When it comes to the city’s well-established housing shortfall, particularly when it comes to affordable units, why aren’t the city’s surplus schools being taken better advantage of?
This question has bandied about Greater Sudbury council chambers various times in recent years, and past Ward 4 Coun. Geoff McCausland spurred a city review in January 2022.
During last year’s election cycle, Ward 5 incumbent Robert Kirwan’s platform included acquiring vacant schools for community hubs and affordable housing.
City staff tabled a report on the subject this week, for inclusion as part of the Oct. 11 planning committee of city council agenda.
In it, they concluded the city should “play a supportive role” by creating a policy framework that helps spur the reuse/development of surplus schools, but should not be directly involved.
The city’s proposed policy framework will factor into the Housing Supply Strategy, whose draft form is slated to be released in December. This will be followed by consultation in 2024 and adoption by the end of the year.
It’s easy to see why surplus school properties have been flagged as ideal locations for affordable housing, with a report by city senior planner Melissa Riou listing various benefits.
“Schools are often centrally located and highly accessible,” the report notes. “Reusing school properties can result in cost savings depending on building condition and characteristics.”
Typically located in residential zones, there’s minimal land-use conflict, and the ability to repurpose properties without the need for rezoning “is advantageous for smaller local nonprofits and for a municipality seeking planning approvals where community acceptance is challenging.”
On the flipside, the report notes that school boards are charged with seeking fair market value when disposing of surplus sites, which in strong markets makes acquiring school sites “cost prohibitive” for community uses or affordable housing.
“Both affordable housing and community use require significant subsidy because the rental revenue achieved is very low,” the report notes. “This impacts the ability to secure financial support and pay for required upgrades to an existing building or to implement a more comprehensive redevelopment.”
Further, surplus schools aren’t exactly sitting around unsold.
While several schools have come up for sale during the past several years as school boards underwent revitalization projects, they have all been sold to the private sector.
As for the city purchasing schools for community purposes, Riou’s report noted that the city has 27 municipal community centres and halls, and that they are, for the most part, underutilized.
Riou’s report accompanies a larger one by N. Barry Lyon Consultants, titled, “City of Greater Sudbury: Best Practices and Municipal Strategy for Utilizing Surplus School Properties for Housing and Community Services.”
It includes several case studies summarizing what has taken place with surplus institutional properties in other communities.
- City of Orillia: The former Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute was declared surplus in 2016, and the County of SImcoe purchased the site in 2018. The original structure was demolished, and a new, 216,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed this year, which will include 130 mixed affordable residential units and 60,000 square feet of commercial space housing community and social services. The project is projected to cost $79 million, with $57 million for affordable housing and $22 million for community space. Funding came from all levels of government.
- City of London: Two schools were deemed surplus in 2019, and the municipality was among those given first crack at it prior to it reaching the private market. The city purchased the former Holy Cross Elementary School in June 2020 for $350,000, and in March 2022 submitted amendments to build a four-storey mixed-use apartment building with 42 units, aimed at addressing homelessness among Indigenous residents. Construction began last year, with no part of the former structure retained.
- Municipality of Leamington: The municipality purchased two adjacent school sites in 2020 at a total cost of more than $1.3 million. They envision a “community within a community” in this development consisting of three six-storey buildings containing 216 apartment units and 53 townhomes, as well as six small multi-unit buildings with four units each. The municipality has yet to issue an RFP.
- City of Oshawa: The Ritson Public School remained vacant for several years after its 2012 closure, and was used occasionally for police training until Durham Region purchased the site in January 2022 for $7.49 million. The building is protected by the Heritage Act, meaning it must be retained in some form. Preliminary plans include more than 100 affordable units on the site.
- Town of Parry Sound: The Parry Sound Non-Profit Housing Corporation purchased the former William Beatty School in April 2016 for $445,000. It was redeveloped as 45 affordable housing units, with renovations costing $8.5 million, funded by Parry Sound Non-Profit Housing. It opened in 2017 after less than a year of construction.
- City of Timmins: The Timmins Native Friendship Centre purchased the former Flora MacDonald Public School in January 2012 for $375,000. It now houses various wellness, family, career and educational programs for the local Indigenous community. In 2017, $3 million in provincial and federal funding allowed them to develop 18 affordable housing units on the property.
- City of Sault Ste. Marie: The District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board purchased the former Rosedale Public School in January 2019 for $250,000. A $6.3-million project followed, which included 65 child-care spaces, a gymnasium, office space and nine affordable housing units.
- City of Sault Ste. Marie: The District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board purchased the shuttered St. Bernadette Catholic School in 2017 for $200,000. The Aboriginal Housing Support Services Corporation then acquired the site to construct 15 affordable transitional units for Indigenous women and children at risk of homelessness. The units were provided within the old school building, with no new development taking place on site. The federal and provincial governments then provided $2.9 million for a renovation between 2018-19 to accommodate residential uses with on-site supports such as child care, education and employment assistance services.
Although missing from the report, various Greater Sudbury schools have also been repurposed in recent years by private developers, including:
- The old Canadian National Institute for the Blind building at 303 York St. is being renovated to accommodate up to 32 bachelor and one-bedroom units. City council approved the project in early 2022.
- The Luxury Hyland Place Apartments at 347 Hyland Drive, which fills and expands upon a renovated building that housed École St-Denis until the school’s new building opened on Centennial Drive. The project was completed in 2015 and includes 64 units ranging from bachelor to two-storey apartments built within the existing structure. Panoramic Properties renovated, owns and manages the property.
- The former school at 291 Lourdes St. is being renovated to accommodate 24 residential units, including a mix of approximately 25 percent bachelor units and 75 percent one-bedroom units. City council approved the rezoning application in February 2022.
- The former Pinecrest Public School at 1650 Dominion Drive in Val Therese was renovated to accommodate 19 rental units. Called Dominion Estates, the “Golden Community Living” project targets seniors. An additional 20 townhouses are being constructed on the school property as part of the project’s second phase.
- Sudbury Indie Cinema took residence in the repurposed gymnasium at École Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, the city’s oldest school still standing in Greater Sudbury (built in 1914.). They began screening movies in February 2019.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
