Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The Harriet Tubman Public School is slated to open on September 8th, 2015, in time for the new school year. The brand new school located on Henry St. in St.Catharines, will consolidate Alexandra, Memorial, Queen Mary and Maywood schools. Closing these four schools means that three vacant lots will be added to the downtown core. At this time, there has not been any announcements on plans to repurpose or sell-off the soon to be vacant school properties from the DSBN. Over the past decade, due to decline in enrollment figures, a number of schools have been sold off, redeveloped or re-purposed across the city.
Overview of the development of Harriet Tubman Public School
Construction of the $11 million facility began last year on a site directly east of Alexandra Public School. The two-storey facility will hold capacity for 550 students upon completion. During the summer the current Alexandra School facility, which was built in 1909, will be torn down to accommodate parking for the new school. Through an agreement with the City of St. Catharines, the school's playground will be located in Catherine St. park, with exclusive use dedicated to the school during operating hours. In order to accomplish this, a section of George St. has closed, reducing traffic flow in and around the school area.
Repurposed St. Catharines DSBN school properties
In 2014, 6 rural public schools were put up for sale by the DSBN, including properties in Fort Erie, Jordan, Beamsville, Chippawa and Campden. Visit this article to read more about their features.
Lakebreeze Public School - Willcher Drive, St. Catharines
In 2006, the DSBN put the former Lakebreeze School 6.6 acre property up for sale. Initially members of the community lobbied for the City to purchase the land in order to build a park. The land was ultimately sold to Paul DiFrancesco for $2.66 million. DiFrancesco developed 17 single family homes and 31 townhomes on the site.
Victoria School - 173 Niagara St., St. Catharines
Gillian’s Place acquired the former site of Victoria School in 2004. The women’s shelter converted the old school into their new home with a design by Emilio Raimondo, Raimondo & Associates Architects Inc. The 28,000 sq. ft. facility now houses 18 bedrooms, common rooms and a kitchen, amoung other rooms. With financial help through the government and community, Women’s Place St. Catharines officially opened in November of 2007.
Kernahan Park Secondary School - 91 Bunting Rd., St. Catharines
West Park Secondary School - 130 Louth St., St. Catharines
Both schools closed their doors in 2013, only to be repurposed as new DSBN school sites. Kernahan became home to elementary French immersion students across central and south St. Catharines and now goes by the name, Jeanne Sauve French Immersion Public School. West Park became the new home for the DSBN Academy. The Academy was originally located in Welland at Empire Public School.
It will be interesting to see if these properties reach the commercial and residential real estate market. They have the potential to get picked up for redevelopment on the heels of the current revitalization of central St. Catharines. Connect with a Niagara real estate appraiser today to discover the investment opportunities in Niagara.
