The much-awaited replacement for New Westminster Secondary School is a step closer to becoming a reality.
New Westminster city council has approved a resolution to spend $10.7 million on the reconstruction of a new Massey Theatre that will be built as part of the high school. In addition to the city’s contribution, a staff report stated the school district would contribute $10 million in provincial funding for a new theatre with up to 1,000 seats.
The city’s contribution would be used to upgrade the facility from a school theatre standard to a regional civic theatre standard, said the report.
"It is a momentous day," school board chair Michael Ewen told council Monday night. "It is a very exciting day."
Ewen said it's a "momentous" occasion because it marks the final cornerstone for the district to move forward and build a new high school.
"This has been a long process," he said "As I am constantly reminded, public consultation takes time"
A staff report states the school district anticipates that site preparation and possibly partial demolition of the secondary school will begin in 2015. Because construction of the secondary school and the theatre is expected to take three years, it’s expected it will open sometime in 2018.
According to the staff report, the next step in the process is the preparation of a new memorandum of understanding between the school district and the city, which would outline the enhancements needed to create a civic regional theatre and the city’s role and involvement in the design and construction process. The school district intends to finalize and submit the “project definition report” to the Ministry of Education by December 2013, and to begin a public procurement process to select the design-build contractor in the spring of 2014.
Ewen told council he understands people's frustration about the time it's taking to build the high school, but the district wants to make sure it gets it right for the community and the school district.
"I am feeling very confident saying your children will be in a new secondary school," he said to Coun. Jonathan Cote, a father of three young children.
"I am going to hold you to that," Cote replied.
