Document:

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                                                                     EXHIBIT 10a

                       LEASE MODIFICATION AGREEMENT NO. 3

         This Lease Modification Agreement No. 3 ("Agreement") dated this 3rd
day of January, 2000 by and between Murray Income Properties I, Ltd., a Texas
limited partnership, as Landlord, and Childtime Childcare, Inc., an Illinois
corporation, as Tenant.

                                    RECITALS:

1.   Landlord and Tenant are parties to that certain lease dated April 11, 1983
     originally by and between S-T Properties #14, an Arizona partnership, as
     landlord, whose interest has been assigned to Landlord, and Palo Alto
     Educational Systems, Inc., an Arizona corporation, as tenant, which entity
     was acquired by and subsequently merged into Gerber Children's Centers,
     Inc., an Illinois corporation ("Gerber") through an Agreement of Merger
     dated February 23, 1988 and Gerber subsequently merged with KD Mergeco,
     Inc., a Delaware corporation through an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated
     July, 1990 wherein the surviving corporation was Gerber and Gerber
     thereafter amended its name to be Childtime Childcare, Inc., an Illinois
     corporation, the herein named Tenant, and Landlord and Tenant entered into
     Lease Modification Agreement No. 1 dated February 14, 1992 and Lease
     Modification Agreement No. 2 dated January 9, 1996, hereinafter
     collectively referred to as "Lease". Said Lease covers a demised premises
     located at 9659 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale, Arizona ("Demised Premises")
     as more particularly described in the Lease; and

2.   Landlord and Tenant are mutually desirous of modifying the Lease; and

3.   The Lease contains an expiration date of January 31, 2000.

         NOW, THEREFORE, FOR VALUE RECEIVED, it is hereby agreed as follows:

1.   The term of the Lease as described in Article 2 of the Lease is hereby
     extended for five (5) years which shall provide for a Lease expiration date
     of January 31, 2005.

2.   Pursuant to Article 3.A. of the Lease, the Base Minimum Rent for the period
     from February 1, 2000 through January 31, 2001 shall be SIX THOUSAND SEVEN
     HUNDRED FIFTY AND 00/100 ($6,750.00) Dollars per month.

3.   On February 1, 2001 and on February 1 of each year thereafter throughout
     the remainder of the term of the Lease, the Base Minimum Rent as provided
     for in Article 3.A. of the Lease as modified by Article 2 of this Agreement
     shall be subject to adjustment as follows: The basis for computing the
     adjustment is the CPI-All Urban Consumers for the United States (1982-84 =
     100), published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
     Statistics ("Index"). If the Index published for the month which is four
     months prior to the adjustment date ("Adjustment Index") has increased over
     the Index one (1) year prior to the date of the Adjustment Index
     ("Beginning Index"), the Base Minimum Rent for the year commencing on the
     adjustment date shall be set by multiplying the Base Minimum Rent payable
     in the month prior to the adjustment date by the product obtained by
     multiplying twenty (20) times a fraction, the numerator of which is the
     Adjustment Index and the denominator of which is the Beginning Index. For
     the purpose of determining the change in the Index during any year, the
     change in the Index for any given month during the year shall never be
     deemed to be less than zero. As an example, should the Index of a
     particular month decrease from the Index of the prior month during each of
     seven (7) months of a year and should the Index increase during each of
     five (5) months of the same year, only the aggregate total of the months
     during which the Index increased shall be used in determining the increase
     in the Index for that year. In no event, shall the adjusted Base Minimum
     Rent be less than the Base Minimum Rent in effect immediately preceding any
     adjustment or shall it be more than Two Hundred Fifty and 00/100 ($250.00)
     Dollars more than the Base Minimum Rent in effect immediately preceding any
     adjustment. If the Index is discontinued or revised during the term of this
     Lease, Landlord shall adopt a substitute index or procedure that reasonably
     reflects increases in consumer prices.

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4.   Landlord shall have the right to terminate the Lease providing Landlord has
     notified Tenant in writing of Landlord's intent to terminate at least six
     (6) months prior to the date which Landlord intends to terminate the Lease.
     Landlord shall not have the right to terminate the Lease unless (a)
     Landlord shall have a fully executed lease with a tenant ("Replacement
     Tenant") for all or a portion of the space located at 9689 North Hayden
     Road, Scottsdale, Arizona ("Anchor Tenant Space") and (b) in the sole
     discretion of Landlord or of the Replacement Tenant, the Replacement Tenant
     requires all or a portion of the area which now comprises the Demised
     Premises to create an economically or physically feasible facility.

     Landlord's right to terminate the Lease as provided for in this Article 4
     shall become null and void in the event that Landlord and the Replacement
     Tenant execute a lease for either all of the Anchor Tenant Space or for the
     southern portion of the Anchor Tenant Space and the Replacement Tenant does
     not require any portion of the area which now comprises the Demised
     Premises.

5.   Landlord and Tenant acknowledge that ZELL Commercial Real Estate Services,
     Inc. ("ZELL") has been the only real estate broker involved in this
     Agreement and Landlord and Tenant have no objection that ZELL has acted as
     the agent for Landlord.

6.   Landlord and Tenant agree that as of the date of this Agreement, Landlord
     and Tenant have fully performed all of their obligations under the Lease,
     and that the Landlord and Tenant possess no defenses or right of deduction
     or setoff to the enforcement of the terms, covenants or conditions of the
     Lease.

7.   Except as modified by this Agreement, the Lease shall remain unchanged and
     in full force and effect.

8.   Should there be any conflicts between the term and conditions of this
     Agreement and the Lease, this Agreement shall prevail.

         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have set their hands as of the
day and year first above written.

WITNESS:                           Childtime Childcare, Inc., an Illinois
                                   corporation (Tenant)

/s/ Myra B. Hall              By: /s/ Harold A. Lewis
---------------------             --------------------------------------

                              Its: President and Chief Executive Officer
                                   -------------------------------------

WITNESS:                           Murray Income Properties I, Ltd., a Texas
                                   limited partnership (Landlord)

                                   By: Murray Realty Investors VIII, Inc., a
                                   Texas corporation, its general partner

                              By: /s/ Brent Buck
---------------------             --------------------------------------

                              Its: Executive Vice President
                                   -------------------------------------

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                                                                     EXHIBIT 10c

                              TERMINATION OF LEASE

         THIS TERMINATION OF LEASE (this "Agreement") is made this 11th day of
February, 2000 between TOWER PLACE JOINT VENTURE, a joint venture and successor
in interest to Crow-Charlotte Retail #2, Ltd. ("Landlord"), and GENERAL CINEMA
CORP. OF NORTH CAROLINA ("Tenant").

                              Background Statement

         A. Crow-Charlotte Retail #2, Ltd., predecessor in interest to Landlord,
and Tenant entered into that certain Theatre Lease dated July 23, 1985 ("Lease")
covering certain premises located in Charlotte, North Carolina and described
more particularly therein (Premises"). Landlord has succeeded to the interest of
Crow-Charlotte Retail #2, Ltd. with respect to the Premises and the Lease.

         B. Landlord and Tenant have agreed to terminate the Lease pursuant to
the provisions of this Agreement.

         NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and other good and
valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency is acknowledged, Landlord
and Tenant agree as follows:

         1. PAYMENT. On or before the date five (5) business days after Landlord
shall have executed this Agreement ("Payment Date"), Tenant shall pay to
Landlord, in immediately available funds by wire transfer the sum of Two Million
Two Hundred Fifty Thousand and no/100 Dollars ($2,250,000) (the "Release
Payment"). The Release Payment shall be wired to the account of Landlord as
follows:

             Account Name:         Tower Place Joint Venture
             Account Number:       08805059654
             Bank Name:            Texas Commerce Bank
             ABA Number:           113000609
             Contact:              Mitchell Armstrong         FAX (972) 991-9086

         Tenant shall be entitled to a credit against the Release Payment for
all base rent, common area maintenance charges and insurance reimbursements paid
in accordance with the Lease with respect to the month of January, 2000.

         2. TERMINATION OF LEASE: Landlord agrees that upon timely receipt of
the Release Payment on the Payment Date, the term of the Lease will be deemed to
have expired as of 11:59 p.m. on the Payment Date and Tenant shall have no
further obligation to Landlord with respect to the Lease or the Premises, other
than those obligations and liabilities which pursuant to the provisions of the
Lease or applicable law would survive the Lease's expiration. Tenant agrees that
on the Effective Date Tenant shall vacate the Premises and surrender exclusive
possession thereof to Landlord in full compliance with all provisions of the
Lease.

         3. ADDITION PRO-RATA AMOUNTS. Tenant shall remain responsible for all
charges accruing under the Lease through the Effective Date including but not
limited to common area maintenance charges, common area maintenance
reconciliation amounts, base rent, and Tenant's pro-rata share of 1999 property
taxes, which pro-rata share of taxes equals the amount of Twenty Eight Thousand
Seven Hundred Nineteen and 54/100 Dollars ($28,719.54). No amounts paid by
Tenant to Landlord under this Section shall reduce the Release Payment except as
expressly provided in Section 1.

         4. ACCESS TO PREMISES. Tenant agrees that notwithstanding the
provisions of the Lease to the contrary Landlord shall have access to the
Premises to show the property to prospective tenants.

         5. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES. Landlord and Tenant hereby represent
and warrant unto the other that (a) the execution, delivery and performance of
this Agreement has been duly authorized by each party, respectively; and (b)
Landlord and Tenant are the "Landlord" and "Tenant" respectively, under the
Lease, and that no assignment of each of their respective interest have been
made.

         6. RELEASE. (a) Upon timely performance by Tenant of all of its
obligations under this Agreement and all obligations accruing under the Lease on
or before December 31, 1999, Landlord shall release and forever discharge Tenant
and its officers, directors, shareholders, partners, agents, employees,
predecessors, successors and assigns, including but not limited to Harcourt
General, Inc. (formerly known as General Cinema Corporation), from all claims,
contracts, liabilities, obligations or causes of action of any kind, whether
known or unknown, fixed or contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, whether
sounding in contract or tort, including but not limited to, all claims arising
out of or existing in connection with the occupancy of the Premises or the
execution of the Lease or any of the terms or provisions thereof, except for
Tenant's obligations pursuant to this Agreement, provided, however, that this
release shall not cover any rights of Landlord which by their nature would have
survived the expiration or early termination of the Lease, all of which are
specifically reserved by Landlord.

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         (b) Tenant hereby releases and forever discharges Landlord and its
officers, directors, shareholders, partners, members, managers, agents,
employees, predecessors, successors and assigns from all claims, contracts,
liabilities, obligations or causes of action of any kind, whether known or
unknown, fixed or contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, whether sounding in
contract or tort, including but not limited to, all claims arising out of or
existing in connection with the occupancy of the Premises or the execution of
the Lease or any of the terms or provisions thereof, except for Landlord's
obligations pursuant to this Agreement.

         7. CONFIDENTIALITY. Tenant shall not at any time or in any manner,
either directly or indirectly, disclose, divulge, communicate or otherwise
reveal or allow to be revealed to any third party the terms, substance or
content of this Agreement or the terms, substance or content of any
communications, whether written or oral, concerning the negotiation, execution
or implementation of this Agreement.

         8. BROKERAGE COMMISSIONS. Landlord hereby indemnifies and holds Tenant
from all loss, claim, obligation, liability, damage, expense, actions and
demands of every kind or nature, including without limitation reasonable
attorneys' fees, relating to any brokerage commissions which may now or
hereafter be claimed with respect to the Lease or a replacement tenant leasing
the Premises.

         9. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be enforced and interpreted
according to the laws of the State of North Carolina excluding any choice of law
rule which would direct the application of the law of any other state.

         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Landlord and Tenant have caused this Agreement to
be executed as of the day and year first above written.

                                   TENANT:

Date of Signature by Tenant:
                                   GENERAL CINEMA CORP. OF NORTH CAROLINA
January 13, 2000

                                   By:   /s/ Frank Stryjewski
                                      ------------------------------------------
                                   Its:  President

                                   LANDLORD:
Date of Signature by Landlord:
                                   TOWER PLACE JOINT VENTURE, a joint venture
February 11, 2000
                                   By:  Murray Income Properties I, Ltd., a
                                        Texas limited partnership, a Joint
                                        Venture

                                        By: Murray Realty Investors VIII, Inc.
                                            a Texas corporation, General Partner

                                            By:     /s/ Brent Buck
                                               ---------------------------------
                                            Title:  Executive VP

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