Vancouver Kingsway school damaged by fire could be permanently closed

Vancouver Kingsway school damaged by fire being considered for permanent closure

Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Once again, Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School in the Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood of East Vancouver is being eyed for permanent closure.

The elected trustees of the Vancouver School Board (VSB) voted last week to follow the School Board staff’s recommendation to begin with the early steps of the formal process for considering the permanent closure of the school, which sits on a six-acre property at 3250 Kingsway — the southwest corner of the intersection of East 41st Avenue/Joyce Street and Kingsway.

School Board staff are recommending the official closure of the school on January 1, 2024.

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In order for the school to be closed, the trustees would have to take several more steps before arriving at a decision, including whether to initiate public consultation for further consideration.

A final decision on the school’s closure could be made in November 2023 if the trustees decide to advance into further stages of the formal process.

Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

While the property and its buildings are technically classified as an elementary school, Carleton Elementary has not operated as a school in seven years.

The school has been temporarily closed since August 2016, when it was damaged by a severe fire. Prior to the fire, VSB had planned for an enrolment of 308 students for the start of the new school in September 2016.

Although Cunningham Elementary School — located about a 25-minute walk away to the west — was designated as the new home for Carleton students, many families opted to send their children to the closer schools of Dr. George M. Weir Elementary School and Dr. H.N. MacCorkindale Elementary School.

According to the School Board, there were just 62 students from the former Carleton school catchment attending at Cunningham Elementary in September 2022 — down from 116 students in September 2016.

In January 2023, the trustees approved adjusting the Carleton school catchment by increasing the size of the Cunningham and MacCorkindale school catchments and reducing the size of the Carleton catchment to the extent that no residents remain within the Carleton catchment.

Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School Vancouver 4

Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School Vancouver 3

Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

School Board staff estimate the cost to repair the fire damage, and subsequent further damage due to vandalism is about $10 million. These costs do not include separate additional significant costs to conduct necessary seismic upgrades, but the provincial government has not provided the funding to repair the fire damage, and the seismic upgrades have been deemed to have a poor business case due to forecasted low enrolment.

“It should be made clear that the facility condition of Carleton is very poor and there’s substantial capital repairs or requirements that are necessary to bring the school back into operation, and that is notwithstanding the seismic rating risk rating for the school, which is at the highest risk category,” said ABC trustee Joshua Zhang during last week’s meeting.

According to School Board staff, their rationale for the consideration of the closure of Carleton Elementary is based on the “potential opportunities for alternate community use and capital revenue generation,” including the possibility of a long-term lease of the site or a sale of at least a portion of the site, which requires a “site surplus declaration by the trustees.”

Green Party trustee Janet Fraser agreed with the need to consider the property for potential new uses with greater utility but came short of suggesting the land should be sold.

“This is a truly unique situation where we’ve not been able to have students safely in the buildings or on the school site for many years since the fire. If we’re going to be able to move forward and use the site in a good way, this is the first step in the process outlined,” said Fraser.

“The closure opens up possibilities to have discussions and sitting in my mind that shouldn’t be tied to selling the site, so I’m in support of moving this report to Facilities Planning Committee.”

OneCity trustee Jennifer Reddy suggested the neighbourhood could see more enrolment demand in the future from the continued residential densification of the area around SkyTrain Joyce-Collingwood Station.

Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School Vancouver Green Thumb Theatre 1

Green Thumb Theatre at the old schoolhouse building of Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School. (Google Maps)

It should be noted that four of the five structures on the school property are deemed to be high-value Category A heritage properties in the City of Vancouver’s Vancouver Heritage Registrar. This includes the 1912-built main school building damaged by fire, and the 1896-built Carleton Hall, which is the site’s original school building and Vancouver’s oldest remaining schoolhouse.

The schoolhouse was also eyed for demolition after it experienced a fire in 2008. But it was saved a decade ago after the Green Thumb Theatre succeeded in raising $1.4 million from the community to complete the necessary repairs and renovations to turn it into the theatre company’s new permanent home. Green Thumb Theatre’s use of this building is based on a lease.

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