Elm Park Early Learning Center (Center) is a 5,500-square-foot, four-classroom building,
with a 2,250-square-foot outdoor playground, located at 1001 Greenwood Street in
Florence, Oregon. Two classrooms are operated by Head Start of Lane County (HSOLC) under
a long-term lease. One classroom offers Head Start programming for pre-school children (3-5),
and the other offers Early Head Start programming for younger children. one-bed
The other two classrooms (Community Rooms) are leased to Siuslaw Childcare Friends (SCF)
under a long-term lease. SCF has subleased its classrooms to Stepping Stones Center for Early
Learning LLC (Stepping Stones). Stepping Stones serves up to 18 infants and toddlers (no more
than 8 infants) in one classroom and up to 20 preschool children in the other. Stepping Stones
operates from 7:30 to 5:30 every day, year-round.
The total development cost was $4,250,000. The Center received $2,750,000 in grant funding
from the state of Oregon: $2,000,000 under the Childcare Infrastructure program and $750,000
under the BuildUp Oregon program for the co-location of childcare facilities with affordable
rental housing. Private foundations provided $450,000 in funding. Our Coastal Village, Inc.
provided a $900,000 bridge loan to a Head Start grant applied for by HSOLC.
Construction began on December 1, 2025, and was completed on July 29, 2026. Childcare
operations began on September 8, 2026.
The Center was designed by Pivot Architecture of Eugene and built by Bunch Construction, Inc.
of Vancouver, Washington.
SCF is the steward of the Community Rooms and has programs to develop the local early
learning workforce and provide childcare financial aid to lower-income families who cannot
afford the full tuition for the Stepping Stones programs.
Elm Park Early Learning Center:
