Plans to replace a rundown elementary school near Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue are still on track despite a recent attempt to preserve the property and designate it for heritage protection.
In October 2015, $14.7 million was promised from the Ontario government to construct a new Davisville Junior Public School that is currently suffering from a long list of needed repairs.
Shortly after, a group of architects from the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO) Toronto branch set out to preserve the school. They took their case to the Toronto Preservation Board (TPB), and on June 2, the board unanimously voted to recommend the school for heritage designation. The move could have jeopardized the project’s funding, as a tear down and rebuild was determined by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) to be the most cost-effective solution and provincial funding was specifically allocated under those terms.
“Even though this building can no longer serve the needs of the school, it is our opinion that it can and should be repurposed as part of the redevelopment of the site,” Catherine Nasmith, president of the ACO wrote in a letter to the TPB.
The building was built in 1962 for the Metropolitan Toronto School for the Deaf, by the late Peter Pennington, and was custom designed to their exact needs.
Nasmith praised the school’s unique features, including the window forms, stairways, columns and small exterior playgrounds for each “house.”
Despite these arguments, Toronto and East York Community Council ruled against the TPB’s recommendation on June 14.
“I’ve always been a very outspoken heritage advocate, and my community shares that value, but there are cases where context is important and this is one of them,” said Ward 22 councillor Josh Matlow. “There’s no way to repurpose this building because we still need a school there. In fact, we need a bigger school because we’ve got more kids.”
Locals, city officials and the TDSB rallied for years to secure funding to rebuild the dilapidated school, as it had risen to take the number one spot on the TDSB’s capital priority list in 2015.
One of the school’s major maintenance issues stems from the unique dome-shaped roof that has caused serious leaks and flooding over the years.
Ward 11 TDSB trustee Shelley Laskin was one of many who spoke against the heritage designation at community council. Laskin addressed enrolment pressures, the TDSB’s $3.3 billion repair backlog and the financial risk an expensive retrofit would pose.
"Analysis of the site and facility by both professional staff and architects from the beginning determined that a replacement building was the only responsible and reasonable conclusion, and the province agreed,” said Laskin.
“Satisfying heritage aspects should not imply that the community should be required to work with a lesser educational facility,” she added.
Currently, 573 Davisville students and Spectrum Alternative Senior School students occupy the building. That population exceeds the school’s 538-student capacity and is expected to significantly grow in the coming years.
If the school’s heritage designation had been approved, it could have also prevented the community’s Midtown Hub initiative from being built next to the school. The idea of a community centre was thought up last year and, if approved, would ideally include a double gym, a multi-purpose community space and a new swimming facility along with an outdoor recreation space.
Pleased by the council’s decision to not grant heritage status, Laskin said the TDSB looks forward to building a school that will better serve the students in the community.
