If you've been following the relocation efforts for St. Joseph Morrow Park (SJMP) over the past few years, you know that, in brief, the SJMP property was sold to Tyndale College in 2006 and since then SJMP operates on the Bayview Avenue property under a lease (that expires in June 2013) with Tyndale. The TCDSB has been searching for a new location for SJMP since the property was sold.
Until recently, the TCDSB's plans were to relocate SJMP to the Blessed Trinity (BT) school property and construct a combined primary and secondary school on that property, to house both BT and SJMP (you can read the sign posted on the BT property in that regard as of this day). However, the required funding for that project (specifically, the primary grades portion) could not be secured. Eventually, the TCDSB sought to purchase a property owned by the TDSB, in the Alamosa community (southwest pocket of Finch and Leslie) and move BT there and construct a new SJMP, only, on the current BT site. That plan has also not materialized.
On July 24th, I emailed our TCDSB Trustee, Mr. John Del Grande seeking an update on the SJMP relocation plans and he as advised that "At the present time, Blessed Trinity will stay where it is and we are
negotiating a new site for SJMP currently owned by the TDSB." The "new site" he refers to is the former Cummer Avenue Public School property, located on the north side of Cummer Avenue, just west of Bayview Avenue.
Mr. Del Grande provided me with a copy of the TCDSB's July 6, 2012 letter to the BT and SJMP parent community, wherein the Board confirms this information and indicates that approval for that purchase and the relocation plan is expected from the TDSB and the Ministry of Education "within the next few months".
For your additional information, I've posted the Board's July 6th letter on our CSAC Blog, bottom left corner, under the heading "SJMP Relocation Update: July 2012". From that letter, it would seem that the Board still has an issue to resolve, regarding the accommodation of SJMP students once their lease expires (June 2013) and until their new school is built on the property the Board is now attempting to buy.
I'll try to keep you posted.
Regards,
John McAteer
Chair, St. Agnes CSAC