A new school with a child care centre will soon rise in Port Moody's downtown — and it will be 30 per cent bigger than the current school in the neighbourhood to accommodate a growing population.
School District 43 officials (SD43) have confirmed that construction for the $37.2 million replacement school for Moody Elementary could begin later this spring.
A tendering process is expected to take place soon for the building at 110 Buller St., in front of Moody Middle school, according to information provided by Ken Hoff, SD43's assistant director of communication and community relations. The school is scheduled to open in fall, 2024.
When it does open, it will have a capacity, for 385 students, or 115 more than the older school's current capacity, as well as 60 child care spaces.
Where will students come from
However, it's too early to say if many of the students in the new kindergarten to Grade 5 school will come from nearby Coronation Park.
That's because changes in the neighbourhood — that straddles both Coquitlam and Port Moody— are still in the pipeline, with details, such as demographics, size type and number of units still unknown, according to Hoff.
Still, there is space on the site for an addition if needed, Hoff said in a statement, and the school district will be working with Coquitlam and Port Moody on future student needs depending on growth in the area.
"New students eventually coming from the Coronation Park area may be placed in a number of nearby schools," said Hoff in an email to the Tri-City News.
"As this, and the Port Moody area, is expected to continue to densify, the district has a number of potential options to deal with growth over the medium to long term."
SD43 contributes $5 million
In Coquitlam, council approved Polygon's rezoning application for the Coronation Heights neighbourhood at 135 Balmoral Dr. and 2508–2548 Palmer Ave., with high-rises up to 51 storeys on 11.3 acres. They'll include 2,000 condos, 800 rental units and 201 below-market suites.
Meanwhile, Wesgroup's rezoning application for the Coronation Park neighbourhood is still in the pipeline in Port Moody where the developer is planning a community of 2,665 units in six towers up to 31 storeys. The project will also include a rental building, office and commercial spaces, two daycares, a park and city amenity space to be constructed on a 14.8-acre site at the corner of Barnet Highway and Ioco Road.
In June 2021, the B.C. government announced $32.2 million in funding with SD43 kicking in $5 million to replace the school,which is currently located at 2717 St. Johns St.
SD43’s $5-million contribution came from the $16.2-million sale of the former Lincoln elementary to the BC Christian Academy.
Solar panels and child care spaces
School officials have said that relocating the new school is necessary because the current Moody Elementary site is too small to build a new school while keeping the existing one running for students.
A new child care centre will also be built at Moody Elementary that will create up to 60 licensed spaces, including up to 40 infant/toddler spaces and up to 20 spaces for school-aged children.
As well, the new Moody Elementary will have roof-top solar panels to provide some of the school’s electrical needs.
