REGINA – Despite some bumps along the way things are on track for the new joint use school in Harbour Landing West to be completed by next fall.
At a media event on Wednesday morning at the construction site, located at the corner of Gordon Road and Campbell Street, officials from the province reported the build is now 70 per cent complete. The facility is expected to be up and running by Sept. 2027.
Regina Public School Division’s new Meadowlark School will accommodate up to 500 public school students, while the Catholic division’s St. Carlo Acutis will take on 350 Catholic school students.
“Now a new school is about so much more than just bricks and mortar,” Education Minister Everett Hindley said. “It's an investment in the future of a community as we're seeing here in this particular neighborhood and also in the families who call this area home.
“The schools will have not only room for a total of 850 students but the building will also provide 90 new child care spaces and this neighborhood will enjoy the many positive impacts of this facility for so many years to come.”
Minister for SaskBuilds Sean Wilson said the project costs $63.3 million including $4 million from the City of Regina. “And as you can see, I mean, they're moving along quite quickly,” he said of the structure that was up behind them.
There have been some hiccups along the way, as
Greg Fischer from Regina Catholic School Division noted in his remarks. He was referring to fire damage from a break-in earlier this year.
“We've had some hiccups in the process, as we all know, some damage that may require shuffling of classes, but we are confident that we will be able to open and provide a quality Catholic education to all the students who will eagerly pass through those doors in September.”
The new school is eagerly anticipated due to current overcapacity pressures at the existing Harbour Landing facility, something acknowledged by Regina Public Schools, Chairperson Adam Hicks.
“Harbour Landing School, as of last June, had 966 students on the Regina public side, operating at about 135 per cent of its operating capacity,” Hicks said.
“This milestone behind us will give us the freedom to breathe and to properly use that building as we transition a few hundred kids, about 500 students, into this wonderful building behind us. And we are so excited for the capacity that will allow for teaching and learning within our buildings.”
Minister HIndley said that with the new Meadowlark facility being able to accommodate another 500 students, that will take some of the pressure off. “So absolutely, this will help address some of those challenges,” he said.
HIndley acknowledged that trying to project and predict where the enrolment is happening is an “imperfect science.” He pointed to neighbourhoods popping up and growing rather quickly, as well as a lot of economic development happening.
“We've seen significant growth over the past number of years. That's something that comes with a growing province, and a growing economy, and a growing population. So we're proud to see that, and we continue to work very closely and make sure that we are working closely with our
education partners to address those enrolment pressures when we need to.”
