Quebec scraps FACE school renovations after cost balloons to $375M

Due to rising costs, the Quebec government is ditching plans to renovate FACE school, a one-of-a-kind bilingual institution near Montreal's downtown core that welcomes elementary and high school students.

CBC News has learned that the cost of renovating FACE school has ballooned to $375 million — too hefty a price tag for the provincial government, especially in light of its budgetary constraints, which have led to cuts in both the education and health sectors in recent months.

The cost of the renovations was first reported by Le Devoir.

In a letter to parents obtained by CBC News, the school said the ministry had to put a "definitive stop" to the renovation project due to "the current budgetary context and in the interest of the sound management of public funds."

The letter also states that FACE's fine arts program will be preserved, but will be offered at two separate locations.

Elementary school students will be relocated to a building at 4835 Christophe-Colomb Ave. That's about four kilometres away from the current FACE building on University Street.

High school students will move to a building located at 4251 St-Urbain St. in 2032. That's about 2.5 kilometres away from FACE.

The cost of renovating the buildings on Christophe-Colomb and Saint-Urbain is estimated at around $200 million.

WATCH | Quebec is also putting other school renovations on hold: 

Budget constraints force Quebec to pause major school renovations

1 month ago

Duration 2:25

Across the province, the Quebec government is putting major school renovation projects on hold. According to teachers and school administrators, the delay means possible overcrowding in some schools and forces many students to continue learning in less-than-ideal environments.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Education Minister Bernard Drainville said preserving the fine arts program is a priority, but the spokesperson stressed that the province "has an obligation to respect the public's funds."

"That's why we're revising the project, without there being any impact on student learning," the spokesperson said.

FACE was founded in 1975.

The school has approximately 1,300 students from the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM) and the English Montreal School Board (EMSB). 

The school's current building, which is located in the city's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, just beyond the city's downtown limits, was built in two phases — one in 1914 and the other in 1924.

FACE's letter to parents states that an information session will be held on Tuesday about the fall move to the school on Christophe-Colomb.