outdoor play area, on most urban and infill sites.
- Can capacity be increased?
- Sometimes, by addressing the binding constraint. Not where the site itself is the limit.
- When should we know the figure?
- Before the lease or purchase.
What we build
Infant Rooms
The room with the tightest staffing ratios, the most sanitation requirements and the lowest revenue per square foot.
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Toddler & Preschool Classrooms
The rooms that carry the business. Their area determines licensed capacity, and their layout determines whether staff can supervise.
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Outdoor Play
The outdoor requirement is frequently the binding constraint on licensed capacity, and it is the one operators check last.
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Kitchens
Whether the center cooks or serves prepared food changes the kitchen from a room into a regulated installation.
Read more →
Restrooms & Changing
Fixture counts scale with enrolment, and where they sit relative to the classrooms is a requirement rather than a preference.
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Entry & Security
Controlled entry, a reception that works at the morning surge, and a drop-off arrangement that does not block a road.
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More what decides the site
Licensing
Child care facilities are licensed, and the physical requirements attached to that license shape the building before any design decision.
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The Site
Three site facts decide whether a child care center is viable, and all three are checkable before purchase.
Read more →
Finishes & Safety
Everything within reach of a child is a safety item, and everything is cleaned constantly.
Read more →
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.