Deal reached for site of future elementary school in Vancouver’s Olympic Village neighbourhood

The site is located at the southeast end of False Creek, just west of Columbia Street and adjacent to Hinge Park.

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Vancouver city council and the Vancouver school board (VSB) have approved entering into a 99-year ground lease for a site that would see a future elementary school and child-care centre constructed in the Olympic Village neighbourhood.

The site is at the southeast end of False Creek, just west of Columbia Street and adjacent to Hinge Park.

The VSB is applying to the B.C. Ministry of Education for funding to build the school, which the NDP pledged to fast-track during the 2020 election campaign.

“Building schools in Vancouver’s growing communities is important so that children can attend school in their own neighbourhoods,” says Vancouver school board chairwoman Carmen Cho, in a statement released Wednesday by the City of Vancouver. “The Southeast False Creek/Olympic Village community, which has and continues to experience significant population growth, now has a site available, and we appreciate the collaborations with the City of Vancouver.”

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Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart added that the child-care centre will help support parents and “make this community even more family friendly.”

The public school site was identified in the city’s Southeast False Creek Official Development Plan adopted by city council in April 2007.

Under the proposed terms of the lease agreement with the city, funding must be obtained and construction must start no later than Jan. 31, 2024, according to city staff. The plan also includes that the VSB would sublease a child-care centre back to the city for a 99-year term. Council approval will be required for funding and for the authority to enter into a development management agreement for the site.

A lack of space for elementary students in Vancouver has been a top concern for the VSB. Last spring, the VSB said more than 200 students were wait-listed for kindergarten at the school in their catchment in Vancouver. Twelve schools were oversubscribed for kindergarten, leaving 229 students without a school in their catchment.

The school board has asked the B.C. government to prioritize an elementary school in Olympic Village, along with a new school for Coal Harbour.

ticrawford@postmedia.com

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