Parkdale Public School is a new three storey Elementary School and Community Centre, complete with swimming pool, and underground parking on a tight urban site.  We were originally commissioned to design an addition and renovations for the existing school.  Our assessment of the 1910 building and its numerous additions revealed that the cost to renovate equalled that of new construction.  Recognizing the need for a new community centre and pool within the Parkdale community the City of Toronto partnered with the Toronto Board of Education and added these elements to the building program.  In order to properly provide the required functions the recommendation for a totally new facility became the clear and prudent choice.  Opened in March 1995, Parkdale Public School became the first school within the Toronto Board of Education to have both a multi-media and data system in every teaching space, including Kindergarten.  This "state of the art" school will help lay the foundation for education in the future.