The long-stalled Unicorn Childcare Centre in Tadanac is moving ahead again, but it will have fewer spaces than originally envisioned.
The project was proposed following a 2018 feasibility study, but not formally announced as a go until May 2021. A few months later, Teck announced it would transfer land for the project at the north end of Kootenay Avenue. The facility was originally supposed to open in September 2022.
However, the City of Trail says the project fell victim to challenges in finding a non-profit operator, which was a requirement to receive provincial funding, as well as higher construction costs driven by inflation and market volatility.
The city announced today that work is finally poised to begin in earnest, with construction to be completed by spring of 2027.
“This project has been years in the making,” mayor Colleen Jones said in a news release. “We’re thrilled to see it come to life and to know that families in our region will soon have access to the kind of childcare that meets their real-world needs.”
The centre will be managed by Kootenay Family Place, a local non-profit childcare agency.
“This is a passion project for us,” executive director Gent Harrison said in the release. “We see the importance of childcare every day, and we cannot wait to operate this innovative new childcare centre.”
The centre is expected to have 44 licensed spaces, including 12 infant/todder spots and two separate rooms for children ages three to five. Originally the project was to have 65 full-time spaces but the city says a “significant escalation in construction costs” after the pandemic forced a reduction.
The original plan also called for operating hours of 4:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, year-round. The city says the facility will open with more limited hours before gradually expanding to its full extended-hour model.
In addition to the land donated by Teck, the project is receiving over $2.45 million from a BC government childcare fund and $50,000 from the Columbia Basin Trust, previously announced, as well as another $733,000 from the Union of BC Municipalities.
The city says the name Unicorn “originated as a lighthearted reference to the rarity and ambition of extended-hour childcare.”
