Opulent baby care center to open in Mason

MASON, Ohio (AP) -- Call it the five-star hotel of the day-care industry.
The Creme de la Creme day-care center scheduled to open in April near this southwest Ohio city will feature a computer lab, library, dance studio and mock TV studio.
The price tag of sending a child to the $6 million, 21,000-square-foot center: As much as $1,600 a month. That's at least double the price of other day-care centers in Warren County, depending on the child's age and the amount of time spent at the center.
"We really believe the early stages of child life are the most important for brain development, and we think a lot of parents are seeing that it is worth it to send them to Creme," said Pete Lungo, chief operating officer of the Denver-based company.
The chain chose to build its first day-care center in Ohio near Mason because of the demographics, he said.
Census figures show that the median family income in Mason is $76,000 compared with $53,000 in Hamilton County and $58,000 in Butler County.
The center, designed to look like a Victorian village, can serve up to 300 children, from newborns to age 5.