Looks like a new Catholic high school in Windsor will be built on McDougall Avenue.
The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board will receive $7 million from the provincial government to purchase an 11-acre piece of property at 2465 McDougall Avenue.
This means plans to replace the aging Catholic Central High School will be proceeding soon.
“We believe the new location provides us with the opportunity and the flexibility to create a beautiful new school without the additional costs and delays that would have been associated with trying to adapt the downtown site to meet our needs,” said Director of Education Terry Lyons. “We’re extremely grateful that the Ministry of Education saw the merits of our proposal to build at this new location.”
The location is less than a kilometre south of the school’s current location at 441 Tecumseh Road East.
The board had placed an offer, conditional upon ministry funding, to purchase the new piece of property earlier this year.
The WECDSB had originally intended to build the school on the site of the former Windsor Arena near McDougall and Wyandotte Avenue East.
But in May officials cancelled the plans, considering the old arena site as too small and since it is a designated heritage site, it posed several challenges and major delays.
“We’re protecting what matters most by providing students and families with better schools for better learning,” said Lisa Thompson, Minister of Education. “By supporting communities like Windsor with modern, new school facilities, we’re helping to lay the groundwork for our students’ success.”
The WECDSB learned in 2016 that it would receive $26 million to build a new school to replace CCHS.
The Ministry of Education recently stated that funding is still available for the board’s use.
Now that funding to acquire the land has been approved, the board can remove conditions, complete the sale and begin the necessary steps to get shovels in the ground.
“This is exceptionally good news for the students of Catholic Central, their families, and the entire community,” said trustee Bernie Mastromattei, who represents the ward in which CCHS is located. “The location is ideal for our students and the fact that it’s a clear site means we can complete the project much earlier than originally anticipated. I look forward to the day we can open the doors on what I’m sure will be a wonderful new building.”
