Nearly five years and two million dollars later, Maria LaPorta's vision of a state-of-the-art day care center in Wareham is one step closer to reality.

Construction began last month and, this week, workers began installing the roof on the building that will soon be the Best Friends Learning Center at 237 Sandwich Road.

"I'm not one to quit. Whenever I have a thought in my head I have to go through with it," said LaPorta, who bought the 4.24 acre property back in 2008, but was stalled due to the recession and regulations on historic buildings on the property.

"It's been a process. Once we were ready, the economy went downhill," she said.

But now, with her funding secure and construction started, she hopes to open by late August or September.

LaPorta, who runs the current Best Friends Preschool on Windsor Drive, said she started out in 1990 with six children. She now has 105 schoolchildren and employees 12 teachers.

"I'm dedicated to what I do," said LaPorta.

With the opening of her new center, LaPorta plans to take her service to the next level. For starters, she is looking to hire 25 new teachers and thinks she will likely have about 165 children in the new center.

LaPorta will be offering infant care for the first time, and will take care of toddlers, run a full-day preschool program, and include before and after school activities for kids up to 12 years old.

The Center will be the first preschool in the state to have an indoor playground, according to LaPorta. Other aspects that set her apart are her 6 a.m. start time and webcams that will be installed in the infant rooms so parents, especially first-time parents, can monitor their children if they so choose.

"We want to have a place where parents are comfortable and let them know their kids are safe and happy," she said. "We want to have the wow effect with parents."

With the project up and running, LaPorta is accepting job applications and child pre-registration on her website at bestfriendsprek.com.

"I've been working on it for 5 years. Can't wait until the first day to see the look on his kids faces," she said.