Ontario to build first elementary school inside a condo building at Toronto waterfront
Toronto’s waterfront is set to welcome Ontario’s first elementary school built inside of a condo building.
The Ontario government announced the project Friday as part of an effort to create more educational spaces in the downtown core.
“With many families living in condos and high-density urban communities, we believe their children deserve access to modern and safe schools in the hearts of their communities,” Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said.
The Lower Yonge Precinct Elementary School will accept 455 students to their Yonge and Harbour streets location, with a completion date set for the 2024-25 school year.
In addition to an elementary school slotted on the third floor of the building, the City of Toronto has also secured space for a child care centre directly below it on the second floor.
“If we want to build up this city and our neighbourhoods, we need to ensure that residents have access to all the services they need, including schools – this is one example of how we will achieve this,” Mayor John Tory said.
The project has been in the works for seven years now, according to Toronto District School Board (TDSB) spokesperson, Ryan Bird.
“It's learning where you live,” he said.
With the latest numbers estimating about 13,000 people populating the waterfront’s Lower Yonge Precinct, Bird said community services like a public school will be essential.
The Ontario government is investing $44 million in the new project in partnership with the TDSB and Menkes Developments.
Like a condo owner, the TDSB shares joint possession of the building’s entire third floor with Menkes, Bird said.
While the vertical school is unconventional, Bird said there is an ongoing effort to make it feel like any other, equipped with a gym, a music room and a library.
“Yes, it's unique,” Bird said. “But then it's still just your average school and we want to make sure the students feel welcome.”
Once the school is complete, the province said it aims to replicate the vertical community in more high-density neighbourhoods in Ontario.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.