University of North Texas student Kimberly Terrell peels an overripe banana, showing her four preschool charges the darkened circles spotting the tip.

“See these spots, we want to cut them off. … They won’t taste good,” Terrell said.

As Terrell slices, her students study her movement, waving their own plastic knifes in the air before one shrieked, saying, “But those are my favorite parts!”

As part of their coursework in early education, Terrell and other College of Education students lead activities — such as making a fruit salad — at the Child Development Laboratory on campus.

The laboratory is one of the programs being considered for residence in a newly acquired building at 490 S. Interstate 35E, according to university officials.

In a written response, UNT President Gretchen Bataille said the facility will be used for programs that do not need to be on the main campus, although the specific use of the building is still being determined.

“We have discussed using this space for an autism center, child development and speech and hearing, but … no final decisions have been made,” she said.

The 20,960-square-foot building is an improved office building, which had been retrofitted from a funeral home, and sits on about 1.9 acres of land.

The property cost the university nearly $2.6 million and was recently approved for purchase by the UNT Board of Regents, along with another vacant property in Denton.

The other property purchased, 2600 N. Interstate 35, sits north of Fouts Field and will be available for future university use when needed, according to university officials.

Clinical programs, such as the child development lab or an autism research center, would be ideal for the recently purchased building, said Darlene Callahan, director of university space management and planning.

“This building has easy access for the community,” Callahan said. “When residents come to the campus for services, parking is difficult. This property affords a nice parking lot.”

The need for space on campus grows as more students enroll at UNT, and moving some programs would free up space on campus while better serving the community, Callahan said.

The building is easily accessed off Interstate 35E and is on the UNT bus route for students, she said.

If the Child Development Laboratory moves to the new building, the preschool class size could grow, said Jerry Thomas, dean of the College of Education.

About 50 to 60 children are currently enrolled for preschool classes at the UNT laboratory, but the college would like to double that size and integrate autistic children, Thomas said.

“The Child Development Laboratory has a very long waiting list, and we’d like to serve more students that have children, as well as faculty and staff,” Thomas said. “People believe this is a really good program and it serves the kids well.”

By integrating autistic children into typical preschool classrooms, those children would likely benefit from additional interaction, he said. At the same time, student teachers would be better prepared to deal with autism outside of the university setting.

“The benefits for this program would be on multiple levels,” Thomas said. “It would serve the children directly, while working with teachers and improve research. It would serve everyone.”

However the building is used, there is a priority for programs that serve the public to be housed there, said Provost Wendy Wilkins.

“I’m looking forward to seeing UNT’s name on it,” Wilkins said.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.