Port Moody announces $2.9-million child care facility for College Park and Seaview neighbourhoods

Port Moody has announced a new child care facility will be built for residents in the College Park and Seaview neighbourhoods.

The $2.9-million project will add a total of 37 licensed child care spaces on the second floor of the Westhill Centre building (203 Westhill Pl.).

Dubbed the Westhill Child Care Centre, the facility will be able to serve a dozen infants/toddlers (under 30-months-old), and 25 children three-to-five-years-old. It will be operated independently by the YMCA.

“We are excited to announce new child care spaces in an area of Port Moody that is currently underserved,” said Mayor Meghan Lahti. “High-quality, accessible child care services are critical for families, and important for healthy child development as well as Port Moody’s economy. 

“The city will continue to work with the B.C. government and community partners to help improve access to child care spaces in Port Moody.”

Nearly $1.5 million in funding for the project came through the province’s ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund, which is supported by federal funding under the Early Learning and Child Care Agreement with B.C.

The fund provides up to $40,000 in funds for each child care space created, and the city plans to create a 2,900 square foot facility.

B.C. Minister of State for Child Care Mitzi Dean said the province’s collaborative approach will bring more access to “affordable, quality, inclusive” spaces.

“More families in Port Moody will have assurance that their children are in a supportive environment that encourages early learning,” Dean said. “We know how much it can change families’ lives.”

Approximately $1.2 million in total is being funded by the municipality, approximately $632,000 over budget.

On March 12, the city released details of the project from a closed council meeting from April, 2023, which requested additional funds to be sourced from the Growing Communities Fund.

The city had its funding through the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund approved in 2022, and initially only had to contribute around $521,000 to cover project contingency and soft costs.

That budget was based on a feasibility study conducted in 2020, which determined the cost to convert the space into a childcare facility.

However, the city decided to revamp other aspects of the Westhill Centre building, which was built in 1975, and folded several capital projects together.

Currently, the centre’s bottom floor contains a pool facility, while the upper floor contains an under-used youth centre and a caretaker suite. In order to maximize space, the entire second floor needed to be altered, according to the staff report.

Aside from the daycare conversion, Westhill Centre also needed a roof replacement, concrete walkway and stairs upgrade, and a pool disinfection conversion. An area north of Westhill Centre’s entrance will be also converted into a dedicated outdoor playground space.

The cost estimate of the project came in around $932,000 over budget, but design changes cut that figure down by more than $300,000.

Staff said that construction price escalation since 2020 likely contributed to the budget shortfall, but approximately $200,000 was the result of the expanded scope of the project.

The city stated they expect construction of the new facility to be complete by August, 2024. As construction of the walkway and conversion of the pool’s disinfection system will affect pool operations, the pool will be closed until early April.