New child care facilities under development for Freeport and South Portland

a building at 236 Gannett Drive, South Portland

PHOTO / COURTESY THE DUNHAM GROUP United 4 Childcare has signed a lease on 8,000 square feet at 236 Gannett Drive in South Portland, for a future childcare center.

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By Tina Fischer

United 4 Childcare, a nonprofit partner with United Way of Southern Maine, is in the early stages of orchestrating opportunities for two new affordable childcare facilities in Cumberland County.

The organization recently signed leases on two buildings, at 2 Stonewood Drive in Freeport, for 11,790 square feet; and at 236 Gannett Drive in South Portland, for 8,000 square feet.

Both transactions were managed by Jim Harnden and Sam LeGeyt with the Dunham Group.

Josh Waxman, senior vice president for community impact at the United Way chapter, told Mainebiz that the projects came out of conversations with the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, in an effort, “to think innovatively about how to address the child care crisis in southern Maine.”

The two nonprofits convened local community partners and businesses in 2023 to develop solutions and that effort led to the launch of United 4 Child Care.

Waxman stressed that the two projects are working through regulatory requirements, potential partnerships with private entities and local governments — and funding.

“It’s very expensive to run a child care facility and it’s high-risk in terms of safety,” Waxman said, “especially with rising costs for construction, tariffs and interest rates."

Such an effort will require "a cross-section of partnerships."

United Way research shows more than a third of southern Maine households, 37%, are living paycheck to paycheck. Lack of child care is the primary barrier to employment for 85% of households where at least one adult is not working.

"United 4 Child Care’s long-term vision is to help build a stronger child care ecosystem by supporting the workforce, offering operational and technical assistance to child care providers, and increasing access to affordable care across southern Maine," Waxman said.