How Much Does It Cost To Build a Daycare Facility in B.C?

When you’re planning your daycare center, there are several business models to consider:

This brings your business and the children into your home. With kids and caregivers in your home all day long, there is little differentiation between your workspace versus your home life. 

If you decide to rent, you’ll need to find a space in the perfect location that you can afford. And then, you can still have costly renovations to make the space fit local/federal regulations. Also, a landlord can raise rent without notice or cancel the lease. Or they can sell the building and the lease can be cancelled by the new owners.

With traditional construction, you can customize your daycare to be exactly what you want while keeping to building codes and regulations. But the process takes longer and you’re subject to supply chain issues and weather delays.

There are several similarities between traditional and modular construction. You can personalize  your structure and use quality materials. One of the biggest differences in modular construction is a shorter build timeframe, which can make a financial difference.

At the end of the building process, your final result will be a building that adheres to the same building codes and regulations as a traditional build.  

If your location isn’t zoned for a daycare centre or commercial use, you can apply to your local government for a zoning amendment. 

Always check with your Municipal or Regional District Office to see if your project will work in the area you want to build in and to see what specific permits, inspections, and associated costs are with each. 

In addition to the building and zoning permits you need, there are educational licenses, food and safety license, and who knows what else. 

Each staff member will need to be certified as an Early Childhood Educator and keep up that certification. This is required for individuals working with children up to 5 years old.   

You will also need to conduct background checks for all of your employees. There will be a cost for them and it can be a lengthy process. Make sure you build that time into your schedule so you aren’t surprised later on. 

Another certification your staff should have is First Aid training. Children have accidents—it’s a part of life. However, you and your staff should be as prepared as you can be. This will help you in a practical sense and it can also help avoid any legal issues if a child does get hurt. 

When you create your business plan for your centre, one of the things you will need to know is how many children can you accommodate. This number will be determined by the type of daycare you run and the licence you have. But you will still need to create a pricing structure to see if it will be profitable to open a daycare centre. 

Childcare isn’t cheap. The average cost for childcare in British Columbia is $870-$1,350 CAD. Also, in 2020, the median infant childcare fees were $1,165 per month in Vancouver. 

You will also need to hire staff. The average base salary for a daycare worker is $41, 839 CAD. The number of staff needed is dependent on the number of students you have. Typically for infants the ratio is for every four infants, there is one educator. For older children, the ratio moves to one educator for every eight children. From there you can add educational assistants for additional support. 

When you start thinking about how many people you accommodate, you need to think of how many people your facility can accommodate. Children need space to run and play so you need to make sure your building has enough space to house not only them but all of your storage features. 

Also you need to think about the number of rooms are going to be in the building, like classrooms, offices, nap rooms, bathrooms, and indoor play space. For every child you should allot a particular square footage, depending on your municipality's rules and the age of the child can range from 80m² to 130m².  That will give you a rough number of how much space you are going to need, depending on how many age groups you want to have. 

When creating your budget, you will need to balance this number versus the cost of your startup (supplies, permits, staff costs, and the cost of the building). 

It’s essential to be compliant with the most recent Canadian National Model Codes, especially when you’re working with children. There is nothing more important than ensuring the safety of the children in your care.

Fortunately, you don’t have to worry when your modular daycare structure comes from BOXX Modular. All our modular structures are built in adherence to all current safety standards and codes, so you can have them delivered and set up knowing that building safety is taken care of.

Every day you’re closed is a day where you aren’t making money. And that’s why you need to have everything delivered and in place as quickly and safely as possible. 

While the timeline may vary for leasing a structure versus custom designing your own, our process is faster than a traditional build. 

One of the other benefits of choosing a new structure is that fabrication and site prep takes place at the same time, shortening the installation schedule. And weather delays aren’t an issue since our buildings are built in a factory setting. Not only is this good schedule-wise but using modular is also environmentally friendly. 

While it is true you can purchase a building, and do a potentially costly renovation to retrofit a building to your needs, wouldn’t it be easier to find a structure that you can customize while it is being built? 

With a BOXX Modular structure, you can choose an open-concept layout, which will allow you to easily supervise the children. You can customize the cabinetry to create built-ins for children’s belongings like coats and backpacks. Then you won’t need to worry about additional storage. 

Another feature you can add to your center is a child-sized washroom. While children can use an adult bathroom, having one fit for them makes everything much easier on you. It gives the children a sense of independence and confidence to do more things on their own. 

Want a customized solution for your daycare center? Contact us to learn how BOXX Modular can find the modular structure that works best for your business.