Primrose Schools Brings Long-Term Success To CRE Through Early Education And Childcare

While it has become common to see mixed-use developments with a combination of apartments, offices, retail options, and even entertainment venues and fitness centers to keep up with the live-work-play lifestyle, tenants are increasingly looking for a new amenity: early education and childcare facilities.

A June study from OnePoll revealed that nearly 70% of parents believe that childcare should be incorporated more frequently into mixed-use developments. In addition, almost 90% of parents said it was important to live near a childcare center — and that they are far more likely to shop at businesses near where these facilities are located. 

“The data is clear,” Primrose Schools Chief Development Officer Nick Koros said in a statement. “Families want the real estate industry to add ‘learn’ to live-work-play developments.”

Primrose Schools is a rapidly growing early childhood education and childcare brand with locations across 34 states. The nationwide franchise system has opened 20 new schools in 2023, which included its 500th location, and has 180 more schools in the pipeline. 

Koros said Primrose has proven to be a highly valued amenity for developers and local economies because it meets an essential need. The Primrose business model can also give developers a significant economic advantage, including a chance to generate consistent foot traffic while attracting a young, diverse consumer base. 

“Primrose offers developers a chance to do well economically, while also benefiting the communities they serve,” he said. “Each school brings in about 150 to 200 parents twice daily, five times a week. This is incredibly valuable for real estate developers looking to bring more activity and revenue into their developments.”

The Primrose model is flexible to different building designs, letting its schools fit into a wide variety of spaces, Koros said. This lets franchise owners and real estate developers bring quality early education to high-barrier-to-entry markets and hard-to-fill spaces, he said. The firm has built schools across an array of asset classes, including office complexes, high-rise condos, warehousing space and shopping centers.  

In Washington, D.C., Primrose worked with development firm Hines on Primrose School at The Parks. This was part of a transformative 3.1M SF adaptive reuse and new-construction project on the former campus of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. In San Jose, California, the company introduced Primrose School of Evergreen, located in a mixed-use development on the site of a former winery. In addition to the Primrose School, the San Jose development includes 150 residential units, 75K SF of commercial space and 25K SF of office space.

“Like with many of our locations, Primrose can serve as an anchor within retail and mixed-use developments, providing developers with a flexible business model that is resistant to much of the turbulence impacting the retail and office markets,” Koros said. 

Koros said the opening of 20 new schools this year has revealed several market trends: Mixed-use developments are rising in popularity and office vacancies are forcing developers to get creative and figure out ways to entice workers back to the office.

“Many of our parents are millennials, who are currently the most active generation of homebuyers,” he said. “Mixed-use communities are becoming popular with young families because they offer a convenient lifestyle, including housing, jobs, shopping, dining and schooling all in one place.”

The opening of the 500th Primrose school has kicked off the next wave of national expansion for the company, Koros said. 

It is estimated that more than 50% of the country's population lives in an area where there aren't enough resources available to accommodate the demand for childcare. On its mission to provide quality education to children across the country, Primrose is looking to expand further into markets such as Boston, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

“Childcare is a critical amenity that has a sizable impact on the health and growth of communities,” Koros said. “We’re seeing a growing interest in Primrose Schools from developers as we head into 2024, which will give families across the nation what they’ve been demanding: improved access to childcare.”

To learn more about real estate or franchise opportunities with Primrose Schools, visit www.primroseschools.com. 

This article was produced in collaboration between Primrose Schools and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.