It's been a long time coming, but later this week, the new UniverCity Childcare Centre will mark its official grand opening.
The centre is the newest arm of the SFU Childcare Society, which operates a number of centres on Burnaby Mountain for students, staff, faculty and local residents.
The new centre is aiming to be the first childcare facility in Canada certified under the Living Building Challenge, an international green-building rating system.
On Thursday, the grand opening will allow media, staff and others to take a tour of the facility for the first time. On hand will be Gordon Harris, CEO of the SFU Community Trust; Burnaby city mayor Derek Corrigan; SFU president Andrew Petter; Patricia Frouws, executive director of the SFU Childcare Society, and Jason McLennan from the International Living Future Institute, which developed the Living Building Challenge.
The centre will work under a Reggio Emilia educational approach.
UniverCity is a residential community being built on Burnaby Mountain. Currently there are about 3,000 residents; that number is eventually expected to grow to 10,000.