Downtown parents will be delighted to hear about a development proposal in Gastown that will add a new daycare facility and preschool to the top of a large parkade.

Acton Ostry Architects has designed two buildings to go atop the Gastown parkade located at 150 Water Street, and 151 West Cordova Street. The parkade is divided by Trounce Alley.

The spaces will contain 37 full day child care spaces, comprised of 12 spaces for children ages 0 to 3 (toddler) and 25 spaces for children ages 3 to 5 (pre-schooler).

Both of the buildings will have outdoor play areas with acoustic glass screens on the edge of the parkade wall. A pedestrian walkway bridge is proposed to connect the two childcare facilities as the parkade is separated down the middle by Trounce Alley.

A tricycle court for practicing cycling is proposed for the West Cordova Street site.

The facilities will be owned by the City of Vancouver, who will lease them to a non-profit operator. The project will be designed to target a Certified Passive House level of performance.

The parkades were rebuilt by the City of Vancouver after the Woodwards department store closed in 1995. The new design by Henriquez Partners Architects was completed in 2004, and was rated as one of the “coolest” in the world according to a parking industry magazine.