The 11,000-square-foot facility, to be called United 4 Child Care, will open at 2 Stonewood Drive. The United Way of Southern Maine collaborated with the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce to create the new center.
A new child care center will open this summer in Freeport, with capacity for close to 100 children ages six weeks to five years old.
The 11,000-square-foot facility, to be called United 4 Child Care, will open at 2 Stonewood Drive. The United Way of Southern Maine collaborated with the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce to create the new center.
This is the second of several child care facilities the organization plans to create. The first opened in April at 236 Gannett Drive in South Portland.
Meeting a need for affordable care
Dan Coyne, president and CEO of United Way of Southern Maine, said the nonprofit aims to create 400 child care slots in southern Maine over the next five years, with an emphasis on serving households that are "asset limited, income constrained and employed," identified by the acronym ALICE.
“Today, 37% of southern Maine households are ALICE,” Coyne said. “Despite working hard, sometimes at multiple jobs, ALICE families live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to afford the basics, including child care.”
In southern Maine, 74% of single moms fall under this designation.
“These challenges are even greater for single parents,” Coyne added.
Enrollment is ongoing
Rebecca Alfredson, senior program director for the United Way of Southern Maine, said the organization is taking enrollments now, through the United 4 Childcare website. She said there's also space for local businesses that are interested in reserving slots for employees.
"It typically takes six to eight months for new child care centers to reach full enrollment. When we first opened the enrollment website, within the first few weeks we had received more than 125 inquiries from partner employers alone," Alfredson said.
Affiliated employers for the United 4 Childcare Centers are L.L.Bean, MaineHealth, Maine Beer Co., Northern Light Mercy Hospital, MEMIC, Colby Co., the town of Freeport and Zachau Construction.
Growing Learners, which operates four other child care centers in Greater Portland, will run both centers.
Work on Freeport center
Zachau Construction is handling renovations on the Freeport site. The firm's offices are in the same building and it has been involved with the initiative since its early planning stages.
The company’s special projects division served as the general contractor for the new center, installing new bathrooms, classroom sinks, modifications to mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and sprinkler systems, as well as new walls, finishes and other features designed specifically for a childcare environment.
"Projects like this go beyond construction,” Charlie Zachau, director of special projects, told Mainebiz. “From the beginning, we recognized the need for additional childcare options in our region and wanted to be part of creating a solution .... Quality childcare is essential to supporting working families, strengthening our local workforce, and helping communities thrive."
A ribbon cutting for the new site will be held Tuesday, July 14.
