Residents came out to oppose a proposed school expansion on a Mississauga heritage building.
Rotherglen School, Meadowvale Elementary Campus, is proposing an addition on a heritage Edwardian house, which was built around 1920. The house is part of the school.
Located at 7059 Second Line W., the private independent school has been in the community for over 25 years.
The school is expecting an increase in enrolment that cannot be accommodated in the existing buildings, said Megan Hobson of Hobson Built Heritage, at the May 12 City of Mississauga Heritage Advisory meeting.
Rotherglen School requires seven new classrooms for the projected number of new students, a report to the committee noted.
The school wants to demolish a one-storey newer addition on the Edwardian house and replace it with a larger, 2.5-storey building to accommodate growth.
The current building at 7059 Second Line W. Photo: Google Maps
Even after the expansion, more than 80 per cent of the large lot would be open space, Hobson said.
The new addition will be connected at the back of the existing house and will wrap around one corner, similar to the footprint of the existing addition that will be demolished. The new addition will be connected to the brick house on all three levels.
A diagram submitted to the City of Mississauga illustrates the design plan.
Residents came out to oppose the addition. Most were concerned about the size and design of the building.
The proposed addition is 720 per cent larger than the heritage building, said Greg Laughton of the Meadowvale Village Heritage Conservation District Review Committee.
Laughton said the addition will dominate the Edwardian house, which contradicts the Meadowvale Village Heritage Conservation District plan.
He worried that approving the application would set a precedent.
David Moir of the Meadowvale Village Heritage Conservation District Review Committee said the addition is too large.
“There is no need for it to be two storeys high,” Moir said.
A rendering shows the heritage building with the expansion. Rendering: CS&P Architects Inc.
In a letter to the committee, Meadowvale Village resident Kimberly Van Wart wrote that maintaining the architectural integrity and historical cohesion of this area is important to residents. She asked for the proposal to be revised to better integrate with its heritage context.
“While there is an understanding that the school may need to expand, many in the community are concerned that the scale and design of the proposed addition do not reflect the character of the existing structure or the surrounding heritage buildings,” Van Wart said.
Justin Lam said he lives directly behind the school where the addition is proposed. Lam said the expanded building would be too close to neighbouring homes.
As a resident, he said he has dealt with traffic in the neighbourhood.
“They cannot handle the traffic that is already happening,” Lam said. “It is already bursting at the seams.”
Fellow resident Barry Coutts suggested the school implement traffic management strategies. Coutts said he liked the design and it looks like new schools in the community.
A rendering shows plans for the interior of the new building. Rendering: CS&P Architects Inc.
The committee also had concerns about the plans.
“The school should be allowed to expand,” said committee member and historian Matthew Wilkinson. “But has it fit, not only within the community…but it has to fit with their own property ability to maintain and accommodate growth.”
Many issues with the proposal were outside the mandate of the Heritage Advisory Committee and would be considered later through site plan approval.
Staff recommended approving the application with several conditions, including a review of the cladding materials to ensure that they are compliant with the Meadowvale Heritage Conservation District Plan, a review of the final landscape plan, and the submission of a tree protection plan.
But the committee wanted more time and voted in favour of deferring the application with the hope that the property owners and residents could work together to mitigate concerns.
For more information, see the meeting and reports here.
Lead rendering: CS&P Architects Inc.
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