A long-awaited elementary school on Burke Mountain may be closer to reality as School District 43 begins to cast a net for property in the area.
Although funds have yet to be approved for Smiling Creek elementary, the district is looking for a realtor to do the land assembly.
"The purpose of the realtor is to help us acquire a site," explained Ivano Cecchini, a school district facilities planner.
The district already has land for a new secondary school on Burke Mountain, acquired through a land exchange with the provincial government, but as yet nothing has been set aside for Smiling Creek. "We're trying to get it [the school] underway as soon as possible," Cecchini said, adding that a realtor will help the district with the property purchase.
According to an expression of interest filed with BCBid, the school district is looking for an experienced licensed realtor with extensive knowledge of development plans for Coquitlam's north east sector.
Smiling Creek elementary is one of three elementary schools planned for the fast-growing area.
The school district would like to see a new Smiling Creek elementary for between 350 to 400 students open by 2016, followed by Partington Creek elementary in 2021, the new Burke Mountain secondary in 2023, then another new elementary school (on Marigold Street in the Partington Creek neighbourhood) before the final installment in the Burke Mountain school capital plan - a 600-student middle school in 2026.
In all, between 2,594 and 3,100 students could be moving into the area in the next 15 to 20 years, according to projections, adding between 8% and 10% to the district's current enrollment of about 30,000 students.
However, the dates aren't hard and fast and depend on funding and enrollment. According to the district, the newly-developed area has more young children than was originally expected.
Meanwhile, the planned roll-out of new communities on Burke Mountain continues.
On Monday, city council gave first reading to the draft Partington Creek Neighbourhood Plan (PCNP), a proposal to add up to 15,000 new residents on Burke's eastern slope, by Minnekhada regional park. The PCNP calls for up to 5,700 new homes plus a commercial and recreational hub to be built, with $157 million in new infrastructure.
A new firehall for the area is also under construction, with the city issuing tenders for trade pre-qualification for the $10.6 million facility.
- with files from Janis Warren
