Daycare vital to first phase of Calgary office project
Frank O’Brien
Western Investor
The 10,000-square-foot space close to major employers could generate more than $300,000 per month and help retain and recruit office tenants and employees
Uxborough by Western Securities will eventually cover one million square feet in Calgary. | Western Securities
When Western Securities of Calgary broke ground last September on the first phase of its projected 1-million-square-foot Uxborough mixed-use development, the addition of a 10,000-square-foot daycare was not an incidental amenity.
The 6.5-acre development, rising from the site of the former Stadium Shopping Centre, is close to Calgary’s Foothills Hospital, with 12,000 daytime employees, and the University of Calgary, also a major employer.
There are over 60,000 daytime employees in the surrounding area, 50,000 vehicles passing the site daily, and high volumes of pedestrians accessing the hospital and university, according to Western Securities.
Based on Alberta daycare space requirements averaging 35 square foot per child, and an average of $1,150 per month in day care fees in Calgary, the Uxborough’s ground floor daycare could generate more than $300,000 per month at full capacity.
There are other benefits to including daycare in workspaces, such as office towers, according to a U.S. study from Jones Lang Lasalle, (JLL), a major commercial real estate brokerage, including the retention and recruitment of work-from-homers back to the office, post pandemic.
Recent JLL research found that 84 per cent of employees with access to “on-site spaces for small children” felt engaged at work, well exceeding the average engagement rate of 65 pe rcent.
“On-site childcare can have a big impact on retention of new parents, particularly women, too. As women continue to claim more leadership positions across industries and are more likely to be their family’s primary breadwinner than ever before, their specific workplace needs can no longer be ignored,” noted a report on commercial daycare space by the Building Owners and Managers’ Association.
Uxborough future phases will include a hotel, a second office tower and another residential building, both with retail on the ground floor. The 11-storey hotel will include 189 rooms and a conference centre, the 10-storey office building will be about 225,00 square feet and the four-storey residential building will have about 75 units with a grocery-store anchor at grade, Western Securities stated.
© 2022 Western Investor
