Budget finalized for new Olympic Village school

A long-awaited new school in Vancouver’s Olympic Village neighbourhood is one step closer to reality, with the province saying a budget has been finalized for the development.

The school is expected to have capacity for 630 students. The four-storey building will also feature a learning centre and space for child-care and an associated play area.

“The new building will also feature an active rooftop, providing a private space for students to engage in various outdoor activities,” said Vancouver Schoolboard chair Victoria Jung.

The facility is set to receive more than $150 million from the province, and is expected to be complete by the fall of 2029.

The City of Vancouver is providing a 99-year lease for the site, with Mayor Ken Sim saying the location of the new public elementary school “is poised to become the beating heart of the Olympic Village.”

Residents have been calling for the facility for well over a decade.

Council documents show the city has been talking about the need for the school since at least 2007, and had expected it to be up and running by 2020.

The current catchment elementary school for the area is Simon Fraser Elementary, which is around a 25-minute walk from Olympic Village. The school has been significantly overcapacity as the population in the area has grown. In 2021, it operated at 190 per cent of capacity, according to school board statistics.

In 2020, the BC NDP promised the school would be built if the party was re-elected to a second term.

“With so many new people choosing B.C. as their home in recent years, we know now is not the time to cut back on building schools where they’re needed the most,” said Education Minister Rachna Singh Friday.

“Schools are at the heart of every community.”

Finance Minister Katrine Conroy hinted at updates about the Olympic Village school while delivering Budget 2024 in February.

In addition to finalizing the budget for the new school in the Vancouver neighbourhood, the province said Friday that Henry Hudson Elementary would also receive additional spending and be expanded to include space for 145 more students.

Henry Hudson, which is currently under construction, is set to receive an additional six classrooms, bringing the capacity to 535 students. The school is set to be completed by 2025.

The school board says construction of the new school is set to begin in 2027 and is expected to be complete by fall 2029.

Budget 2024 included $3.8 billion for capital projects over the next three years. The funding is aimed at new and expanded schools, as well as upgrades and replacements, the province says.

With files from Monika Gul.