New classrooms at Hammond Bay elementary won't be done in time to welcome students in September, due to a multitude of construction delays. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

construction delays

New classrooms at Hammond Bay elementary behind schedule

Mar 31, 2022 | 5:30 AM

NANAIMO — An underway expansion of Hammond Bay elementary school will wrap later than expected.

The addition of 12 new classrooms for a mixture of 295 existing and new students at the French immersion school won’t complete in the spring as originally forecast.

Mark Walsh, SD68’s secretary-treasure told NanaimoNewsNOW they’re seeing delays typical in the construction sector these days.

“We’re well in progress but due to this time we’re all experiencing with making sure we’re getting trades together, we’re seeing a slight delay in the project. We’re anticipating a fall completion rather than completion this spring like we were hoping.”

Six classrooms were originally promised in April 2018, later doubled to 12 for the over-capacity school in January 2019. Construction finally began in early 2021 with a forecasted February 2022 completion.

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“A mixture of supply delays early, getting our permits and making sure our trades are on schedule,” Walsh said. “It’s just a mixture of a number of small things creating a delay.”

The good news is the delays aren’t adjusting any financial plans, with the $16 million project in line to be on budget.

Provincial funds are accounting for $14.5 million of the budget, with the school district contributing the remaining $1.25 million.

It’s not expected the new classrooms will be open by the start of the 2022/23 school year, causing a minor headache for school administrators. All registered students will still be able to attend, but exactly where those lessons take place to start the year remains unknown.

Walsh said of the 295 spaces in the expanded school, roughly 150 are for new students. Some of the new spaces were taken this year with Hammond Bay admitting an extra kindergarten class, while the others to follow with new classes in the years ahead.

“We’re going to continue registering students because we know we’re going to be done relatively soon and we’re just planning now how we’re going facilitate letting that one additional class into the school while at the same time, not having an additional space.”

The approximately 150 new seats in the community is a step in the right direction toward dealing with a growing enrolment crunch in the district and Nanaimo’s north end in particular.

While Hammond Bay elementary is on track to meet demand, their designated secondary school at NDSS faces a projected 20 per cent over-enrolment come 2030.

Meanwhile, seismic upgrades are proceeding on time and under budget at Cilaire and Pleasant Valley elementary schools.

Both are expected to welcome their students back from Woodlands secondary and Rutherford elementary respectively in September.

In addition to reinforcing the aging schools to better withstand seismic shifts, Cilaire elementary is receiving a high-efficiency HVAC air filtration system, becoming one of the last schools to receive the unit, or have plans in place for installation.

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