Ontario Construction News staff writer
HAMILTON – Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath and officials from Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir and Conseil scolaire Viamonde have signed a land exchange agreement that will create a new school for students and preserve parkland for residents.
The deal secures 700 Garner Rd. E., a 14-acre city-owned site, for a joint secondary school. The facility will accommodate about 400 students from each board in separate wings, with shared spaces such as an auditorium, cafeteria, and vocational classrooms.
As part of the agreement, 16 Broughton Ave., a 9.5-acre site in Ward 6, will come under public ownership and be developed as parkland, safeguarding greenspace for residents.
“This land exchange is the result of years of determined advocacy, partnership and hard work by local leaders, Francophone families, City Council and staff, and our French public and Catholic school boards,” Horwath said. “The community shared their frustration with the lack of progress with me in the summer of 2022. Together, we stayed focused on what our community needed — greater access to French-language secondary education in Ancaster and the protection of valuable greenspace for residents. Today’s milestone delivers both.”
City officials say work will continue with the school boards and surrounding subdivision owners to finalize obligations under the agreement, including the subdivision agreement, to allow development of both sites.
Hamilton approved moving forward with the land exchange process on July 8, 2022.
