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User Not Found | Oct 21, 2015
The Gryphon has been named the mascot of the town’s future high school, Greater Fort Erie Secondary School. Special to The Times/Postmedia Network
The District School Board of Niagara has hired Toronto-based contractor Strut-Con Construction to build Fort Erie’s future high school.
School board trustees voted to award the near $3 million contract to Struct-Con on Tuesday night.
“I am excited,” said Fort Erie trustee Dave Schaubel. “(The contractor) will be using as many local sub-contractors as possible. It’s good for the economy and it’s good for Niagara.”
Schaubel said seven contractors applied for the job and the contract was awarded to the lowest bidder.
“This project has been a long time coming and I think this is great.”
Schaubel is not aware of “an exact date” as to when construction on the new high school, at 1640 Garrison Rd., will begin.
“I’ve been assured that construction will move on schedule and it will be finished in time for when (Greater Fort Erie Secondary School) opens (in September 2017).
“We are pleased to reach another milestone in the process to deliver a new high school for students in the Greater Fort Erie area,” Sue Barnett, the chair of the school board of trustees, said in a press release. “Struct-Con is a respected firm with expertise in this area, having recently completed a $22 million school project for theToronto District School Board.”
Greater Fort Erie Secondary School will be built on a 15-acre plot of land across from the town hall and will feature 33 classrooms including science labs, music, arts business and technology rooms. It will also include a cafeteria, a kitchen for its award-winning food program, a double gym, a fitness centre and an artificial turf athletic field. The new school will cover approximately 116,600 square feet.
The budget for the new school build is $28,405,253. The price tag includes the cost of land as well as the $3 million Fort Erie Centre for the Arts, which will be financed through fundraising efforts. The DSBN and Town of Fort Erie have each contributed $500,000 to the theatre project.
Sarah.ferguson@sunmedia.ca