2007 Archives
The Harrisburg Regional Chamber and CREDC Announces Economic Development Assistance Provided toAa to Zz Child Care and Learning Center, Inc.
HARRISBURG, PA (November 19, 2007) - The Harrisburg Regional Chamber and CREDC (HRC/CREDC) announced today that it provided financing to Zimmerman Corporation, LLC, the real estate holding company for Aa to Zz Child Care and Learning Center, Inc. Aa to Zz recently expanded their child care company from one location to five locations across our region. The loan provided today, helps to purchase the real estate at one of the child care centers located at 5112 Lancaster Street, Swatara Township, Harrisburg, Dauphin County, PA.
Aa to Zz, owned by Ryan and Ashleigh Zimmerman, opened its first child care center at 88 S Hershey Rd in West Hanover Township in August 2004. That center grew to near capacity in less than one year. The Zimmermans then began pursuing opportunities to grow and serve more children and families in our region. In March 2007 they entered into an agreement to purchase the assets of another child care business known to our region as Early Explorers. Early Explorers operated from three locations - one off of Route 39 between Hershey and Harrisburg , one in Palmyra, and one in Swatara Township off of Derry Street . The Zimmermans kept all three locations open and retained all employees and all students during the transition. In addition, the Zimmermans acquired a location that operated under the Early Explorers name in Hummelstown that had closed. The building was refurbished and the Zimmermans reopened the location as a child care center earlier this year.
Ryan Zimmerman summarized his company and experience by stating, "We have grown extremely quickly this year. In May, we went from one center to four centers overnight and then, in August, we opened our fifth center. So, in the span of three months, we went from roughly 16 employees and 80 kids to roughly 70 employees and 300 kids. We couldn't have achieved any of this growth without a lot of help along the way.
CREDC was one of the organizations that assisted us greatly. Even though CREDC was brought in to help out late in the process, it didn't matter; their staff came up to speed quickly and efficiently. Everyone at CREDC was friendly, helpful, and very easy to work with. We got a great low, fixed rate on a loan for our Swatara Twp. center.
HRC/CREDC provided a Small Business First (SBF) loan of $166,187 in conjunction with Sovereign Bank and the US Small Business Administration financing. Total project costs were $760,000. The project is expected to retain 8 full-time jobs and create 2 full-time jobs at this location within 3 years. The SBF loan program is designed to stimulate the expansion and assist in the retention of small business for the purpose of creating new jobs and retaining existing jobs in Pennsylvania. This important program is administered by the Commonwealth's Department of Community and Economic Development and is funded with the ongoing support of the Administration and the General Assembly.
The Capital Region Economic Development Corporation (CREDC), is the economic development arm of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber, and is the leading organization for promoting and performing economic development activities in Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties. The group offers a variety of programs and resources to help attract, retain and expand business in the region.
The Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC serves as a catalyst for promoting growth and quality of life in Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry Counties by providing a unique blend of business, community and economic development and advocacy services under one roof to boost our economic vitality and livability as a region. Over the past 6 years, the Chamber & CREDC has provided assistance that has created over $200M in economic impact and created or retained over 9,000 jobs. HRC/CREDC has been accredited with four stars from the United States Chamber of Commerce.
