Affordable housing project at 102-year-old Oshawa school taking next step

The Region of Durham is mulling over proposals to design, build, finance, operate and maintain 175 and 200 rental housing units – about a third affordable units – in the first stage of development at the former Ritson Road school in Oshawa.

Applicants had until October 9 to submit a bid for the project.

A consultant team was busy this summer conducting an archaeological assessment as part of the early planning process for the site’s future use. Remedial work also began outside the former school building, including bracing of the exterior façade to ensure safety and stability.

The vision for the Ritson School Project will see the renovation of an elementary school building originally built in 1923 into a community hub, with unused lands on the property include mixed-use, sustainably-built housing.

As many as 660 new units in at least four buildings could be part of the multi-phase project in, with some ground-floor commercial use.

The first stage of development should get underway in 2027.

The original school structure – a three-storey building of masonry, brick and block construction – was built in 1923 and 1928, with a kindergarten added in 1948 and an addition on the south side added in 1975.

The school closed in 2012 and was awarded a heritage designation in 2019.

A virtual engagement session was held August 12 to share ideas for the public outdoor space next to the former school building. LURA Consulting is now compiling the results into a summary report.

Durham Region purchased the former elementary school at 300 Ritson Rd. S. from the Durham District School Board for $7.49 million, taking possession of the then-99-year-old building on January 26, 2022.

The region plans a restoration and adaptive reuse of the existing 102-year-old school to provide a community hub and multi-functional space, while preserving the neo-gothic heritage qualities of the building.

The project will bring new mixed income housing to the site in south-east Oshawa, along with the adaptive reuse of the heritage school building and new pedestrian oriented public open spaces, which is expected to include a central pedestrian plaza behind the school, an open space on Ritson Road that will “signify the building’s heritage significance” while providing a place for public gatherings, and a multi-use trail along the future Olive Avenue realignment and sidewalk improvements on Ritson Road, Huron Street, and the proposed new road on the north edge of the site.

The original school structure was built more than a century ago on a prominent rise on Ritson Road, just north of Olive Avenue, for the sum of $54,000. The school was named after John Ritson, who arrived in the area in 1820 and was Oshawa’s first teacher.

Ritson Road School closed in 2012 after 89 years of service when the Durham District School Board closed three schools – Ritson Road, Duke of Edinburgh and Harmony (also built in 1923) – and consolidated the students at the Duke of Edinburgh site at the new Clara Hughes Public School.

For more information on this project, visit durham.ca/RitsonSchool.