The McPhaul Child Development Center is no longer the only option for University parents with day care needs — the University Childcare Center will open the first week of January.

In May, the Board of Regents approved $1.9 million in funds to renovate a building at the newly acquired U.S. Navy Supply Corps School to create a day care center for the University faculty, staff and students.

Pre-registration has already begun and spots will go to the first 146 parents who register through the website, according to Tim Burgess, the senior vice president for finance and administration.

About four years ago, a group of faculty members in the University Council expressed interest in having a center on campus Burgess said.

Though previously put on hold for the economy, plans for the center were developed and executed in 2011.

“I am pleased to see progress in an area that is an important step to UGA becoming a more family-friendly environment,” said Janet Frick, and associate professor in the psychology department.

Frick said the need for a day care center was a discussion before she arrived at the University in 1997. Since then, she has seen an increase in the number of faculty members with children.

Some of these parents have been unable to get children into McPhaul, the existing University childcare center.

Before presenting their concerns to the University Council, Frick and other supporters collected data and found that day care centers are common at other universities and many of the top companies in the country.

The University looked at possible locations before choosing the Navy School, where two buildings had no other serious demands.

The University also contracted a local business owner to run the facility, Wes Zwirn and his wife, owners of the Little Prodigies Child Development Center in Athens.

Zwirn said the curriculum at the University Childcare Center will follow the National Association for the Education of Young Children standards. This includes a small teacher to student ratio, smaller classrooms and more training for the teachers.

“Athens has a ways to go for providing high quality childcare,” Frick said. “The University can be a leader in the area and raise the bar.”