The Edmonton Avenue child care centre in Penticton is one step closer to opening.
The centre, located in Kiwanis Park and near the Safety Village, is now in lock-up stage – when all of the windows and doors have been installed and the building can be locked.
The 7,500 square-foot stand-alone facility has been a much-needed facility in Penticton that is already full and taking names for their waiting list.
It will feature six child care rooms, kitchen equipment, office spaces, and storage rooms. It will be the home of 116 child care spaces. The new centre is expected to open in November 2022.
“We have heard from businesses across Penticton that child care is a huge challenge for their employees,” said Penticton Mayor John Vassilaki. “This important partnership will help deliver more child care options in our community to benefit both local businesses and families.”
The $2.95 million project is a partnership between the City of Penticton, OneSky Community Resources, the Province of British Columbia, and Union of BC Municipalities.
The city is providing a 60-year lease and access to the park. OneSky will operate and maintain the centre, and the province is providing the majority of the capital funding.
Between now and the grand opening, the exterior of the building will be installed and the remainder of the inside will be finished, painted, and then cleaned to be ready for the arrival of the new families this November.
Parents/guardians can obtain more information about being on the waitlist from OneSky Community Resources by emailing childcare.waitlist@oneskycommunity.com. This will be OneSky’s fifth child care facility in Penticton.
Final landscaping in Kiwanis Park will be completed in spring 2023. New landscaping will include grass steps that provide new seating for fans watching baseball, improved irrigation infrastructure for Kiwanis Park, additional trees, and additional outside amenities for the child care centre. The child care program will use parts of Kiwanis Park for outdoor play when not in use by other groups.
Expanded child care centre in the works at Community Centre
Meanwhile, an additional child care centre is coming into fruition at the Penticton Community Centre.
The first steps have been taken in the development of a facility, expanding on the existing Bugaboo University within the city’s community centre at 325 Power Street.
Council voted in favour of establishing a partnership with the YMCA of the Southern Interior of BC to move forward with the plan’s next steps which include finalizing a design, determining construction costs and submitting grant applications to the provincial government.
The centre would contribute to Penticton’s Child Care Action Plan, targeting a total of 722 new childcare spaces in the city by 2030.
READ MORE: Penticton looks to construct childcare facility within city’s community centre