$78-million Northdale project gets lukewarm support from school board

Elaborate plan would involve partnership with Laurier, city

WATERLOO — Public school trustees are split on pursuing a $78-million proposal that includes a new building for Waterloo Collegiate Institute.

The proposal, which lacks funding, calls for the Waterloo Region District School Board to partner with the City of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University to redevelop the heart of the campus-area Northdale neighbourhood.

On Monday, the public school board voted 5-4 to spend $25,000 to help hire a project manager.

“What I would imagine is some sort of seamless educational experience for our students who would attend university,” trustee Cindy Watson said in support. “You would have the university and high schools working together.”

“It seems that most of this is just dreams and vision. There’s nothing really concrete,” trustee John Hendry said in opposition. “I’m not really sold that it’s going to be a big benefit to education.”

The proposal, unveiled last summer, includes a new fourstorey high school, green space, performing arts space, health and wellness space, a parking garage, plus retail and service uses. The site is bounded by Columbia, King, Hickory and Albert streets, split down the middle by Hazel Street.

Uncertainties include the fate of the current high school, a crumbling, 58-year-old building that some heritage advocates want preserved. Other issues include funding, the difficulty in dividing ownership, traffic, drainage, pedestrians on Hazel Street, and governance.

“We’ve really got the cart before the horse,” Hendry said. Before spending more money, he wants evidence that it makes sense to keep Waterloo Collegiate in a campus area dominated by student housing. He’d also like to see a commitment from the Ministry of Education.

Watson said the Northdale proposal fits the ministry’s push for community partnerships. She also likes the idea of shared facilities, reducing duplication.

“I see this project as a great example of a community hub in the making,” trustee Kathleen Woodcock said in support.

Replacing Waterloo Collegiate could cost $34 million. Local school boards have already sought, without success, $55 million in ministry funding to build a new public high school in southwest Kitchener and a new Catholic high school in east Kitchener.

Governments, community partners and the private sector have been identified for potential Northdale funding.