The City of Cranbrook has amended its Five-Year Financial Plan to include a new 123-space childcare facility, following the approval of more than $13.5 million in provincial and federal funding.
At a council meeting on Monday night (Oct. 6), council voted to update the 2025–2029 plan to reflect the new grant under the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund, which will cover the cost of all stages of construction.
Construction is expected to begin in spring 2026, with the facility expected to open in 2028.
The facility will be located next to Western Financial Place, after the province approved a location change from the original site at Gyro Park.
“I’m very pleased to report that the Province of B.C. has approved our B.C. ChildCare New Spaces Grant application to construct a childcare facility in the amount of $13,552,187 to be exact,” said the presenter during Monday’s meeting. “This facility will create 123 new daycare spaces in Cranbrook.”
Public feedback prompted the location change.
“Due to community feedback, we conducted a public survey and asked people to choose between Gyro Park and Balment Park,” the presenter said.
“The results showed that 54 per cent of the respondents preferred Balment Park. So with this information, we wrote to the province requesting a location change for the facility, and that request was approved as well.”
The grant will be paid in three instalments:
- $5.42 million in 2025
- $6.77 million in 2026
- $1.36 million in 2028
During the discussion, Mayor Wayne Price thanked city staff for their efforts in securing the funding.
“Thanks for the report–again, for all your hard work. If it wasn’t for you, it’s highly unlikely this opportunity would have happened,” said Price.
“Thank you so much again.”
Council approved the motion unanimously.
You can read the original story about the grant here.
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