Former Koksilah Elementary in Duncan sold to church and landscaping company

A former Cowichan Valley elementary school that later became a hub for trades training has been sold to two local buyers.

The sale will bring about a new chapter for the property which has educational roots stretching back generations.

The Cowichan Valley School District (SD79) finalized the sale of the former school at 5265 Boal Road to Duncan Pentecostal Church and Living Stones Landscaping on August 28th.

The new owners are scheduled to take possession of the property on September 15th.

The final sale price has not been publicly disclosed. The nearly six-acre property was listed for $3.15 million earlier this year and includes approximately 28,757 square feet of existing school buildings.

The property is currently zoned as ‘P-1’ for parks and institutional uses and is surrounded by a number of light-industrial properties.

Duncan Pentecostal Church reportedly plans to use the former school to accommodate its growing congregation and expand its community ministries.

Living Stones Landscaping intends to use portions of the grounds to support its business operations and establish a permanent operational home.

The sale brings to a close more than a decade of uncertainty surrounding the former school’s long-term future.

Koksilah Elementary operated as a kindergarten-to-Grade 7 school until June 2013, when it closed amid declining enrolment and financial pressures within the district.

After the closure, SD79 partnered with Vancouver Island University to convert the property into the Cowichan Trades Centre.

This arrangement allowed students to receive hands-on trades training closer to home.

VIU’s lease ended this year, which allowed SD79 to complete the provincial process required to dispose of surplus school property and place the site on the open market.
The history of Koksilah Elementary School

The Koksilah name has been connected to education in the area for considerably longer. SD79’s announcement of the sale says that the Boal Road elementary school opened in 1964, replacing the Old Koksilah School.

Records maintained by the Cowichan Valley Schools Heritage Society place the opening of the Boal Road school earlier, in 1958. According to the society, it was the fifth school to carry the Koksilah name and cost approximately $78,000 to build, with the federal government covering 70% of the cost.

The Old Koksilah School was a one-room wooden schoolhouse built in 1914 after a fire destroyed an earlier building. It closed as a community school in 1964 as transportation improved and larger centralized schools became more common.

That schoolhouse was restored and reopened as a museum in 1995. It was added to the Cowichan Valley Community Heritage Register in 2009 and later listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

The Boal Road site also played a role in Indigenous education during the 1970s.

In May 1971, a separate two-classroom “orientation school” began operating behind the elementary school for children from Cowichan Tribes entering the public school system.

Chief Dennis Alphonse and his wife, Philomena, officially opened the facility that October.

Within three years, the orientation school was considered part of the larger Koksilah Elementary complex. Over time, the school grew to include 14 classrooms, a library and a gymnasium.

The future of the property became the subject of a public dispute earlier this year.

The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) said it was interested in acquiring the site for possible use as an emergency shelter or supportive housing facility. The CVRD maintained that it had expressed interest in the property over several years and submitted an offer after the school was publicly listed in May.

SD79 disputed that account, saying the CVRD had not formally expressed an interest during the required consultation process and that all provincial requirements had been followed.

In June, the CVRD board unanimously agreed to send an open letter to Premier David Eby, requesting a full explanation of the process that led to the acceptance of a private offer.

The province said at the time that it was reviewing the concerns. The sale has since proceeded and is now finalized.

According to SD79, money generated by the sale will be directed toward repairs and maintenance at schools across the Cowichan Valley.

Possible projects include playground improvements, heating and cooling system upgrades and work to improve accessibility. Board Chair Cathy Schmidt previously said the district was facing approximately $100 million in deferred maintenance across roughly 20 school sites.

“Our students have told us that it’s important for them to have pride in their place of learning,” Schmidt said.

She added that the board unanimously supported the offer because the sale would generate money for needed renovations and improvements throughout the district.