Scenic Acres - future school site

The FrancoSud School Board received approval to build a new francophone school in the northwest community of Scenic Acres, at 200 Scenic Acres Drive N.W. Construction will begin in the summer of 2015, and the anticipated completion date is January 2017. Since the existing site is a recreation space, there will be some impact during and after construction.

Please see the list below for updates as the project progresses.

A small portion of the regional pathway adjacent to the Scenic Acres Francophone school site will be temporarily closed until construction of the school has been completed. Pathway detour signage is posted around the site to help direct pedestrians in the neighbourhood. Although the regional pathway is temporarily closed it can still be used to access the existing playground to the north and tennis courts west of the school site.

Site boundaries shown in green

Parks recognizes that trees are an important part of our urban environment and we take every measure to protect public trees wherever possible. At this site, 18 existing trees will be removed by the developer. The City authorized removal of these 18 trees because they are directly impacted by construction. There is a need to accommodate the new building, with room for required driveway access. Parks has undergone an extensive review of the site design and made recommendations to preserve the existing trees on site. In doing so, the design preserves a majority of the existing trees and all adjacent playfields and recreational amenities for Calgarians to enjoy.

As required by the development process, the developer will pay compensation for lost trees to The City of Calgary. Compensation funds paid to The City will be reinvested in new trees either directly at the site or at nearby locations. The City will work with the Scenic Acres Community Association to determine the locations and tree species to be planted.

To protect public and worker safety, the basketball courts to the west of the new school will be temporarily closed to accommodate construction activity. The basketball court closest to the future school building will be temporarily impacted by construction activities. A six foot retaining wall will be installed, and approximately half of the court will be removed to allow for installation and then replaced to the pre-construction condition by the site contractor. While the basketball courts at this location are closed, please feel free to enjoy the ones in Silver Springs which are located approximately 3.2km away (5720 Silver Ridge Dr. N.W.).

The City has been working closely with Alberta Infrastructure and has a City-approved irrigation plan in place. The approved design uses the existing irrigation network and allows, at a minimum, for the northern soccer field and ball diamond to be irrigated to current standards. Irrigation will continue on the playfields weekly during the construction of the school building to ensure they’re maintained to a healthy standard. The irrigation of existing trees has also been included as part of the approved Tree Protection Plan. A Parks Urban Forestry Technician will be visiting the site weekly to inspect tree health and protection measures.

Fencing has been installed around the construction site and The City has investigated the complaints related to the fencing. Upon inspection, the fencing meets the minimum standards required. However, should you notice unsafe sections of fencing, please call 311.

Bookings for the baseball diamonds will continue to be made available to adult groups, and will not be limited to only little league bookings. Please note that on a daily basis, the site contractor will collect any balls that go over the fence, and will place them in a bucket where players can retrieve them.

For inquiries on construction activity, please contact the FrancoSud School Board at 403-686-6998.

Site closure boundaries shown in red