Deal to sell Arlington school in the works
A deal is in the works to sell Arlington Middle School to a French Catholic school board.
Last year the Toronto District School Board voted to sell Arlington, which overlooks Cedarvale Park, and close it this September. The board’s real estate arm, Toronto Lands Corporation is handling the potential sale.
Donna Jondreau, manager of real estate for the Toronto Lands, confirmed the Conseil Scolaire de District Catholique Centre-Sud will vote in a few weeks on whether to buy Arlington MS.
“We should know by mid-March,” Jondreau said Jan. 27.
St. Paul’s public school trustee Shelley Laskin said the deal to sell Arlington will likely be successful.
The French Catholic school board already voted to have its staff negotiate a purchase of the facility, Laskin said.
If the deal goes through, students in grade 7 will continue at Arlington in the 2011-2012 school year for grade 8.
“The site will be owned by someone else but the (public) board will lease the space,” Laskin explained.
About 93 percent of parents preferred having their children remain at Arlington for their grade 8 year, she said.
Children in nearby elementary schools will be losing Arlington as their middle school, so the plan is that four facilities expand from JK-6 to JK-8.
The Toronto District School Board undertook an Accommodation Review Committee process last year and voted to sell Arlington and expand four local elementary schools: JR Wilcox, Cedarvale, Rawlinson and Humewood.
Children currently in grade 6 at one of those four schools can stay at their facility in September when grade 7 is added. Grade 8 will be added at those schools for the 2012-2013 school year.
Funding for phase one of renovations of these neighbourhood elementary schools has already been approved as follows:
Rawlinson Community School renovation of 677 square metres to accommodate 707 students at a cost of $2.102 million.
JR Wilcox Community School renovation of 614 square metres to accommodate 422 students at a cost of $1.812 million.
Cedarvale Community School renovation of 494 square metres to accommodate 277 students at a cost of $1.314 million.
Humewood Community School renovation of 2,493 square metres to accommodate 522 students at a cost of $4.681 million.
