Former corner store and medical office in Chilliwack to be repurposed

CHILLIWACK – A former convenience store in Sardis and a former medical office building near the Chilliwack Coliseum will be repurposed, joining a growing trend that’s seeing one particular business crop up all over Chilliwack.

The City of Chilliwack has confirmed to Fraser Valley Today that a building permit to facilitate construction of a daycare was issued for the property at 45107 Wells Road, the site of the former Wells Rd. Grocery store.

The convenience store has been closed for at least six months. It previously sold seasonal produce from Shoker Farms in the parking lot of its convenient location, in addition to hosting a diabetes clothing drop-off bin and community mailboxes on its property.

The property, valued at $1,275,000, has not switched hands or sold, according to publicly-available records on BC Assessment. The property is 8,015 square feet (0.18 acres) in size.

There is already an existing childcare facility less than 250 metres just up the road from where this daycare will be located. Evans Childcare at 7434 Evans Road is just a short distance from Evans Elementary (7600 Evans Road).

Another property in Chilliwack is being converted into a future daycare. The former office of Dr. Johan Steinberg at 45420 Hodgins Avenue has been shuttered and tagged with graffiti.

Former medical office at 45420 Hodgins Avenue. (Image Credit: Mike Vanden Bosch.)

It will be the future home of Tots and Teddy Bear Child Care Center Ltd.

Future daycare at 45420 Hodgins Avenue. (Image Credit: Mike Vanden Bosch.)

The former Rendezvous Restaurant at Young Road and Victoria Avenue is still undergoing renovations for a future daycare.

The former Rendezvous Restaurant at Young/Victoria just north of downtown Chilliwack. It closed in January 2023 after 21 years in business. It is the future home of a daycare.

A former retail store at 7544 Vedder Road was converted into a large day care facility last year.

CEFA Early Learning on Vedder Road. (Image Credit: CEFA.)

Statistics released in February 2026 by the city of Chilliwack reveal there’s been a rapid expansion of child care facilities, spaces and programs across the city the past six years.

According to a city staff report, nearly 100 new child care programs have opened between 2019 and 2025, leading to the creation of 1,891 new child care spaces.

Drilling down, there are now at least 191 facilities and 256 programs in Chilliwack, creating 4,314 child care spaces in Chilliwack, as of February 2026.

The Chilliwack Child Care Needs Assessment & Strategy was received by Chilliwack City Council on March 17, 2020. It was developed in 2019 and featured an inventory of existing child care spaces, information regarding child care needs in the community, goals for the creation of additional child care spaces over the next 10 years, and actions to be initiated by various stakeholders to meet these goals.