Background
The Lower Yonge Precinct is an emerging mixed-use community situated along
Toronto鈥檚 central waterfront. This Former industrial area was identified by City of
Toronto as an area well suited for revitalization. In 2016, Waterfront Toronto and the
City of Toronto completed studies for the Lower Yonge Precinct Plan, which
established the planning requirement for urban design and community infrastructure.
Staff from 污污漫画 Planning Department participated in this comprehensive planning
study and determined that a new elementary school would be required to serve the
proposed population density and intensification planned for the area.
In planning for a new elementary school, 污污漫画 explored multiple locations and
development approaches. Traditionally, 污污漫画鈥檚 model has been to build standalone
schools on dedicated 3-acre parcels of land. Due to rising real estate costs and the
limited availability of large development sites in the Lower Yonge Precinct, securing
such a parcel proved extremely challenging.
As a result, 污污漫画 pursued an alternative approach: partnering with an existing
developer to integrate the school within a mixed-use development. This model allows
the school to be built within the development, with access to both rooftop playground
space and nearby city park amenities.
On November 18, 2021, the ministry provided funding for a new JK-8 school with 455
pupil places at Lower Yonge Precinct, now known as Sugar Wharf Public School.
Through several design iterations, it was determined that the best option was to
locate the school within the repurposed former LCBO Headquarters building. This
existing building has a heritage designation requiring key building elements, including
entrances and exterior brick facades, to be preserved. The new school will benefit
from this location which provides a unique identity, and a self-contained school within a dense urban environment.