A development permit has been approved by Kimberley city council for a boarding school with a focus on student-athletes.
Construction will be on 100 St. Mary Lake Road on a portion of the Purcell Golf property.
This permit is for Phase 1 of the project, which will include the construction of the academic building, gymnasium, student housing, commercial kitchen and dining halls.
It will also include a multi-purpose playing field and various outdoor learning spaces.
Troy Pollock, planning services manager, says the first phase will be able to accommodate 150 students and then up to 300 after Phase 2.
Part of the facility will be on what is now the golf course.
Pollock says golfers will have some interruptions.
“The building is planned to be constructed starting this spring,” added Pollock.
“So holes number seven and eight of the golf course will be disrupted or closed to allow for the construction.”
When the campus is operational, there will be advanced coaching and training opportunities for student-athletes starting with hockey but expanding to soccer, golf, and other scholarship-qualifying sports.
Pollock says the school will be licensed as a Group 4 independent school and will deliver B.C. curriculum to international and Canadian students in Grades 7-12.
More information on the development can be found here.
MORE: Purcell International Education and Kimberley Golf Club Work on Course Improvements (Jan. 27, 2020)
MORE: Purcell International Education and Kimberley Golf Course Finalize Date on Land Sale (Dec. 12, 2019)
