City of Morden partners with Western School Division on land deal 

The community of Morden is anxiously awaiting the addition of a new school following years of advocating, planning and growth. 

Recently, Western School Division (WSD) took another big step towards the project and issued a Request for Proposals. Proposals will be submitted by those vying to build the new school, west of Mountain St. on Parkhill Drive.

Also announced last week, were details of a full-sized soccer field and track to accompany the new school. 

"Well, the good news is, after months of behind the scenes planning and talking, the City of Morden passed a land transfer for just shy of three additional acres of land to go to the Western School Division for development of recreational facilities," explained WSD Board Chair Brian Fransen.

In a statement, the City of Morden further explained how this came to fruition. 

"During the design process for the new school proposal, the idea was presented to construct a soccer field along with a running track. WSD identified that the existing 10-acre parcel of land would not be sufficient to accommodate the addition of a soccer field and track. 

The City of Morden had, in its development concept plan, earmarked a 10-acre parcel to the north of the school site to be developed as park space. In discussion with WSD, the city was made aware of the shortage of land and felt this was a great opportunity to work with WSD to make this idea a reality!  An agreement was made that the city would transfer 2.61 acres of our 10-acre parcel to WSD for the soccer field and track which will become a joint use facility.  

The sub-division application for merging the 2.61-acre parcel with the existing 10 acres owned by WSD received conditional approval at the November 28th meeting of Council." 

"What we're talking about here is the opportunity for a locally funded project to have an impact for generations to come, with the possibility of building a new full sized running track and a full-size soccer field. Which is something that our community is in desperate need of," said Fransen, adding the Board had been hearing for years about the need for improved soccer pitches and a full-sized track.   

From the community consultation in March

Some will recall the plans presented at the community consultation in March of 2022 were different.  

"Original plans for that land was typical schoolyard fare," said Fransen. "We were looking at a playground with a smaller sized soccer field, outdoor classrooms, those sorts of things, within the footprint that we had what is pretty standard for new school construction in Manitoba. But when this possibility came up, we talked with the developer, talked with the city, looking at what the City's future plans are for that area and this fit in so nicely with what everybody wants for the future of our community. It looked like now is the right time to take that step and put things together to make it a possibility." 

Fransen went on to share the impact this investment will have in the community. 

"This is potential for the future for recreation, for health, for well-being in the community for all ages. This is also the opportunity to host regional events, maybe even provincial level events, in our community, and to showcase not only those recreational facilities, but everything else Morrden has to offer. It becomes a bigger part of the package deal of what Morden is to the Province of Manitoba, and even to the Nation of Canada." 

The City of Morden closed their statement by sharing its thoughts on the merger.

"This is a win for WSD, the City and our residents. We are thankful for the opportunity to work with WSD on this project!" 

WSD hopes to break ground on the new school this spring aiming to open the doors to the new school in September of 2024.