The province has given its final approval for the $30-million tender to build a brand new Catholic Central High School in Windsor.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce broke the news to the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board via Zoom Thursday. The new school will be located on 11-acres of land between McDougal Street and Ouellette Avenue.
Chair Fulvio Valentinis says the aging school on Tecumseh Road near Howard Avenue will be replaced by a state-of-the-art building.
"Brining it up to the calibre of other schools getting brand new facilities," he says. "It's exciting for the students and their families, for the community. We're looking forward to opening those doors."
He says having a school that can handle more than 900 secondary students in downtown Windsor is exciting.
"This is a big step forward and it's going to be great for staff and the students, their families, but great for the community as a whole," he added.
Valentinis says work will move quickly now that the province has given its final approval.
"In terms of the on site work, we're going to get started because there's a tight timeline," he says. "It's a big school and if we're going to meet the deadline to have it done by August of 2022 so the students can get in by September."
Oscar Construction, which has built several local schools including St. Joseph's and St. Anne Catholic high schools, was awarded the tender.
Valentinis says the company will begin work on Catholic Central immediately.