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NTCI Public Meeting regarding New School Building
November 11, 2003
Community Meeting November 27th, 2003 @ 7:00 p.m. NTCI auditorium
RE: New building for North Toronto Collegiate
Click here to download TDSB official notice flyer
As you may be aware, plans are underway for a new building to house North Toronto Collegiate. The ground breaking is currently scheduled for Spring 2006, with occupancy planned sometime in the 2007-2008 school year. On Thursday November 27th, a community meeting will be held in the auditorium of the school to present the land use redevelopment plan for the new building and to solicit public input. The North Toronto Collegiate Institute Site Redevelopment Team unanimously approved this plan, on June 12, 2003. Team members included students, teachers, support staff, school administrators, NTCI alumni representatives, ratepayer’s representatives, Toronto District Board of Education (TDSB) staff and the architects that were hired for the initial phase of the project. We urge you to attend the meeting to hear about the plans and to give your input to the planning team. The following is a brief summary of the background behind the project.
Due to a choice by the former Toronto Board of Education to direct dollars to programs and people, as opposed to building maintenance, North Toronto Collegiate is in dire need of repair or replacement. Current cost estimates for renovation are $14 –$18 M, whereas replacement value is projected at around $28M. Since a new building would likely have a 50-70 year life span and provide vastly improved facilities for teaching and learning, and a renovated building would likely have only another 20 years of life, the Board feels that better value would be obtained by rebuilding. Renovations would also entail relocating students to another facility temporarily, causing tremendous upheaval for the students and staff. The new building will be built on a different location on the property, which will allow students and staff to remain in the existing building, until the new one is ready.
The current plan calls for four partners to be involved in the project, including North Toronto Collegiate (TDSB), another school board, the Toronto Parking Authority and an as yet unnamed developer. The current surface area of the site will be increased, by moving the current city parking lot and NT staff parking lot underground. There would be two standalone schools (one for each school board involved), separated by a regulation size football field, which would run all the way from Broadway Ave. to Roehampton Ave. Three residential point towers would be at the edges of the property.
Some concerns have been raised regarding the proposed condominium towers. It is important to understand that under the current funding model, the Board cannot spend money on new schools. By partnering with developers, the board can raise sufficient funds for a building that will meet the current and future needs of the students.
The project is proceeding as planned and discussions with City planning staff have begun. Councillor Michael Walker and MPP Michael Bryant have both been briefed and are supportive of the project. The next major steps will be the selection of a development partner and finalization of negotiations with the Toronto Parking Authority. Prior to further action on this project, the November 27th, 2003 meeting has been scheduled to present the land use plan to the community. We feel that it is important to have members of the North Toronto Collegiate community at the meeting, to take part in the discussions and express their points of view. We hope to see you there.
If you would like to discuss this with either one of us prior to the meeting, please feel free to contact us.
Eric Miglin/Beth Brown
Co-chairs
North Toronto School Council
Contact information:
Eric Miglin killarneylodge@sympatico.ca
Beth Brown beth.brown@rogers.com |
- Eric Miglin/Beth Brown, Co-chairs, NT School Council
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