The plan to rebuild a Port Coquitlam elementary school has finally been revealed.
Two years after a devastating fire burned Hazel Trembath Elementary to the ground, the provincial government has released details and construction timelines for a new school.
The new 240-seat elementary school will include two kindergarten classrooms and eight elementary classrooms, a neighbourhood learning centre, a high-efficiency heat pump that provides heating and cooling and parking with electric vehicle charging stations.
The government says that classrooms and main areas will use prefabricated construction, and a gym will be built using regular construction methods, as this will speed up the construction timeline.
“Students in Port Coquitlam deserve to go to school close to home, and parents and families deserve the convenience that this brings,” said Mike Farnworth, MLA for Port Coquitlam.
“After the loss of Hazel Trembath Elementary in our community, we know the rebuild can’t come quickly enough for families, and our government is working urgently to deliver a new school that will welcome students back as soon as possible.”
The new school will be built on the original site and will be the first built in B.C. with hybrid construction methods, with the majority of the building using prefabricated methods. The province says this will allow the school to open at least a full school year earlier.
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“The board of education and Hazel Trembath community are thrilled that funding has been approved to rebuild,” Michael Thomas, chair of the Port Coquitlam board of education, said in a statement.
“Since the loss of the original building, we’ve been dedicated to bringing students and families back to their own neighbourhood as quickly as possible. We understand the connections this helps foster between students, families, school and community.”
The cost of the project is expected to be nearly $39 million, and construction is expected to start in July 2026 with an occupancy date scheduled for December 2027.
Though the police suspect the fire at the school to be human-caused, no charges have been laid. The investigation continues, police confirm.
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