Developers broke ground Friday on a 12,500-square-foot child care center at 121 The Parkway in Greenville, a facility slated to open in spring 2027 and serve more than 200 children ranging from six weeks to 12 years old. The new Kiddie Academy of Greenville will be operated by the Collins family, with Ashley Collins serving as co-owner of the location.
According to Greenville Journal, Collins said the surrounding area is packed with families and large nearby employers, yet parents there have struggled to find child care. That difficulty tracks with county-wide numbers: more than 4,000 children in Greenville County were on waiting lists, with wait times stretching between one and two years, as reported by the Greenville Journal in August 2025.
The academy is the latest piece of a seven-acre mixed-use development along The Parkway built out by Pinnacle Partnership, a Spartanburg-based hospitality and development company. The site is anchored by the DoubleTree by Hilton Greenville Airport, which the firm opened in March 2026, and the broader project also includes a future retail tenant still to be announced fronting The Parkway.
A Former Michelin Office Becomes a Hotel Anchor
The DoubleTree itself has an unusual backstory. Per the Post and Courier, Pinnacle converted a 127,000-square-foot corporate office building originally constructed for a Michelin North American campus extension into the hotel. Sachin Shanbhag, managing partner of Pinnacle Partnership, said the child care investment supports families, employers and the broader community amid the Upstate's continued growth, according to the Greenville Journal.
Pemberton Data Solutions reported that the company pulled a $3.65 million commercial new-construction building permit for the 121 The Parkway site in August 2026, adding a concrete valuation and timeline to the project. Pinnacle also expanded its leadership team, promoting 24-year company veteran Jason Price to chief operating officer, the firm said. Pinnacle manages several other Upstate hotel and commercial properties, including the nearby Holiday Inn Express on Woodruff Road.
Staffing Shortages Could Limit How Many Kids Get Served
Adding square footage is only part of the equation. A September 2025 survey by Greenville First Steps found that 40% of providers in Greenville County lacked enough staff to serve the maximum number of children they could enroll, with classroom teachers earning an average of $15.28 per hour, according to the Greenville Journal. Low wages remain a primary driver of high turnover across Upstate early education centers, the outlet noted, meaning a new building alone may not guarantee the 200-plus slots in Greenville ever reach full enrollment.
The stakes extend beyond individual families. A joint study released at a press conference in the week before August 25, 2025, by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the S.C. Department of Social Services estimated that insufficient child care availability costs the state economy nearly $1 billion annually in lost productivity and tax revenue, according to the S.C. Chamber of Commerce. That study drew on a survey of 500 parents of children under six.
What the Life Essentials Curriculum Brings to Greenville
Founded in Maryland in 1981, Kiddie Academy now operates more than 345 locations nationwide and uses a proprietary Life Essentials curriculum designed for children aged six weeks through 12 years, according to 1851 Franchise. The curriculum centers on six core development outcomes — character, confidence, curiosity, connection, critical thinking and creative expression — and incorporates STEM, language and social-emotional growth, per Kiddie Academy. Mature Kiddie Academy franchise locations open at least 24 months generated an average of $2,193,815 in annual gross revenue during 2025, with average gross profit across reporting academies reaching $534,330, the same franchise disclosure data shows.
