Villa Maria High School board of directors says it won’t move

The board of directors of Villa Maria High School says it will exercise its right of first refusal in the sale of the property where the school currently stands if the future of the educational institution is at risk.

The board issued a statement this week, reaffirming its commitment to stay on the grounds of the sprawling, 1.7-million-square-foot property in Notre-Dame-De-Grace, where it has operated for 170 years. The Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame owns the property and announced last year that it intended to sell it.

“We have the support of the community, the parents and the city, everyone. Everyone is aligned that this is where the school should stay so I am quite confident we will reach that goal,” said Catherine Maheu, head of Villa Maria High School’s board of directors.

In the statement issued this week, the school said: “It should also be remembered that Villa Maria has a right of first refusal, in accordance with the contractual agreement between Villa Maria and the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, which it intends to exercise if necessary.”

The school has a lease that ends in 2030, and the nuns have indicated that the lease will be honoured in any potential sale.

But the congregation won’t guarantee the school’s future in its current location.

“We know what we desire. We’ll make our decisions based on that,” Sister Ona Bessette of the congregation said. “Ultimately, what a buyer does in the end is beyond our control.”

Bessette said she would love to see the school stay exactly where it is, but she said it is not a guarantee. The congregation and the management of the school were not able to come to an agreement on the sale of the buildings. Last month Marianopolis College completed a purchase of land it had been renting from the congregation, land that neighbours Villa Maria.

Bessette said there are about 90 nuns still living on the Villa Maria campus, in a series of buildings separate from the school. She said they will eventually move out, but there is no timeline for that. She said the congregation has financial obligations to support them and other sisters for the rest of their lives, as well as their various ministries.

Colliers International is handling the sale and is expected to start accepting inquiries in the coming weeks. The land is said to be worth tens of millions of dollars.

Maheu admitted that the school community was jittery, and some prospective parents have concerns about enrolling their students because of the uncertainty surrounding its future. Maheu says there are currently 1,900 students in the school, but they would like to expand and accept more students.

“Yes, we have had some parents who have told us, ‘We’re a little bit concerned about the future of the school,’ and we want to reassure them that we are leaving no stone unturned and we will remain here on site.”

Maheu said she has had many discussions with the city about the future of the property.

In a statement to Global News, NDG borough Mayor Gracia Katahwa said regarding the school:

“There are currently no concrete projects that have been submitted to the borough for the Villa Maria estate. The site is an important heritage space for our borough, so our priority is its preservation and that of its green spaces. We are in regular contact with the teams at Villa Maria College and we are aligned with them on the goal of keeping the school on the site. We are keeping an eye on the matter and look forward to future initiatives for the site.”