Location, Location, Location

While location quality is always a key factor for a business, a business providing services to parents and children is even more location dependant. For us, the "school location" encompasses both geographical position, nearby attributes, and internal attributes.

Realistically, we have been searching and talking to people for almost two years about an appropriate location and along the way we have come to internalize a set of factors related to what we have been looking for. We are currently on the cusp of finalizing space at the edge of a residential area near parkland at the South end of Guelph so I though I would take this opportunity to share with you what we have been thinking about in looking for a facility:

Professionalism - We need to have space that allows parents to feel comfortable and confident. This relates primarily to the space itself, but, also to the immediate neighbourhood.

South End Location - Our target is to serve the needs of parents at the south end of Guelph, so otherwise appropriate space in other parts of the city or outside the city were not attractive.

Regulation - Aside from the general high standards of the space we were seeking we had to ensure that we understood how much effort was required to meet regulation or licensing requirements ranging from fence heights, floor space, window areas and most difficult zoning. Institutional zoned space appropriate for our long term goals is difficult to find, but, feedback we received suggests there are some planning zones with little flexibility (industrial zoning is an "employment zone") and that boundary properties near institutional zones are better targets for zoning ammendments in the future. By now we probably know our way around the Guelph Zoning bylaws almost as much as local builders!

Size and Growth Strategy Consistency - Our plan calls for beginning with a young age group and expanding the age ranges served by the school. Since avoiding the cost of excess space is a key success factor, we need space that we can grow with. Some space we had identified suited launching all age groups and an intense program to fill that space rather than the incremental launch of our current plan. Ultimately, it is difficult to make the required predictions and corresponding commitments to leases or purchase space.

Logistics - We need our location to be able to handle people and our daily operations ranging from parking to entrance area logistics (imagine lots of children with snowsuits and the importantance of getting that right), indor activity space for cold weather and meal prep or delivery. This area is a bit of a design activity between the capabilities of the space and elements of the program. For example, our current location has relatively few parking areas and we have partially addressed that with an extended drop off and pick up time as well as cooperation with our neighbours (Thanks Wellington Hospice!).

Program Support - The location for the school us support our current and planned program elements. Specifically we are focused on internal space for the prepared
environment of Montessori as well as access to outdoor and naturalized space (creeks, treed areas) to ensure outdoor program opportunities.


We ended up looking space ranging from shared space in in schools, churches or other institutional zoned areas, acquiring instituional space, use of industrial office space near parkland, cpmmercial space, and residential space.

Ultimately with all the factors above we have identified 798 Scottsdale Dr. nestled between an excellent park, near a zoning boundary to instituional space and in the target area in Guelph. If all goes well over the next few weeks we should be able to move forward with this space and can welcome you all to our school come September.