A preschool that has served Kyle families since 2002 has a new name and new ownership. Rocking Horse Academy is now operating as Plum Creek KinderCare after a property and operations transaction brought together Miami-based real estate firm Fortec and KinderCare Learning Companies, and the center stayed open the entire time families were adjusting to the change.
The school opened in 2002 and had provided preschool services to the Kyle community for more than two decades before the ownership shift, according to Community Impact. Fortec acquired the Rocking Horse Academy property in coordination with KinderCare Learning Companies, while KinderCare separately acquired the operation itself from founding owners Jane Terrell and Rebecca Eichen and entered into a long-term lease with Fortec, per the same outlet's reporting.
The approximately 17,900-square-foot property has a licensed capacity of 282 children, the report notes. Plum Creek KinderCare has remained open through the transition and will undergo facility renovations, with the center currently enrolling students in multiple programs for fall 2026.
What's Changing at the Center
Renovations are expected to include classroom refurbishments, playground improvements, and updates to safety and security infrastructure, per the release detailed in the article. The center's programming spans infant daycare, toddler daycare, Discovery Preschool, prekindergarten, and before- and after-school programs. It also offers small-group enrichment classes such as Cooking Academy, Music Explorers, Phonics Adventures, and STEM Innovators.
Fortec's Expanding National Footprint
For Fortec, the Kyle deal marked its 40th early education project nationwide. Fortec Chairman Pablo Barreiro said, “Reaching our 40th project is an exciting milestone for Fortec and a reflection of the growing need for quality early childhood education facilities across the country.” Barreiro added that “By partnering with established operators like KinderCare, we’re able to preserve essential child care capacity while enabling operators to invest in their facilities and educational programs.”
Fortec focuses exclusively on early childhood education properties, and the firm's recent activity has extended well beyond Kyle. It led the acquisition of three preschool properties in Louisville, Kentucky, totaling 31,326 square feet of purpose-built early education space on about 4.5 acres, with KinderCare Learning Companies taking over operations of all three centers, according to ConnectCRE. That Louisville transaction pushed Fortec's educational real-estate track record past $270 million across 39 properties in 15 states.
A Tight Market for Child Care Seats
The Kyle sale lands amid a broader surge of investor interest in early-education real estate. The number of early education properties available for sale has grown 14% since the end of 2024, reaching 158 total, according to B+E figures cited by CNBC. The outlet also reported that the number of available properties with more than 10 years remaining on their lease terms increased 12% in 2025.
Barreiro told CNBC that the appetite reflects a real gap in supply: “Fifty-one percent of areas in America are what is called a child-care desert. A child-care desert means basically that [there] is three times the demand for every seat of supply that is available.” Fortec has also announced a partnership with global financial advisory firm Equiturn to launch a $100 million early education real estate fund, per the CNBC report.
KinderCare's own site lists five daycare and child care centers in or near Kyle, underscoring how the Plum Creek rebrand fits into a larger regional presence. A 2023 roundup from Community Impact of preschools in San Marcos, Buda, and Kyle — which noted the list was not comprehensive — had included options such as Kid Ranch Christian Preschool in San Marcos, which serves children from six weeks to five years old.
