The Learning Experience Expands to Tucson
National daycare franchise The Learning Experience is expanding to Tucson with two new locations opening over the next two years.
Each location will be a newly constructed 10,000-square-foot free-standing building with a 5,000-square-foot playground. Each new center will employ as many as 30 staff members and certified teachers to serve upward of 180 children from 6 weeks old to 6 years old with daycare, enrichment programs, and early childhood education.
The first location will be opening in Marana this summer and a second location is under development in Tucson near Valencia Road. Construction of new centers creates opportunities for contractors and vendors, as a new location costs $3.2 million to $3.5 million to build on average.
When identifying potential sites and markets for expansion, The Learning Experience’s real estate team analyzes a number of factors , including daytime population of the surrounding area; traffic patterns; population of children ages 6 and under in a one-, three- and five-mile radius; and average household incomes within those same areas.
The Florida-based franchise pursues growth in new markets by establishing both franchise and corporate owned sites in each major metro market. Once it identifies a market, it then establishes franchised sites in the surrounding suburban areas.
The Learning Experience was recently recognized as the top-ranked childcare franchise and No. 32 overall in Entrepreneur magazine’s 2024 ranking of the world’s top 500 franchises. The company has opened more than 80 centers over the past two years and now has more than 370 in 29 states, as well as two locations in the U.K. It plans to add more than 100 new locations over the next two years.
