The City of Cranbrook has hired a consultant to help prepare an application to the provincial government for developing more childcare spaces.
Cover Architecture Collaborative, out of Nelson, was brought on board following a public request for proposal (RFP) to pursue grant funding from the ChildcareBC New Spaces Fund, which create new licensed childcare, helping families access affordable, quality, and inclusive childcare.
The effort follows meetings last fall where Cranbrook city council directed staff to engage with a consultant to prepare an application to the BC Childcare New Spaces Fund.
According to Chief Administrative Officer Mark Fercho, Cover Architecture Collaborative has submitted successful applications for other clients in the past.
Three key goals need to be met in order to submit the grant application to the province by the end of June, which include site selection, design, and the preparation and submission of the actual documentation to the Ministry of Education and Childcare.
Site selection involves reviewing current childcare capacity supplied and needed for the future in Cranbrook, along with current locations to determine potential priority areas of need. That, in turn, can assist with identifying an ideal location (or locations) for a future childcare centre, which could shed some light on the types and number of childcare spaces that would support those priority areas.
For the design element, the goal is to draft site and building plans to enough detail that would include architectural, structural, mechanical, landscape and civil estimates.
A successful grant application to the province would cover 100 per cent of costs, according to Fercho.
Last fall, the city gathered expressions of interest from childcare providers interested in building and operating a new daycare, in Cranbrook, which will be used to help inform and develop the consultant’s application.