Child Care Centre at the Queenswood Campus

The university has been providing child care services to the UVic community for over 40 years and there continues to be a significant demand for additional services at the university and throughout Saanich.

In exploring opportunities to increase child care services at UVic, the Queenswood Campus has been identified as an ideal location for a new childcare centre for 37 children ranging in age from 18-months to 5 years.

UVic currently offers 116 child care spaces on campus. The new Child Care Centre will increase UVic’s supply of child care spaces to 153 and help meet the immense demand for childcare within the campus community. More information about Child Care Services at UVic can be found on the Child Care Services website.

About the Project

The Queenswood Campus is located at 2474 Arbutus Rd in the Cadboro Bay neighbourhood.  The Campus is bound by beautiful natural landscape that will support early childhood education and outdoor learning. The Queenswood Campus is in close proximity to the main campus including the university’s existing child care centre on Finnerty Road and is an ideal location for a new child care centre.

In 2019, the university engaged architects and engineers to complete a condition assessment of the former Queenswood Retreat Centre to explore highest and best use opportunities. The building was built in 1965 and has been vacant since 2010.  Unfortunately, due to its age and layout, the condition assessment determined that the building is a poor candidate for rehabilitation and reuse for the university.

An area of the building will be retained and renovated into a new child care centre to accommodate 37 children ranging in age from 18-months to 5 years.  The project is supported with funding by the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund.

More information about Child Care at UVic including how to register for the waitlist can be found on the Child Care Services website.

Construction Updates

The project will be moving forward with site preparation anticipated to begin in early summer followed by the building renovation and landscape improvements through the fall and winter of 2021.

Construction of the new Centre will align with the University's Sustainable Action Plan to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon impact where feasible. 

The university has commenced engagement with the community pursuant to the University’s Community Engagement Framework. Updates will be provided via the Community Association Liaison Committee.