Staff Writer

 Three businesses are bringing new life to an area that has sat vacant for the past three years.

A dollar store, day care center and adventure course all will open full time for business within the next month at the corner of Route 1 and Cascade Road in Saco. The Cascade Flea Market has been the only activity at that corner since the Cascades Restaurant was torn down and a retail building constructed in its place two years ago.

Lisa Gillis of Old Orchard Beach said Dollar 123+ will open by July 4. The independently owned dollar store will sell items for $1 or slightly more in a 5,000-square-foot space at the center of the three-unit building.

Gillis said the store will feature a variety of products, including a large craft section. She said there seems to be demand for that type of store from both residents and tourists.

“Dollar stores are the only ones making money right now,” Gillis said. “Everybody’s hurting, so everybody is looking to stretch that dollar.”

Gillis said the location is ideal for businesses and hopes a restaurant will open in the building’s vacant space. The area is heavily traveled by people headed to Old Orchard Beach; about 22,000 cars a day pass through the intersection, she said.

Since work began to custom fit the building for tenants a few weeks ago, people have stopped by to ask what types of businesses are opening, Gillis said. She said people seem excited to see activity in the area.

“I think it’s exciting there’s finally something happening in this location,” she said.

Stacey Case plans to move her business, Discovery Place Childcare and Preschool, from her Saco home to the Route 1 building. She said the move will allow her to expand her program from 12 to 40 spots and hire five new employees.

“I love the building. It’s brand new and a lot of people drive by,” she said. “It was important for me to stay in the area. That seemed like the most reasonable location for me.”

Case said her 2,200-square-foot unit will have a full kitchen, three classrooms and 2,000-square-foot outside play area surrounded by a 6-foot privacy fence. She plans to open after the July 4 weekend.

Like Gillis, Case said she is excited to move to a location that has been empty for two years.

“It’s been sitting there for a while and it’s good to see stuff going in there,” she said. “I think it will be good for Saco to have something right on that main drag not sitting vacant.”

Hazel Ives, an owner and general manager of Monkey Trunks, said the 48-challenge high ropes and zipline adventure course opened for weekends May 28. The business will be open daily for the summer beginning June 25.

Monkey Trunks has a location in Chocurua, N.H., and a third location is under construction in Weirs Beach, N.H.

Ives said the company considered a location in Saco after it received suggestions from several course participants. She said they wanted to expand to a high-traffic area.

“We know that works for us,” she said. “We’ve been told that location on Cascade Road is where everyone heads down to the beach.”

Ives said the Chocurua location is also on a main road that leads to a tourist destination. Monkey Trunks was one of the first businesses in an area that is now thriving and hopes the same will be true on Cascade Road, she said.

“I think it’s exciting because we feel we’re at the forefront of that developing area,” she said. “We’re hoping other people come in around us and offer complementary things for our participants.”