The provincial government is moving forward with plans to turn a former WorkSafeNB rehabilitation centre in Grand Bay-Westfield into a school for the Anglophone South School District.
"As our population continues to grow and schools continue to age, we are exploring our options to retrofit available infrastructure into modern learning environments," said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan. "Using this existing building as a school not only ensures we are meeting the infrastructure needs of the education system but allows us to spend taxpayer dollars more wisely."
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure will begin a structural analysis to determine what sort of work will be needed to complete the retrofit, along with the associated costs.
The facility at 3700 Westfield Rd. will satisfy requirements of the Grand Bay-Inglewood rationalization project, which is 10th on Education and Early Childhood Development's stable departmental infrastructure priorities list. It will provide a new school for students currently attending Grand Bay Primary School, built in 1947, and Inglewood School, which was built in 1960.
"Providing the children of Grand Bay-Westfield with a new educational facility has been a focus of mine since I was first elected in 2014," said Kings Centre MLA Bill Oliver. "This will enhance the learning environment that our children deserve."
Oliver attended for Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Richard Ames.
The space needed for educational purposes will only occupy a portion of the facility. Uses for the remaining space will be considered during the assessment process.
"We are very excited to see the Grand Bay-Inglewood project progressing," said Anglophone South School District superintendent Derek O'Brien. "The school community have been long advocates for a new learning space, and we are pleased that this solution will get us there in a shorter time frame."
The property was transferred to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure last December.
