Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Canada Post decision delivers space for Gordon Bell sports
Gordon Bell students cheer announcement by Nancy Allan that the province has purchased land for a sports field. (WAYNE.GLOWACKI@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)
CANADA Post has begun preparations to construct a new multimillion dollar downtown depot, a move that frees up land for Gordon Bell High School to build a much-needed field for its sports teams and students.
The Crown corporation will build an 18,000-square-foot facility facing McDermot Avenue between Ellen and Frances streets for its downtown letter carriers to pick up their mail. Equipped with the "most modern mail processing technology in the world," the LEED-registered plant is scheduled to open in 2011.
Bill Davidson, Canada Post's general manager for Western Canada, said it was a "fairly big sacrifice" to search out an alternative site to the old Midway Chrysler property, which it bought in the spring of 2008 and where it had planned to build its new depot.
"We were able to balance a business need and a community need," he said, noting the central location of the new site was critical as its carriers will be able to access their routes either by foot or a short bus ride.
The 2.5-acre site is currently home to a pair of rental houses and a number of business properties, all of which will be bulldozed to make way for the depot.
Canada Post doesn't release the financial details of such deals but the students at Gordon Bell didn't care Tuesday morning. Both Davidson and Education Minister Nancy Allan were greeted with whoops and hollers when announcing that the province had purchased the former car dealership land at 730 Portage Ave. The development of green space for the school, where students play on a tarmac devoid of a single blade of grass, will begin next year.
"It's official," Allan said to the wild applause from several hundred students and staff in Gordon Bell's gym. "We've sealed the deal."
Perhaps nobody was more excited than Morgan Hoogstraten, a '09 graduate who spearheaded the "field of dreams" campaign 14 months ago. Her efforts included weekly rallies at the legislature to alert politicians to the school's need for a field.
She and a classmate even held a stand-in outside of then education minister Peter Bjornson's office -- complete with chains in case they needed to lock themselves to something -- in order to get a meeting with him to discuss their concerns.
"I really think this will give Gordon Bell a huge step up. The kids here are awesome and they deserve what all the other schools have. They definitely deserve a place to play on some grass," she said.
Arlene Skull, Gordon Bell's principal, said now its soccer, cricket, lacrosse and basketball teams won't have to go to other school's facilities for practices.
"Now maybe we can work towards getting a football team," she said. "To have our own (field) is great. It's awesome."
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 9, 2009 A6
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