Instead of demolishing a “high risk” wing of Mitchell Elementary, built in 1960, the Richmond School District will put $1.3 million into repurposing it for adult education and the Rideau Park centre into the Rideau Park Resource Centre.
Mitchell elementary is currently undergoing seismic upgrading – provincially funded to the tune of $11.4 million - and the original plan was to demolish the wing once this work was completed.
The 1960-built block of the school has been assessed as having a high risk of damage and liquefaction in the event of an earthquake. (Liquefaction means soil loses its strength and stiffness when shaken, for example, in an earthquake.)
However, the school district claims adults can evacuate buildings faster, so there is less risk for them in the event of an earthquake.
To bring the wing up to the same standards as the rest of the school, it would need to have both substructure and superstructure upgrades, according to information compiled by the school district.
Some minor upgrading will be done to the building, including reinforcing the wall that separates the adult education section from the rest of the school.
The new “Mitchell Education Centre” will house adult education programs, currently run out of former Rideau elementary. It will run separately from the kindergarten-to-Grade-7 school.
The Rideau Park centre will be converted into office and storage space and will also be used by the school district’s resource centre.
The board of education approved the project at Wednesday’s meeting with the money coming out of the capital reserve budget.
In response to a question from the public about allowing people into a seismically risky building, the school district stated the building is made to be safe long enough for students to evacuate, however, adults “are capable of evacuating buildings faster and it is therefore less of a risk.”
The current seismic upgrade project is expected to be completed this spring.
Retrofitting the 1960 wing of the school is expected to be completed by Christmas.
