More than 100 kids will be attending a future child-care centre in the Moody Park neighbourhood.
Council recently approved a heritage revitalization agreement and an official community plan amendment that allow a new four-storey building to be built adjacent to Shiloh Church at 1111 Sixth Ave. The new building will provide room for 114 childcare spaces, a four-bedroom caretaker suite and 117 square metres (1,262 square feet) of retail space on the ground level facing Sixth Avenue.
A staff report said the existing annex building and “other unsympathetic changes to the church” will be demolished or removed and the church will be restored as outlined in a conservation plan.
Wisdom Forest Early Learning Centre, a for-profit child-care centre, owns the building and the church.
The project will include 16 parking spaces, including 11 in an underground parkade that’s accessed by the back lane.
In order to reduce the impact of vehicles on the lane, which is shared with homes on Nanaimo Street, it’s proposed that parents drop off and pick up their kids on Sixth Avenue.
Area residents who spoke at the recent public hearing expressed support for the project, but voiced concern about traffic in the lane.
“There’s a lot of young children that live in the neighbourhood and play in the alley because it’s such a wide alley. My main concern is the impact of these cars coming up and down the alley,” said one neighbour. “I am glad to hear speed bumps are included – that is wonderful. The concern is on Sunday when church is in service there is parking on both side of the alley. Some days it is incredibly difficult to get through the alleyway.”
Coun. Jaimie McEvoy said the city will have to watch and see if traffic enforcement is needed. He believes it’s a good project for parents and community members.
“There is a very derelict building that is going to be replaced. I think a lot of people will be glad that the church building will be preserved,” he said. “It is a fairly major heritage project. It is a significant child-care project. I think it’s actually a pretty good project in terms of neighbourhood scale.”
