New St. David school facing construction delays

Two brand-new Sudbury Catholic District School Board elementary schools were originally supposed to open their doors with the first day of school.

But thanks to construction delays, only one of those schools — Holy Trinity Catholic Elementary School — was able to open Sept. 8.

The board learned last spring that construction delays meant the new, $8 million St. David Catholic Elementary School would not be ready for the new school year.

Sudbury Catholic is due to meet with the contractor, Niacon Limited Construction Company, to find out when students can move into the school, said Cheryl Ann Corallo, the board's superintendent of business and finance.

Corallo doesn't currently have an estimate when the new St. David will be ready, although a statement issued on the board's website earlier this month said it should be in late November or early December.

Even with the delays — caused by difficulty in blasting rock and last winter's inclement weather — the project remains on budget, she said.

“There was some difficult rock that didn't react how it normally does when you blast, so we had to make allowances for that,” Corallo said.

“We also ran into a couple spots where there was some holes or crevasses down into the rock that we weren't aware of. Unfortunately, it's just one of those things when you're blasting rock. You never know for sure what you're going to find.”

The good news is construction is progressing well.

“The work is moving inside the school,” she said. “The more inside the school it gets, the less affected it is by weather conditions. It'll help things move along.”

The new, 22,097-square-foot St. David school, located in a treed area on Frood Road not far from the old school, will accommodate 200 pupils from junior kindergarten to Grade 6.

In a more “homey” architectural style, it will feature a sloped roof, and a walkway over the stream running through the property. To echo the natural area where it's being located, wood is being used in the construction.

While construction progresses, the school's students are being housed at the old St. David building. Parents were informed of the situation last spring.
Construction delays don't seem to have hurt St. David's enrollment.

Although the school's Grade 7 and 8 students are now being sent to St. Charles College, as planned, St. David's enrollment has increased from about 200 to 220 students, even without the older students.

“I think everyone's anticipating the opening of the new school because it's going to be so beautiful when it's done,” Corallo said.

To view a construction cam of the new St. David site, visit the board's website at www.scdsb.edu.on.ca.