VANCOUVER – Construction is underway on two rooftop structures that will provide 74 childcare spaces.
The two developments will be built on rooftop parkades in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood to extend childcare options for the city’s downtown and Downtown Eastside areas. The City of Vancouver will own and maintain the two centres and YMCA of Greater Vancouver will be the non-profit operator.
“Due to the increased shortage of viable childcare sites in the downtown Vancouver area, we need to capitalize on existing city-owned land and infrastructure to provide new facilities for children to learn and play,” Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart said.
“The creation of child care facilities on these two Gastown parkade rooftops is a great example of how the City and Province are collaborating to take an innovative approach to increasing access to childcare spaces for Vancouver families,” he added.
“Having access to quality child care helps kids thrive. These new spaces in Downtown Vancouver are a first step to giving more families access to quality early learning environments in their communities and there’s thousands more to come as we continue to work with the City to put more kids on the path to success, now and into the future,” MLA Spencer Chandra-Herbert said on behalf of Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care.
Construction of the two centres will cost an estimated $17 million funded through Community Amenity Contributions (CACs) from developers such as Bosa Development and Westbank and a $1 million Major Capital Grant from the Province of BC and the Union of BC Municipalities. The parkade location was made possible through the City of Vancouver’s Property Endowment Fund.
The two single-storey centres, located at 150 and 151 Water St, will have combined areas of approximately 10,000 sq. ft of indoor space and 11,000 sq. ft of outdoor space and will provide 37 childcare spaces each. They will be connected by pathways and a footbridge.
The centres are designed to achieve LEED Gold certification and Passive House Standard Certification with a focus on net zero energy and low carbon systems. Photovoltaic panels will be incorporated into the structures.
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