Community & Business
13 December, 2024
Childcare campus a major investment
CHILDCARE and early learning in Mareeba has just reached the next level with the official opening of the new Constance St Kids Campus.
The reaction from officials walking through the building last Tuesday, with their “fresh eyes” was “a surreal experience”, Kids Campus CEO Jeanette Sturiale said.
“I don’t think they expected to see something like this in Mareeba,” she said.
“It’s the largest investment in early learning that Mareeba has ever had.”
The development has been a long time coming, with discussions about renovating and expanding the old building starting many years before, Ms Sturiale said.
However, the concept accelerated in the past few years as the centre’s popularity grew and finances improved.
“The old building that was there, we had been operating out of there for 42 years,” she said.
“Whilst it has an amazing amount of character, it was diminishing. The expense to actually maintain it to the standard of our industry was costing a lot of money and certain things just couldn’t be done.”
About four years ago, the not-for-profit organisation began developing a strategic masterplan, which incorporated the campuses of Constance St, Dunlop St and Hasties St.
The leadership team developed a timeline for redevelopment, noting that if the Constance St development was to be demolished and rebuilt, the Dunlop St centre would need upgrading to house the extra children.
Like a jigsaw puzzle, they began putting the pieces together, first assessing how much development was needed on Dunlop St, and collaborating with government on standards and compliance.
“Once we got that done, we started the design element of the build; what’s it going to look like, how big it is going to be? We got an architect involved from Cairns, award-winning Carlo Amerio from CA Architects, and then we got project managers together. We got a really good team of people behind us,” Ms Sturiale said. “Then we went into the world and started visiting state-of-the art centres in Cairns, Brisbane, the Gold Coast. We really wanted to see what we didn’t know.”
The design process took 12 months, before a business case was developed, including valuations of the campus assets. This included a comparison of a new build on Constance St, compared to keeping the old building and renovating.
“That valuation process was a clinching point for us,” Ms Sturiale said.
“We couldn’t believe it, it was something like $14 million with the new build and $4-5 million less with the old building. Nine years ago, valuation of our assets was only about $1.4 million.
“We then felt secure that the banks would back us.”
She agreed property prices had gone up over that time, but the Campus business had also grown, and cash flow had increased.
The team had also engaged Cairns economist Bill Cummings to provide a breakdown of the demographics of Mareeba, from the different cultures, age groups, working parents, to provide projections for the future, which was vital in providing added value to the development.
Overall, the process and the upgrading to the other campuses was about $7 million.
“We funded the whole thing ourselves, every single step. No grants, nothing,” Mr Sturiale said.
Now, a year after announcing the build, the new Kids Campus is getting final touches before it opens in January 2025.
“Constance St was such a major historic asset, so we needed to make sure that we made this centre the best we possibly could,” Ms Sturiale said.
For her, the greatest aspects of the building were “the vast space, the layout... the sheer size and the natural light”.
“We know the benefits of having natural light, we know the benefits of being outdoors, for children and team members, it’s a very calming space,” she said.
“The other really cool thing about it is all of the sustainability aspects. We’ve got sensor lights in all of our spaces and we’ve got solar panels.
“We built it very much to incorporate the nature aspect, including calming colours inside, and a nature play outdoor environment.
“We actually don’t have what they would class as playground equipment. We have rocks, logs, big trees, big areas for sand pits, mounds, water, a bit like going down the creek to play, but in a controlled way, and age group appropriate. It’s timeless and it will last a lot longer than play equipment. “
Ms Sturiale said some new innovations would also improve service, such as providing all meals for the children, including morning and afternoon tea and lunches. It would help busy parents, and also provide a healthy uniformity in food choices, and encourage kids to try new foods.
And the final flourish will be providing coffee at the campus drop-off point as a nod to busy parents on the go.
“It’s not a coffee shop, we won’t have a menu with 50,000 options, but a convenience for families. It’s also going to be a place to sit and chat or discuss a child with staff over a coffee. “We want to encourage more communication and collaboration in our childcare.”
