Construction begins on new Penticton facility following delay as child care shortage worsens

Construction will begin on a long-awaited child care centre in Penticton, B.C., on Nov. 1 as the child care crisis worsens in the South Okanagan city.

Two current structures located at Kiwanis Park will first be demolished to make way for the new 116-space Edmonton Avenue facility, operated by OneSky Community Resources.

“On behalf of City Council, I’m pleased that construction of this much-needed facility is getting underway,” said Penticton mayor John Vassilaki.

He said the need for child care in the city has long exceeded space availability, “leading to challenging circumstances for families and employers. With the opening of this new facility now certain, parents and caregivers across Penticton will have more options than before and increased assurances as a result.”

The licensed child care centre is scheduled to open in Sept. 2022.

“We are excited to collaborate with the City of Penticton to establish a new purpose-built child care centre,” said OneSky executive director Tanya Behardien.

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“The expanded child care spaces will help more families have access to quality, affordable and inclusive child care.”

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The facility is desperately needed as Penticton faces a chronic shortage of licensed child care spaces, particularly for the infant/toddler demographic.

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Some child care centres have been so overwhelmed by the influx of inquiries, they have indefinitely closed their waiting lists.

“We understand that this may be disappointing for many families but we simply cannot keep up with the need and demand,” wrote Kiddie Hall Childcare on Facebook upon closing their waitlist.

“The amount of time it takes away from our children in care is unfair and we need to focus that energy on them not on answering phone calls and emails about the waitlist.”

The facilities and licensed at-home family child care centres still taking names for infant/toddler waitlists report a one to two-year wait for a spot to open up.

Child-care operators say the root of the problem is a lack of qualified staff to fill all the licensed spaces available.

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As for the Edmonton Avenue facility, it was made possible thanks to a $1.95-million capital grant from the provincial government, and the land was donated by the city.

Construction was delayed, however, as the Union of BC Municipalities came on board later in the process, agreeing to contribute $1 million.

The funding contribution pushed the construction schedule back by approximately four months until a master agreement could be reached, the city said.

The location was also considered to be in an active wildfire area due to the Thomas Creek wildfire this summer, causing a delay in obtaining insurance for the project.

In January, city council endorsed the Penticton Child Care Action Plan, which identified a need for at least 722 net new child care spaces in Penticton.

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A public survey revealed that 83 per cent of respondents indicated it’s hard to find child care in Penticton.

Eighty-one per cent of participating child care centres reported a waitlist of at least six months, and businesses indicated the lack of child care is hampering their growth and ability to recruit and retain new employees.