Kids We Love: Daniel in Development
“Is it getting night already?” Daniel asks at 4pm. He’s confused because he’s noticed the big change.
It’s summer, and the sun won’t be setting for at least four more hours, but he’s right. There’s a dark shadow filling the room.
Daniel has been coming to Buddings since 2014, and at this time of year, the front room is usually so full of sunshine that the kids who like racing around with trucks, like Daniel, are only kept cool by our air conditioning.
We look out the window and I show him the new 9-story office tower still under construction at 990 West Broadway.
“It’s not night,” I tell him. “See how it’s blocking the sun?”
The days of afternoon sunshine cooking the kids are over, and when winter comes, we’ll be lucky to see it at all. That new tower will house doctor’s offices, and medical services, and when the Broadway SkyTrain goes in, our own IHOP building will be levelled to make way for the VGH station. (Don’t worry, my landlord assures me we’re safe for at least three more years.)
Vancouver is going up, up, up!
Even children can see that Vancouver development can only grow upward, and concentrating services near transit makes it convenient, and sustainable, for people to get to there.
Have you been down to Cambie and South West Marine lately?
The communities that have sprung up all along the CanadaLine are vibrant villages, with a movie theatre, dozens of condo towers, and all the services and amenities so that the people who live there don’t need to drive. Or even bike. It’s all right there.
As a Vancouver resident, and business, Buddings has also felt the development fever. Our reputation among modern families is getting stronger every month, because we appreciate their need for both flexibility, and convenience.
But we can’t be flexible if we’re full! Let’s get building!
With a daycare’s daily emphasis on growth and development, it would be crazy if we weren’t eyeing an expansion of our own. Planning a city, and having the right balance of services takes time, so while our applications are in, and we’re in the waiting phase. By the end of the summer, I hope to have a big announcement to share. 😉
In the meantime…
Daniel and I, and all the kids and teachers are enjoying the summer, and exploring some of the biggest developments in town. Last month, we visited The Independent at Main and Broadway – another likely SkyTrain station-to-be – but this afternoon, we’re heading down to one of the oldest corners of the city: The Port at Crab Park.
Those cranes and container yards have been receiving the materials for the development of our whole country, where shipments from around the world are loaded onto the transport trucks that travel… everywhere. So it’s a good reminder of where we’ve come from. And for a second reason…
There’s a splash pad and playground that make this one of the summer fieldtrips we repeat year after year. 🙂
Daniel came with me last time I went, and I saw on the list that he’s signed up today too. Thank goodness!
As the years go by, and the city grows and changes, Daniel has been growing, too. In a few short weeks, he’ll be in kindergarten, and while I have no doubt my afternoons will still be full of questions about the world around us, the sun will no longer fill the front room.
