By Lindsay Tice,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – An indoor playroom for children will reopen three months after organizers declared the program all but dead.

The Toy Library will be housed at the Marketplace Mall on Main Street. The space is about a third the size of its old home, but organizers say they’ll make do.

“It’s space, that’s all that matters,” said Veronica Hiscock, a Toy Library volunteer.

For 13 years, the nonprofit leased 2,200 square feet in the basement of the United Baptist Church on Main Street. For $2 a visit – or less for families that couldn’t afford it – children had a safe place to play. The Toy Library boasted a room-sized sandbox, a giant clubhouse, several old tricycles and a legion of other toys for infants to pre-teens. Parents gathered to chat about day care, doctors and support services.

Church officials charged the nonprofit only $150 a month, including utilities. But after a dozen year-to-year leases, officials said they needed the area for church business. The lease was up in August.

Toy Library volunteers spent spring and summer searching for a new home. But most spaces were too cramped or didn’t have parking. Some had lead or asbestos problems.

All others were too expensive, costing $800 a month or more.

In July, the board of directors voted to close the play space. They scheduled an August auction to sell off all the toys and furniture.

Then, just a day before the bidding, the Marketplace Mall’s property manager offered a room for $300 a month, not including utilities.

“Of course, we jumped at the offer,” said Tina Rousseau, president of the board of directors.

Since most volunteers and board members left when it looked like the playroom was going to close, it has taken months to reorganize and re-establish the Toy Library. On Friday, students from Leavitt Area High School helped unpack toys and set up the room. It is scheduled to reopen on Nov. 5.

The new room isn’t big enough to accommodate the giant slide, tricycles or toys for older kids. The play tower will stay, however, and organizers hope to add a small slide and a sandbox later this year.

The playroom will also have toys and play stations for pre-schoolers, a craft corner for older children, and some books.

Admission will remain the same and hours will vary, based on the availability of volunteers.

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