An unsuccessful request by the Children’s Circle Daycare Society to lease space at Stuart Wood School has highlighted the urgency to speed up construction on its new home.

That is according to Joshua Knaak with ARPA Investments, who is part of the project. He says the daycare’s new home on McMurdo Drive is currently scheduled to open in June 2021.

“You know it clearly needs to get done and I know they have a very capable board there. They’ve got amazing staff and have had backup plans that are continuing to work those. It’s going to be an amazing facility and I know they’ll come up with a great plan in the interim.”

The daycare has to leave its current location at Royal Inland Hospital by June 1, due to the Patient Care Tower expansion project, and so it needs a space in the interim.

“Certainly if there’s something that we become aware of or anybody else becomes aware of, certainly let them know,” Knaak said. “But our main focus is getting that [building] permit through and all the other details around that, and just get going on under construction.”

“We want to get the kids into the really amazing facility.”

Earlier today, Tk’emlúps Chief Roseanne Casimir says the band consented to daycare going in temporarily at Stuart Wood School, but told NL News there was a ‘timing issue’ with the band letting the city know of their decision.

“It seems like use of Stuart Wood is complex no matter who’s looking at the space, so I mean as far as the implications for us go, it just means we’ve got to get that building permit because we really want to get going in the next 30 days and get building that daycare,” Knaak noted.