Deadline set to preserve century-old school in Oshawa
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Loading... - Valeria Barrera
- 20 Mar 2023
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The last chance to preserve all, or at least part of, a school that has a history dating back more than 150 years will happen in the next six months or so after Oshawa staff completes a Heritage Research report on the former Harmony Road Public School.
The current building was built between 1923 and 1924 – making it as old as the ‘City’ of Oshawa itself – which in turn replaced buildings originally built in 1871 (on land donated by Oshawa pioneer Akeus Moody Farewell) and again in 1890 and 1915. The earliest register for the school (1872) reveals that 58 pupils were enrolled, with 13 of them being Farewells.
The school closed in 2011 with students now attending the newly built Clara Hughes Public School nearby.
Harmony Road School is one of four historic properties sent to staff for reports, with a Provincial government deadline of December 31 to be ‘designated’ as heritage properties or be removed from the Heritage Registry altogether.
The clock started ticking on the deadline because of Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, which included amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act which came into effect January 1.
The school is the only one of the four that is privately owned and the property owner has made it clear they do not want a historical designation. Colony Real Estate told City staff in 2019 they do not support the designation because it would “restrict the future development potential” of the property. Read More…
