NORTH VANCOUVER, October 27, 2015—On Monday, October 26, 2015, North Vancouver City Council approved an amendment to the City’s official community plan to rezone the property at 450 East 5th Street. The proposal by Anthem Properties for the construction of nine single-family homes will now proceed on the .58 acre site formerly occupied by Ridgeway Annex. The Annex was permanently closed in 2011 and was not considered viable as a future school site, as the small size of the land parcel does not meet current Ministry standards. Read more here.

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Parents/guardians of students in the Argyle Family of Schools were invited to an Argyle Parent Advisory Council-sponsored event on October 21, 2015 at École Boundary Elementary School to learn more about the Argyle Capital Project.  John Lewis, Superintendent of Schools, provided an overview of the history of the Argyle Capital Project; funding the “gap”; building and site enhancements; timelines; and the next steps. He outlined the actions that the Board of Education is taking to support and implement the Argyle Full Replacement Capital Project.

The slides from Superintendent Lewis’ Argyle Capital Project Update are available here.

Argyle Capital Project Update Presentation – October 21, 2015

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Status Update

Argyle Secondary School – Current Site Plan

The North Vancouver School District continues to make progress with its request for the full replacement of Argyle Secondary School.  Since the update provided at the Argyle Parent Advisory Council Meeting on March 2, 2015, the key developments are provided below:

• Constructive meetings and communications have continued with Ministry of Education staff through the spring and summer, including a site visit by Ministry staff in June 2015
• The Project Definition Report (PDR) for the replacement project was finalized after a number of updates to meet Ministry requirements and for presentation to the Ministry of Finance
• As a result of price escalation and clarification of project scope, the cost difference between the seismic upgrade ($37.8M) and the base full replacement ($45.7) is $7.9M.  The preferred alternative options that incorporate additional space for the multi-purpose / performing arts areas (+1000 sq. m.) and additional classroom capacity and recreation support space (+766 sq. m.) have increased in cost to approximately $10.7M and $13.7M respectively.  The total cost of the preferred Argyle option is $51.5M ($37.8M Ministry + $13.7M NVSD)
• The North Vancouver School District has now sold the Keith Lynn site ($5M) and Monteray site($6.38M), with proceeds targeted towards the Argyle replacement project.  A conditional sale of a surplus parcel of land at the Braemar site ($2.4M) is proceeding through the municipal process.  Together, the proceeds from these three properties will achieve the financing needed for the preferred replacement option at Argyle
• A conditional sale of the Ridgeway Annex site ($5.1M) is at fourth and final reading with the Council of the City of North Vancouver.  This will allow the sale to be completed in November, with proceeds applied to the remaining debt associated with the replacements of Sutherland Secondary and Westview Elementary Schools
• Expressions of Interest were issued in May for architectural and consultant services, followed by a Request for Proposals.  Killick, Metz, Bowen and Rose Architects and Planners (KMBR) were selected as the lead consultants for the Argyle project. KMBR have extensive experience in the design and construction of schools in BC, with North Vancouver School District experience including the Sutherland Secondary School replacement project
• During the summer 2015, advance project work was completed including: geotechnical investigation, site survey, arborist assessment, hazardous materials assessment, and non-structural seismic assessment of the existing building
• Meetings were held with the District of North Vancouver (DNV) Planning Department to identify project requirements for both the seismic and full replacement options.  DNV staff provided detailed information related to building department reviews, code compliance, local improvements, and expectations related to the ‘daylighting’ of Kilmer Creek for flood mitigation purposes
• The project request is considered by the Province of BC’s Treasury Board as a Major Capital Project for review by Treasury, Finance, and the Capital Branch to determine the outcome of the Board’s request to advance to a Project Agreement before the end of the calendar year.

The Board of Education looks forward to an invitation to enter into a Project Agreement before the end of the 2015 calendar year.

As information becomes available on this long-awaited project, updates will be posted.

Learn more here