The Edmonton Avenue child care centre has hit the lock-up stage – when all of the windows and doors are installed and the building can be locked – bringing the new facility another step closer to opening.
The new 7,500 square foot stand-alone facility is located in Kiwanis Park. It features six child care rooms, kitchen equipment, office spaces, and storage rooms. It will be the new home of 116 child care spaces.
“This unique child care centre located in the beautiful Kiwanis Park will support Penticton families and children for decades to come,” says Mayor John Vassilaki. “We have heard from businesses across Penticton that child care is a huge challenge for their employees. 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, 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 and Union of BC Municipalities are providing the majority of the capital funding.
“Congratulations to the City of Penticton for achieving this important milestone bringing the community one step closer to the opening of this new child care facility that will have more than 100 child care spaces for local families,” said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care. “This child care facility is one of many projects underway throughout B.C thanks to our ChildCareBC plan to build a future where affordable, quality and inclusive child care is a core services families can rely on.”
The new centre is expected to open in November 2022. 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. 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 the spring. New landscaping will include new 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.
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