OneCity School Board plan for Kingsgate Mall: a new school, child care and homes
OneCity's School Board candidates say they would keep the Kingsgate Mall land in public ownership and rebuild it as a community hub with a new public school, a community centre, child care including before- and after-school care, and affordable rental homes.
BETTER SCHOOLS
Turn Kingsgate into a Community Hub: what the Our Plans says
OneCity's School Board candidates released Better Schools on September 29, 2026. The first project in it is Kingsgate Mall in Mount Pleasant. The party says the mall stands on some of the most valuable land in the province and has been underused for years while homes, jobs and transit were built around it. The candidates frame the whole plan as a way to use land the Vancouver School Board already owns.
The candidates say they would keep the Kingsgate land in public ownership. They would turn the site into what they call a Community Commons, planned with the Host Nations and with OneCity's Park Board and Council candidates. The site would hold a new public school with a flexible space built upward, a new community centre, and a full set of public services including licensed public, non-profit and Indigenous child care, with care before and after school.
The rest of the space would go to affordable and subsidized rental homes. The plan also promises the pool in Mount Pleasant that the party says the city has already promised. That pool is listed on the Park Board page, where the party names all three of its new pools. The School Board owns school land and plans its schools, so it would lead. A community centre would need the Park Board, rental housing and rezoning would need City Council, and child care licensing and operating money are provincial.
5 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
Keep Kingsgate in public ownership
OneCity's School Board team would keep the Kingsgate land in public ownership and turn the site into a Community Commons in partnership with Host Nations and OneCity's Park Board and Council teams.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The party says the School Board owns the land, so it can keep it, but a shared hub needs the Park Board, Council and the Nations.
A New Public School
The party would build a new school at Kingsgate with a vertical flex space, meaning a shared space built upward, for the growing neighbourhood.
- Who has the power
- School Board The School Board plans and runs its schools.
A New Community Centre
OneCity would include community spaces at Kingsgate where neighbours of all ages can learn and play.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Community centres are run by the Park Board, so it would have to take part.
Complete Services
The party would place a full set of public services at Kingsgate, including licensed public, non-profit and Indigenous child care, with before- and after-school care.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Child care licensing and operating money are provincial, so the School Board can offer space and plan with partners.
Affordable Rental Homes
OneCity would use Kingsgate's vertical space to build affordable and subsidized rental housing in a neighbourhood that needs it.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council approves rezonings and building permits, so housing on the site needs Council as well as the School Board.
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about turn kingsgate into a community hub
What would OneCity do with Kingsgate Mall?
OneCity's School Board candidates say they would keep the Kingsgate Mall land in public ownership and rebuild it as a community hub with a new public school, a community centre, child care and affordable rental homes (OneCity Better Schools plan, September 29, 2026).
Does OneCity want to sell Vancouver School Board land?
No. OneCity says its plan would keep the Kingsgate land in public ownership and would be carried out without selling any public land. It would build a school, child care and homes on the site instead (OneCity Better Schools plan, September 29, 2026).
Would there be child care at Kingsgate under OneCity's plan?
Yes. OneCity says the Kingsgate hub would include licensed public, non-profit and Indigenous child care, including before- and after-school care. Child care licensing and operating money come from the Province (OneCity Better Schools plan).
Can the Vancouver School Board build housing at Kingsgate on its own?
The School Board can plan its own land, but housing needs City Council to approve rezoning and building permits, and a community centre needs the Park Board. OneCity says it would plan the hub with its Park Board and Council candidates and the Host Nations (OneCity Better Schools plan).
Is the Mount Pleasant pool part of OneCity's Kingsgate plan?
Yes. OneCity's Better Schools plan says the Kingsgate hub would include the pool the city promised for Mount Pleasant. The party's Park Board plan lists the same pool as one of three new pools (OneCity Better Schools plan, September 29, 2026).
ON THE BALLOT
The OneCity candidates behind this
Sources
Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it.
- OneCity's School Board Team Announces Better Schools: A Plan to Harness the Power of the VSB to Build More Childcare, Community Centres, and Homes SAYS SO ITSELFOneCity · published · checked