B.C. announces long-awaited school in Olympic Village
Officials also announced funding to expand space at Kitsilano's Henry Hudson Elementary
The province announced a long-awaited elementary school is coming to Vancouver's Olympic Village neighbourhood nearly 17 years since a site was first chosen and four years after the B.C. NDP's promise of a fast-tracked process.
At a news conference Friday, Education Minister Rachna Singh announced funding of $150 million to build the Olympic Village school, which will welcome 630 students in 2029.
"With so many new people choosing B.C. as their home in recent years, we know that now is not the time to cut back on building schools where they are needed the most," Singh said.
The announcement comes following rising demand for school spaces in Vancouver neighbourhoods, especially from families in the Olympic Village and Kitsilano neighbourhoods.
Elementary schools routinely hold lotteries for scarce kindergarten spots. Unlucky children who don't make the cut end up on wait lists, their families forced to travel to schools in other neighbourhoods that do have space. Or families choose to pick up and move elsewhere.
"This neighbourhood really needs a school. In fact, like all of central Vancouver really needs more kindergarten spots," Olympic Village resident Ashlie Corcoran told CBC's The Early Edition.
Documents from 2007 show plans for a future school site on Columbia Street, adjacent to Hinge Park, but the site remained untouched for over a decade.
During the 2020 provincial election campaign, then-premier John Horgan and the B.C. NDP ran on a promise to fast-track the school, citing years of neglect from the B.C. Liberal party to re-invest in education infrastructure.
'Building the foundation' for Olympic Village
At the announcement, Olympic Village parent Aryana Sye expressed optimism about the new school and the opportunities it would create for her young daughter, Chiara.
"This investment and infrastructure isn't just about buildings. It's about building the foundation for young families to thrive," Sye said.
Corcoran says the area's current catchment school, Simon Fraser Elementary, is a 25-minute walk away.
While she understands budgeting priorities can be challenging for officials, Corcoran says it's been "difficult to get information" about why it took so long to announce a new school.
"Without a school in this neighbourhood, there isn't an anchor for families … and each of those families has to make a choice about whether they're going to relocate when it comes time for school."
She now worries whether further densification will put pressure on the new school when it finally opens.
Victoria Young, chair of the Vancouver School Board (VSB), says an Olympic Village school has been a "top priority" for the past decade.
Singh says there was "a lot of navigation" behind the scenes to get approvals, given how small the allotted space is and the plan to create a four-storey building.
She adds the ministry is in contact with the VSB to ensure new schools and those under construction are able to alleviate enrolment pressures.
Expansion at elementary school in Kitsilano
Singh also announced $15 million in funding to expand the Henry Hudson Elementary school project, which is currently undergoing seismic upgrades, to create space for 145 more students.
"Both these investments will help address the enrolment growth that these neighbourhoods are facing," she said.
Young says the much-needed space is a welcome addition to Henry Hudson, as the Kitsilano community has "been impacted by growing density."
"The expansion construction is expected to start in the summer, alongside the ongoing construction of the seismically-safe Henry Hudson Elementary school," she said, noting the addition will bring the school's capacity to 535 students.
The addition, Young says, will create six classrooms, more resource rooms, expand library space and add a new covered outdoor area.
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With files from Karin Larsen and The Early Edition