Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Government of Ontario last week announced $33.4 million to build the new Etobicoke City Centre Elementary School at 160 Silverhill Dr. in Etobicoke, to create 823 student spaces and 88 childcare spaces.
“The central Etobicoke area is currently experiencing a rapid change in population and residential development,” said TDSB Director of Education Colleen Russell-Rawlins. “A new school has been approved for construction to accommodate the growing number of students in the community.
“The modern school building will provide a welcoming and engaging environment for hundreds of nearby students to achieve, belong, and thrive. Additionally, it will help alleviate the space pressures on other local schools that are now over capacity.”
The project is number four on the TDSB’s priority list which also includes:
- Kapapamahchakwew – Wandering Spirit School and the Urban Indigenous Education Centre (16 Phin Ave.) – new standalone JK to grade 12 fully lndigenized 397 pupil place school
- Margaret’s Public School (Lawrence Avenue East, west of Morningside Road) – 331 pupil place JK-8 elementary school, EarlyON program and 5-room childcare
- Secord Public School (Main Street and Danforth Avenue)- 940 pupil place JK-5 elementary school, EarlyON program and five-room childcare cente
- Davisville Jr. Public School (Midtown Toronto)- proposed five-classroom addition to a recently completed replacement school
The announcement was made at the current site of the Etobicoke Secondary Alternative School, which will be relocated as part of the construction project.
Etobicoke City Centre (ECC) is designated as an Urban Growth Centre under the provincial growth plan. Urban Growth Centres are focal points for accommodating population and employment growth. In the City of Toronto, under the provincial plan, these areas are to be intensified and developed such that they reach a target of 400 residents and jobs, combined, per hectare by 2031.
Residential development planned within the ECC has been underway for the past decade, and has historically been centered around Kipling Station, the western terminus of the Bloor-Danforth Subway Line. The area also encompasses two provincially designated Major Transit Station Areas (MTSA) – Kipling and Islington.
There are several residential development projects that are proposed, approved or under construction within the Wedgewood JS area.
Examples of the development applications currently moving ahead within the area are identified below:
- Six Points Plaza: A proposed six-tower project to replace an existing strip plaza that would add nearly 2,400 new residential dwellings adjacent to Kipling Subway Station (north side of Dundas St. W). The towers range in height from eight to 45-storeys.
- Cloverdale Mall: A proposed 11-tower project to replace an existing mall that would add nearly 5,300 new residential dwellings to the area. The mall is situated at the northeast corner of Dundas Street West and Highway 427.
- Pinnacle: A proposed nine-tower project, currently under construction, that would add nearly 2,800 new residential dwellings to the area. Tower heights range from 25 to 43-storeys. The Pinnacle development is adjacent to the KIP District, another significant project that consists of five towers ranging from 20 to 40-storeys and 1,900 units