City and French public and Catholic school boards sign land exchange

HAMILTON, ON – Today marks an important milestone for families in Hamilton. Mayor Andrea Horwath and officials from Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir and Conseil scolaire Viamonde signed a significant land exchange agreement that will deliver a state-of-the-art school for students, improve access to French-language secondary education and formally secure parkland for residents to continue to enjoy and stay active.

The agreement marks an exciting step forward for the community, securing 700 Garner Road East, a 14-acre City-owned site in Ward 12 for the future home of a joint secondary school, creating new opportunities for students and families. It also brings 16 Broughton Avenue, a 9.5-acre site in Ward 6, into public ownership, where it will be formally developed as City of Hamilton parkland, preserving valuable greenspace for residents to enjoy for generations to come.

“This land exchange is the result of years of determined advocacy, partnership and hard work by local leaders, Francophone families, City Council and staff, and our French public and Catholic school boards,” said Mayor Andrea Horwath. “The community shared their frustration with the lack of progress with me in the summer of 2022.  Together, we stayed focused on what our community needed - greater access to French-language secondary education in Ancaster and the protection of valuable greenspace for residents. Today’s milestone delivers both. It brings a long-awaited facility, within which both high schools will be located, closer to home for Francophone students and families, while ensuring parkland in Ward 6 is preserved for generations to come. This is about planning responsibly, working in partnership, strengthening neighbourhoods and delivering real results for Hamiltonians.”

The City will continue to work closely with the school boards and with the owner of the surrounding subdivision to execute the required obligations under the agreement, including finalizing the subdivision agreement, to allow for the completion of the exchange and development of the lands.

• Hamilton City Council ratified moving forward with the land exchange process on July 8, 2022. 
• Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir and Conseil scolaire Viamonde are planning a facility that will accommodate approximately 400 students per board in separate wings, with shared spaces that may include an auditorium, cafeteria and vocational classrooms.