TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD SCHOOLS WITHIN MIXED USE BUILDINGS: COMMERCIAL AND CONDOMINIUM BUILDINGS. Planning and Priorities Committee

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1 23 Report No TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD SCHOOLS WITHIN MIXED USE BUILDINGS: COMMERCIAL AND CONDOMINIUM BUILDINGS TO Planning and Priorities Committee 10 June 2015 RECOMMENDATION IT IS RECOMMENDED that the report be received. STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS Make every school an effective school; Build leadership within a culture of adaptability, openness, and resilience; Form strong and effective relationships and partnerships; and Build environmentally sustainable schools that inspire teaching and learning; CONTEXT In November 2014, the Board of Trustees requested that the Director present a report outlining how the Board can respond to the possibility of schools being located in commercial and condominium buildings. Consideration will be given to high-rise and integrated mixed settings comprised of commercial, employment and residential uses. This report will highlight mixed use opportunities and the benefits and challenges of school space being integrated into mixed-use projects. The accommodation of schools within private developments is not a wide-spread phenomenon: the validity is found in urban contexts exhibiting extreme property values with scarce amounts of available property to accommodate schools. As such, only a small number of case studies are to be found as is documented in this report s appendixes. An integrated-school development model in Toronto is heavily dependent upon cooperation with the City of Toronto s Planning Department to be mindful of the Board s enrollment pressure areas (Appendix A). The City s Planning Department will need to identify early in the application process all developments that could accommodate the Board s needs in areas of interest to the Board. A successful integrated-school development requires that the Board is a key stakeholder and participant in a project s design development which happens early within the project s lifespan.

2 24 A more formal process to secure support from the City for integrated-school developments and to identify developments early in the application process is to have entrenched language in Secondary Plans within the City of Toronto in areas where the Board is anticipating accommodation needs beyond current school site capacities (i.e. where sites are soon to be fully built out). Opportunities for integrated-school developments will be triggered by a municipal review of site specific Official Plan policies that contemplate residential intensification. This review will precede or accompany expressions of interest by landowners or developers in the submission of development applications. Not all sites will provide ideal scenarios for the integration of a school, and municipal leadership will be required to facilitate any opportunities including the drafting of zoning by-laws to implement integrated development scenarios. Timelines of two to three years are contemplated to secure development approvals presuming that Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) appeals are not sought. SUMMARY The opportunity of locating satellite schools or micro-schools within residential developments may be a viable option in areas where relief from increased accommodation pressures are on the rise and land values are too costly to secure large conventional sites. As the City of Toronto population grows and increasingly dense neighbourhoods emerge, providing education in a more nontraditional and flexible built form may be of value. Designing schools in combination with a condominium or commercial building must assign a priority to children s safety; school programming; schools as community hubs; and the opportunity for resource sharing in a mixed use project. The compatibility of uses in an integrated model is critical. It forms the basis of a successful urban landscape of which schools will remain an important component of where the needs of vertical communities are imminent. Schools in this context may be a viable option where increased enrolment pressures are acute, accommodation options are limited, and land values are too costly to secure large conventional school sites.

3 25 A concept of schools in a `mixed use` setting signifies a compact and efficient land use that offers the community convenience and short commutes within walking distance. Mixed use developments allow for greater intensity of land uses in areas such as downtowns, city centres, transit corridors and major transit stations, shopping centres, post-secondary school campuses and major employers. A common pattern most consistent with zoning requirements is storefront commercial, retail uses on the ground floor with residential or an office component located on the above stories. Including civic uses such as schools in proposed developments may also allow for a more diverse pattern of use and potentially accommodate a community s daily within a short distance of their doorstep. The concept of mixed use development from a land use perspective allows for a diverse mix of residential, employment, education, retail, open space and recreational land. Placing these uses in areas with accessible public transportation will allow a community to fulfill a variety of daily activities like, learn, live, work and play right within their development. Emerging New Communities The City of Toronto s population continues to grow and city projections indicate a level of approximately 3 million residents by Amidst the emergence of dense neighbourhoods where the bulk of the growth in population is projected to occur, new schools are expected to form a part of these new communities. These areas of intensification are identified in Appendix A. Cost of New School Sites In areas of Toronto with high intensification and rising property values, securing traditional school sites will become impractical to identify and impossible to acquire. A five-acre site in the Downtown core will be beyond the means of the Board under current funding conditions. A new model of accommodation will need to be explored once the capacity of existing school sites is maximized. Realities of current Integrated and Multi-Use sites Integrated community development schemes like those planned in the Railway Lands for example are reminders of the constraints and expectations imposed on the parameters of a school s design

4 26 in the context of a small site (2.1 acres to be shared with the Catholic Board and City of Toronto community centre). The feasibility of securing a site on Block 31 in the Railway Lands would not have been possible without the creation of provincial legislation to support the collection of levies, nor without access to a city-owned site at a nominal fee, with abutting access to a 5 acre park. These arrangements are the exception in site acquisitions but they foretell of the required expectations in securing sites in highly integrated environments and the need to depart from traditional practices and develop creative and flexible approaches. The following is a high-level list of possible locations, pros/cons, and site criterial related to integrated-school developments in Toronto at this point in time: Possible locations for integrated-school developments: Downtown Core, Employment Land Conversion, Yonge Street Corridor; new residential areas; and TDSB sites (with aging facilities and sufficient site size to provide local accommodation relief). Benefits of schools being located within a condominium/ commercial building are: relieving enrollment pressures in urban centres and dense areas of the City where land acquisition is prohibitive; integrated schools serving on-site residents; cost savings/efficiencies; synergies of compact development and compatible uses in one site; efficient use of land and infrastructure; meet the needs of intensification and population growth; support walkable communities and shorter distances to uses; convenient living; offsetting some capital/operational costs through publicprivate partnerships; and opportunities to bring learn, live, work and play onto one site.

5 27 Challenges of schools being located within a condominium/ commercial building are: City requirements are currently unknown; Board to review curriculum requirements for smaller schools, some without direct access to open space; mix-use developments have an inherent risk of incompatible uses occurring which were unforeseen; complex condominium agreements would be required to clearly describe extent of ownership and permitted operational activities; ensuring separate spaces and access, privacy, soundproofing, firewalls, ventilation, unobstructed fire routes and emergency exits. Next Steps: Further participation from TDSB departments (Planning, Facility Services, Teaching and Learning, Safe and Caring Schools, Legal Services, Researchers); Further review of case studies including international examples; Discussions with Toronto Lands Corporation on process for engaging with development community; Discussions with City on development application process; and Develop template of TDSB criteria for schools in mix-use developments. APPENDICES Appendix A: Potential Schools on Sites to Serve New Communities and Elementary Schools over 100% Utilization Rate Appendix B: Case Study: Overview Appendix C: Case Study Photos & Floor Plan: 8 Spruce Street, New York City Appendix D: Case Study Photo: The School at Columbia University, New York City Appendix E: Appendix F: Appendix G: Case Study Photos: North Toronto Collegiate, Toronto Case Study Photos: Downtown Alternative School, Toronto Case Study Photos: International Village, Vancouver

6 28 FROM Carla Kisko, Associate Director, Finance and Operations Jeff Latto, Senior Manager, Major Capital Projects and Building Partnerships,

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