Construction plans for the South End Community Centre (SECC) took a step forward Thursday.
The city’s committee of adjustment unanimously approved a temporary parking lot plan for staff and students at Bishop Macdonell Catholic High School who will lose access to the existing shared lot this spring when construction is expected to begin.
As a result, the currently vacant lot to the east of the Clair Road school, across Poppy Drive, will be turned into a 226-space, paved parking lot with lighting. Eight of those spaces are to be barrier-free.
Two entrances off Poppy Drive are planned.
That lot has been approved for a four-year period or until construction of the SECC is complete, whichever comes first. Afterwards, the pavement is to be removed and the lot returned to its current condition.
Construction of the 165,000-square-foot community centre is expected to begin this spring, with opening set for fall of 2024, though city officials have acknowledged the project may not be fully complete by then.
The cost of creating a temporary parking lot for the school as well as community use during non-school hours is already factored in the project’s estimated $80 million cost, city staff previously confirmed.