Three houses in Dunedin's Musselburgh Rise will be relocated to make way for a childcare centre intended to accommodate 100 children and provide 17 full-time jobs.
Mini Thinkers daycare centre director and company owner Macaela van Aart said plans for the facility had been under way for the past two years.
Work to relocate residential properties neighbouring the main 11 Musselburgh Rise address had begun and builders would start construction of the facility on the empty lots next Tuesday, Mrs van Aart said.
An architectural sketch of the facility was not yet available, however it would be a building with a modern look and feel, she said.
"We spent over a year designing the building so it is really innovative in that the spaces can be utilised by all children.''
An emphasis had been put on creating spaces which would have an open-plan feel so as not to segregate children by age, she said.
The centre would differ from others in the city both in the range of learning approaches it would offer, and the wholefood menu children would be given, she said.
The facility would be open to children from 3 months to 5 years old.
The centre was expected to open at the end of October.
Seventeen on-site car parks would be available to staff and parents.
