New Westminster school district officials are set to sign an official contract agreement with the construction company lined up to build a new elementary school on the former St. Mary's Hospital site on Wednesday at John Robson Elementary.
The district announced last fall that Yellowridge Design Build Ltd. was the top pick to build the new school and has been in negotiations with the company since.
"This is it. This is finally the first major step moving forward to actually get some shovels in the ground and get some new school built," said board of education chair Michael Ewen.
The district has been working on plans to build a new elementary, middle school and high school for well over a decade.
The first phase of building involves constructing a new elementary school on the former St. Mary's Hospital site. The school will be the site of John Robson Elementary. The current site of the elementary school will then house a middle school, once the old school is torn down.
Moving forward with construction on the new schools could also help the district's bottom line. The district is dealing with a hefty $2.8 million dollar deficit from last year's budget and has to make major cuts this year to offset a multi-million dollar deficit. The district is paying almost a $1 million a year in rent at its downtown headquarters. There is a possibility the district could use some of the space at the new middle school to house those programs and save much-needed money, according to Ewen.
The new elementary school at St. Mary's will include five kindergarten rooms and 18 classrooms for students in grades one to five, as well as spaces for childcare, family support services and intergenerational multi-purpose space.
The school district evaluation team reviewed proposals from several construction companies before deciding to go with Yellowridge.
The new school will be occupied for classes in September 2014, Ewen said.
As for the new middle school, the procurement process for selecting the design builder for the new middle school to be constructed on the John Robson site will likely begin this spring, Ewen said.
