A former Ottawa public school in the Redwood-Graham Park community is up for sale, eight years after the school was closed to students. Avison Young lists the former Grant Alternative School on Draper Avenue for sale, saying it has “development potential.” “Prime 5.53-acre site in Ottawa’s Redwood-Graham Park community. Features a well-maintained 25,000 sq. ft. school building with offices, classrooms, gym, and Kindergarten rooms,” the listing said. “Zoned Institutional with strong development potential. Excellent transit access near Pinecrest LRT and future BRT.” There is no sale price listed for the school. Grant Alternative School closed to students in 2017. It’s located next to St. Paul High School, near the intersection of Baseline Road and Greenbank Road. Ottawa West Nepean MPP Chandra Pasma and College Coun. Laine Johnson are criticizing the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s decision to “quietly” list the school for sale while under provincial supervision. They are calling on the board to be transparent about the sale and engage with the community. “I have been working with the community and city staff to ensure that this property stays in public hands,” Johnson said in a statement. “There should have been an official approach to the municipality before the supervisor turned to private buyers in a secretive process.” Pasma said residents in the community “deserve transparency” about why the building is for sale. “Taxpayer dollars were used to buy these lands and build these schools,” Pasma said. “We should at least know when a school is being put up for sale and what uses are being considered, before a final sale is suddenly announced as a done deal.” In January, OCDSB supervisor Robert Plamondon said he directed staff to “move quickly to divest unused facilities.” “My objective is to find efficiencies within the system and reinvest some savings directly into student learning,” Plamondon said in a letter to parents. “On the capital side, this means refocusing spending on projects that most directly affect student well-being—spending less on solar panels without a clear financial return and more on classroom air conditioning and improving water quality in rural schools.”
