YWCA NWT is looking to build a new daycare out of donated modular units in downtown Yellowknife. Their goal is to open the new early learning and childcare facility by the end of March next year
With each daycare in the city generally having “at least 50 people” on their waitlist at any given time, parents and guardians currently face a collective waitlist going “well into the hundreds,” said Sarah, a co-ordinator with YWCA’s after-school program.
“The demand for childcare spaces continues to rise, making it difficult for many women to enter the labour market due to challenges in finding safe, affordable and reliable childcare for their children,” representatives from YCWA noted in a recent announcement.
The initiative has been two years in the making, and the organization said they have faced “several roadblocks, setbacks and delays.”
This fall, the city rejected a previous application by the YWCA to build a daycare in the Niven Lake neighbourhood. The city said that traffic issues were the reason for rejecting the project.
To go forward with this latest project, the YWCA will need a variance of a bylaw in place and a development permit to go forward. Green explained that obtaining the variance of the bylaw permit is where the project is at now.
Hawa Dumbuya-Sesay, who is YWCA NWT ‘s executive director, said that the new facility would have space for 56 children.
Julie Green, who is YWCA NWT’s president, told True North FM that feedback from the community has been very positive, parents and guardians have told her they are “excited” about the possibility of a new daycare in the city. Green said she has heard ongoing concerns from many parents and guardians across Yellowknife who are in need of reliable and safe daycare for their children.
Green and Sesay explained that the YWCA has acquired three lots located between 5106 to 5110 in the heart of the city on 48th Street to use for the new daycare facility. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment helped the YWCA to obtain the five portables free of charge, which were previously used as classrooms.
Green explained that there is a minimum height requirement in the zone for two-story structures. As is, the modules are “not high enough,” so the architects and designers
The portables are one-story and cannot be stacked, so with their application requesting to open a new daycare, and with a development application, they have submitted a bylaw variance application. The modification request would allow them to develop the portables into the early learning and daycare facility.
A facade designed for the front of the portables would make the structure appear to be a two-story and blend with the regulations and aesthetics of the zone, said Green.
The total cost is estimated to be 1.2 million. Green said this would mostly be sourced through the YWCA’s own funds.
If this project gets the green light, the registration process would allocate a certain portion of open spaces to staff members who want to register their children for daycare. “Two rows” would then be offered to children already registered before the general public can register.
The YWCA said the city of Yellowknife is accepting feedback from the community until June 2 regarding the proposed daycare.
Sesay said community members who would like to pledge their support for the project can send a letter of support to the city’s development officer [email protected] and CC her at [email protected]. Councillor Tom McLennan attended the open house yesterday and suggested community members can also CC the city’s planner at [email protected]
