High=Profile: May 2026 | Page 31

May 2026 31

Education

Wright-Ryan Construction Celebrates Ribbon Cutting of Child Care Center

Ribbon-cutting ceremony / Photos by Garrick Hoffman Photography, courtesy of United Way of Southern Maine
South Portland, ME – Wright-Ryan Construction recently joined United 4 Child Care( U4CC), United Way of Southern Maine, and other project partners to celebrate the ribbon cutting of a new childcare center at 236 Gannett Drive in South Portland, the first facility to open under the U4CC model.
Serving as construction manager, Wright-Ryan played a central role in delivering the approximately 100-child facility designed to support infants and young children and that prioritizes safety, accessibility, and early childhood development. The facility was delivered
through close coordination with project partners, including Colby Co. Engineering, alongside a broader team of designers, tradespeople, and community stakeholders.
“ This ribbon cutting represents more than the completion of a building – it reflects what’ s possible when missiondriven organizations and industry partners come together around a shared purpose,” said Matt Ricard, integrated PM / foreman with Wright-Ryan’ s Commercial Select Projects Group.
Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maine faced a significant
shortage of available childcare. In response, United Way of Southern Maine and the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce convened employers, community leaders, and service providers in 2023 to collaboratively develop a new approach. That effort led to the creation of U4CC, a nonprofit that is advancing a scalable, public-private partnership model to expand access and affordability.
The South Portland center represents the first facility developed under U4CC’ s long-term strategy to expand access to affordable, high-quality childcare across the region. Half of those slots are
intended to serve ALICE households – families who are asset-limited, incomeconstrained, and employed, yet continue to struggle to meet basic needs such as childcare.
“ Access to reliable childcare is foundational to family stability and a thriving workforce,” said Dan Coyne, president and CEO of United Way of Southern Maine.“ This new center is exactly the kind of innovative, cross-sector solution our community needs— one that supports ALICE families, strengthens employers, and delivers long-term impact across Southern Maine.”

Jones Architecture Completes Training Center for NE College of Optometry

New England College of Optometry’ s Clinical Training Center
Boston— Jones Architecture recently partnered with the New England College of Optometry( NECO) to relocate its Clinical Training Center from an off-site leased facility on Commonwealth Avenue to the college’ s historic Beacon Street campus in Boston’ s Back Bay, aligning academic instruction more closely with hands-on clinical training.
Housed within NECO’ s collection of four interconnected brownstones, representatives of Jones Architecture say the project reflects a strategic effort to better utilize existing campus assets while enhancing the student learning experience. The Clinical Training Center plays a critical role in preparing students for real-world optometric practice. The newly integrated space combines classroom-based learning with simulated clinical environments, allowing students to immediately apply coursework in a hands-on setting.
At the core of the design is a hybrid teaching model: a flexible classroom for lecture and group work paired with a series of mock exam-room bays that replicate a typical clinical eye exam environment. An advanced audiovisual system connects the spaces, enabling instructors to observe student techniques in real time and share live demonstrations across multiple stations.
The relocation presented a unique design challenge: adapting highly technical clinical training functions within the constraints of historic brownstone buildings. Jones Architecture approached the project with a focus on
Classroom
flexibility, integration, and preserving the character of the existing structures while meeting the evolving pedagogical needs of the institution.
“ Jones Architecture was a fit for our project from the very start,” said Shawne K. Gillies, CFM, director of facilities & campus planning at NECO.“ They brought a perfect mix of creativity and passion, balanced with a calm, measured approach. They met every deadline, were exceptionally professional, and were truly a pleasure to work with.”
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