London

City Buys Lorne Avenue Public School

Lorne Avenue Public School and the property it sits on will become property of the City of London.

The Thames Valley District School Board has accepted the city's offer to purchase the 1.4 hectare site for $550,000.

The school will officially close in June of 2015, after this school year comes to an end.

It is still not entirely clear what will become of the land, but since the area will not have recreational space after the school's closure it is expected it will be transformed into a park.

“At this point we expect that a process similar to that utilized for the lands associated with the closing of Sherwood Forest Public School will be implemented to explore what opportunities exist for establishing park space in addition to either re-purposing the existing school building, or possibly demolishing the building and developing a portion of the lands for low density housing," says City Planner John Fleming. "Our intention is to engage the community in a full discussion through this zoning amendment process. There are great opportunities to consider that will draw upon, and enhance, the outstanding qualities of the Old East Village neighbourhood while establishing much-need park space at this location.”

School board officials had voted to close the school due to declining enrollment.

A condition of the completion of the sale is the rezoning of the property by June 15, 2015

Read More Local Stories