The Toronto District School Board’s real estate subsidiary is considering severing part of one of its schoolyards for a new nursing home in light of Ontario legislation targeting public lands for redevelopment.
If the proposal goes ahead, it would mark the first time the TDSB, Canada’s largest school board, reduced the footprint of a school property for the construction of a long-term care facility.
The Toronto Lands Corporation, which manages the board’s $20-billion real estate portfolio, is working on a proposal to redevelop St. Margaret’s Public School in Scarborough, which sits on a 7.4 acre site. Under the preliminary plan, roughly two acres would be used for a nursing home.
In addition, officials are exploring locating two new schools as part of residential developments and a third as part of a hub with a civic centre, library and public square, according to a report considered by a committee of Toronto Lands board of directors.
The committee voted to make the four sites its top redevelopment priorities at a meeting Tuesday, according to Ryan Bird, a spokesperson for the TDSB.
“The sites outlined in this report present the opportunity for the TLC, working with the TDSB, to think more broadly about how a future redevelopment may not only provide an opportunity for a new modern school, but also provide a further benefit to the community,” the Toronto Lands report says.
St. Margaret’s is the board’s “top replacement priority,” the report says. The TDSB plans to ask the province for funding to rebuild the school later this month, while “introducing” the government to its intent to develop part of the site “for other government priorities.”
Earlier this year, the Ontario government passed legislation targeting school lands to ease the housing crisis or other priorities, such as long-term care homes.
This is the third consecutive year that St. Margaret’s has been on the TDSB’s list of capital priorities. The elementary school, which was built in 1971, is over capacity and in “poor condition,” the report says. A 16-unit port-a-pack containing most classrooms is also at the end of its life.
The provincial government provides capital funding to boards to build new schools. But the TDSB says it has historically only received funding for one or two projects a year.
Part of Toronto Lands’ mandate is to leverage the TDSB’s extensive land holdings to help fund new schools. However, Toronto Lands has clashed repeatedly for years with the TDSB, The Globe and Mail has reported.
The TDSB parted ways with Toronto Lands’ chief executive officer, Daryl Sage, in July. His departure followed a performance review in September, 2022, of the subsidiary that found the organizations had been in a dysfunctional relationship for years.
Toronto Lands officials have already discussed the St. Margaret’s redevelopment concept with long-term care home operators, including at the city, for-profit and not-for-profit sectors and found “significant interest,” according to the report.
“Sites of this size are rare in Toronto. The parcel offers ample space to section off a portion the site for a new school and yard while maintaining the south end as a viable development parcel.”
Kathleen Powderley, a spokesperson for the Ontario Long Term Care Association, which represents the for-profit sector, referred questions to Toronto Lands. Debbie Humphreys, a representative for AdvantAge Ontario, a group that represents not-for-profit homes, said the organization was not aware of the proposal. A City of Toronto spokesperson, Russell Baker, said there are no plans to buy additional properties because of the municipality’s deficit.
The Toronto Lands report does not estimate the value of the land but says that if the redevelopment generated revenue, the money would be used for the board’s other capital priorities.
Zakir Patel, a TDSB trustee for Scarborough-Guildwood and a long-time realtor, said the two acres at the school have an estimated market value of $10-million.
Toronto urgently needs new nursing home beds. Even as the Ontario government embarks on the most ambitious expansion of long-term care in a generation, it is playing catchup.
Asked about Toronto Lands’ proposal, Ashley Seo, a spokesperson for Long-Term Care Minister Stan Cho, said the government is “open to exploring all opportunities” to meet its goal of building 30,000 new long-term care beds across Ontario in the next five years.
Toronto Lands’ report says the proposed St. Margaret’s redevelopment is still “preliminary” and that other proposals, such as affordable and supportive housing, could be developed for the site.
Jill Mahoney
Karen Howlett