Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) officials and architects were on hand last Wednesday to share information about two school projects in Waterdown that will get under way this summer.

A new $15-million, 66,000-square-foot public school will be built on the Guy Brown School site on Braeheid Avenue to house 650 students from JK to Grade 8 and a new addition will be built onto Waterdown District High School (WDHS), effectively doubling the size of the Parkside Drive facility and providing accommodation space for 1,750 students. Area residents welcome both projects as a means of addressing student accommodation needs in a growing community.

Detailed architectural designs of both projects were displayed in the WDHS auditorium and representatives of Graff Grguric Architects Incorporated, in Stoney Creek, were present to outline key features of the buildings and answer questions from residents.

Architect Walter Paolone said the new public elementary school will be built on the east side of the current Guy Brown School site. It will include 25 classrooms including five Kindergarten rooms and large classrooms on the upper floor of the two-storey building for arts, music and science. Its front façade will feature brick cladding and architectural stone and the main lobby will create “a sense of openness” with an amphitheatre and tiered seating.

“It’s an incredible state-of-the-art design; it looks beautiful,” said Flamborough trustee Karen Turkstra to the crowd of about 40 residents. She said a committee will be formed and community consultation will begin in the fall to select a name for the school, which could be Guy Brown or something else depending on the results of the process outlined on the school board’s website, www.hwdsb.on.ca.

The new school is expected to open its doors in September 2011, with the current school slated for demolition during the summer of 2011. Its cost is being covered by an $8.2-million grant from the Ministry of Education and a $7.2-million investment from the school board.

Residents, concerned about the possibility of blasting, asked about the removal of a rock outcrop from the site during construction. “We recognize we are building in a residential area,” said superintendent of schools John Laverty, adding that a special machine is available to chip away at rock rather than resort to blasting. A vibration consultant will make a recommendation to the board on how best to remove the rock, he added.

Turkstra told the Review the City of Hamilton will also have a say on what can be done about the rock removal. “Blasting is a measure of last resort,” she said. “We don’t want to have people upset with a new crack in the wall,” she said of the consequences that could come from blasting. “Our choice of preference is to do it with the least impact” on the surrounding neighbourhood.

Another resident, who asked about the timing of the tendering process, was told that tenders for the new school will be in by the end of April or early May.

John Grguric, head architect for the high school design, told a small audience of about a dozen people that the board’s expropriation of four acres of land on the east side of the high school for the new addition also makes it possible to provide another access point to the site. An additional concern about tight parking on the current site will also be addressed with expanded parking on the east side of the addition, he said.

The new two-storey addition, which comes at a cost of $25 million, will encompass 100,000 square feet and will feature a multipurpose area, with a theatre and double gym. The gym will have retractable seating that will accommodate about 800 people; when not in use, the seating can be stored easily within a five-foot space, Grguric explained. The addition will also include about 30 new classrooms and a second elevator for the school. A green roof will be installed if the budget allows, the architect said.

After the addition is complete, renovations will be done to a number of interior spaces, including guidance, administration and the library. The current cafeteria will be expanded by removal of the stage area.

Bruce Thomson, manager of capital projects with the board’s facilities management team, said the school addition is expected to get under way this summer, but isn’t likely to be finished by September 2011. “This is an extensive project,” Laverty told residents, adding that he doesn’t anticipate any problems from the Ministry of Education if the project isn’t completed by the ministry’s deadline of September of next year, particularly since it will be substantially completed by then.

Turkstra agreed. “I’m not aware of any project not being funded because it didn’t make the deadline,” she said.

“It will be an absolutely incredible addition,” said the local trustee. “At the end of the day, we will have a nice first-class facility.”

She said the province’s contribution to the project was increased from its initial $11-million grant. Through additional funding from the ministry and investment from the board, enough money was raised to cover the $25-million cost. The board provided additional funds to pay for the expropriated land.