Saskatoon's new City Centre School to be built at current Princess Alexandra School site
Optimist Park was also being considered as location for new amalgamated school
The Saskatoon Public School board has decided on a location for the City Centre School, which will consolidate three existing schools into one large building.
At its meeting on Tuesday, the board voted in favour of building the school at the current location of Princess Alexandra Community School on Avenue H S.
The board also rescinded a motion that had passed last month calling for further consideration of Optimist Park as another potential location for the school.
Board chair Colleen MacPherson said that factors from community feedback to discussions with potential outside partners affected the discussion.
She said she is glad that the board took a long look at where the school should be built.
"We just really felt that it was critical we do all of our due diligence," she said.
"You build a school for generations to come and the location of that school is critical. As a board, we felt we needed to be as informed as we could be before we made a final decision."
The new school, which is expected to have an initial capacity of 400 to 500 students, will amalgamate three schools in the area: Pleasant Hill, King George and Princess Alexandra.
The discussion about the location for the school caused some controversy in the Riversdale and Pleasant Hill neighbourhoods.
Some people living around Optimist Park complained that the school would take away green space in the area.
Meanwhile, some parents complained that the Princess Alexandra site was too far away from some students, leaving them more than a kilometre away from the school.
MacPherson reassured parents that their children would be bused to school.
"We've operated a school at Princess Alex for more than 60 years," she said.
"We will ensure that students will be bused to that school because of distance, which is what we do in all communities and neighbourhoods around the city."
With a location decided on, architects will now begin officially designing the building. Saskatoon Public Schools will be talking to students, families, elders and others in the community to get a sense of what the school should look like.
The public school board has been in discussions with the Saskatoon Tribal Council to incorporate health and recreation facilities currently being housed at the White Buffalo Youth Lodge into the new school.
The new school could cost anywhere from $22.5 million to $25 million to build. The public school board estimates renovating the three existing schools would cost $68 million.
The school is expected to open by September 2024.