The City of Port Coquitlam has requested a $360,000 grant from the provincial government to add 20 licensed preschool spaces to their new community centre.
Mayor Brad West said he realized how badly the city needed it when he and his wife tried to find daycare for their baby.
“When my wife was about three months away from coming off of her maternity leave we tried to get our son on to daycare, and so many of the daycares said to us, ‘Oh, you really should have got on our wait list as soon as you found out your wife was pregnant.'”
The city has also requested $25,000 for a consultant to help plan more spaces in the coming years.
“We’re seeing a lot of young people move into this community and it’s really important that we have the space to accommodate these families.”
There are rules that would come along with the grant, including providing licensed pre-school programs for 10 years.
West says that will be no problem.
“We will be looking for partnerships with non-profits who have experience in running child care, to help us fit the needs of these parents.”
The community centre, located south of Wilson Avenue between Mary Hill Road and Kingsway is being built in phases, with the entire project set to be done in 2021.
It is poised to have a leisure pool, three ice sheets, a games room, fitness centre and a cafe.
The city should know if its grant has been approved in the next few months.
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