A former Swift Current elementary school is set to be demolished later this fall after approval from Swift Current city council Monday evening.

The motion will cost the city $175,000 to demolish and remediate the Ashley Park School site, an extra $55,000 more than they originally allotted for in the 2017 budget.

Located in the heart of Swift Current, Ashley Park School served the city for 68 years before closing its doors in June of 2015.

"When we acquired the two schools from the Chinook School Division it was always intended that those sites would be redeveloped," said Mitch Minken, General Manager of Infrastructure and Operations with the City of Swift Current. "The existing structures were ready to be removed, they'd done their time, so they needed to be removed for safety purposes. The first step in the redevelopment of those properties is to get rid of the structure and remediate the site ensuring it's safe for redevelopment."

The City of Swift Current reached an agreement with the Chinook School Division in the summer of 2015 for a nominal amount to acquire Ashley Park School and Oman School.

Ashley Park School’s land was transferred over to the city on June 30, 2016.

“Certainly in the short-term and likely the long-term the soccer field and baseball field will stay,” he said. “The redevelopment area is probably just the area that the school is situated itself.”

The city awarded the contract to Silverado Demolition, with the demolition set to take place during the month of September. 

Once the buildings are demolished and the site has been remediated, the city will then look at scheduling public consultations as to the fate of the vacant lot.

Minkin noted the lot may be turned into residential area or could accommodate recreational facilities.