At the core of our renewal effort is the understanding that education today demands more than just traditional learning environments. It requires spaces that inspire innovation, foster well-being and facilitate connections —not just within our walls, but with the world outside. This process aims to ensure that GNS continues to be a place where education is a journey of discovery, engagement and growth as well as a vibrant hub for the City and beyond.

The renewed campus has been designed to reflect both the school’s educational vision and the character of the Gonzales neighbourhood. The plan consolidates buildings toward the centre of the site, includes stepped designs to reduce massing, and places one-storey buildings at the perimeter to reduce visual impact. Key features include a new double gymnasium, outdoor learning areas, green buffers, and increased green space through rooftop gardens and rain gardens.

The school has undertaken a comprehensive assessment of its long-term needs and is planning for modest, managed growth. The Pemberton Woods Campus Renewal is designed to support a gradual increase in student enrolment from the current population—historically fluctuating around 550 students—to a maximum of 650 students over the coming years. This growth will happen slowly and is not about becoming a significantly larger school. Rather, it’s about ensuring that GNS can continue to offer a wide range of programs, maintain small class sizes, and accommodate students from the surrounding community, all while keeping the school’s strong sense of connection and personalized learning at its core. In planning for this growth, GNS is committed to managing its impact on the surrounding neighbourhood. The campus design includes thoughtful circulation patterns, enhanced green buffers and facility improvements that support both operational needs and community values.

The long-term space needs of the school were determined based on a variety of factors including educational requirements, programs, and facilities that contribute to a comprehensive learning experience. Our goal is to align with the standards set by organisations such as CAIS (Canadian Accredited Independent Schools) and achieve an average space of approximately 20 m² per student over time. This includes various internal spaces that support learning, collaboration, and recreation, with a focus on creating a well-rounded and vibrant educational environment.

GNS will be installing formal rezoning signs around the Pemberton Woods Campus in the coming weeks. These signs are part of the City's process to inform the community about the status of the application. In addition, GNS will continue to provide updates through email, our website (pwrenewal.ca), and community outreach. We’re committed to keeping neighbours informed throughout the process.

While renovation was considered, simply updating the existing buildings wouldn't meet today's needs for modern learning environments, accessibility standards, or environmental goals. The Pemberton Woods Campus Renewal allows GNS to create purpose-built, adaptable spaces for the future. This will happen through a carefully phased approach to ensure the school remains fully operational during construction. Beyond creating better facilities, the renewal is also a major opportunity to improve how the campus interacts with the neighbourhood by significantly enhancing all surrounding street frontages. Developed through collaboration with neighbours and the City, the plan improves safety for pedestrians and cyclists, adds greener landscaping, and creates better connections. Reflecting community input, particular attention was paid to enhancing Maddison Street as a more pedestrian-focused greenway. Overall, the goal is a renewed campus that benefits both student learning and the character, safety and connectivity of the neighbourhood.

GNS is committed to respecting the neighbourhood’s scale and diversity. Work with the community, Buildings have been carefully placed to maximize setbacks, incorporate sound barriers such as fences and landscaping, and minimize height along property lines. Public realm improvements will enhance Richmond and Maddison streetscapes with pedestrian-friendly design and new tree plantings.

As part of the Pemberton Woods Campus Renewal, the school undertook a comprehensive evaluation of all campus buildings. While Denford Hall will be preserved, over the coming years, the renewal process aims to update and modernise the entire campus. This assessment allows for a holistic approach to ensure that all buildings meet the evolving needs of the school and community, creating an improved and cohesive campus environment.

The new campus integrates sustainability into both design and learning. This includes rooftop gardens, rain gardens, stormwater filtration systems and expanded green space. Outdoor learning environments, technology and food-producing gardens will be part of daily educational programming.

Yes. The design moves school bus loading and unloading from Maddison to Richmond to support the City’s People Priority Greenway goals and improve safety for students and neighbours. New access routes have been created with traffic calming measures.

The plan includes a circular drive-through to improve on-site pick-up and drop-off, relocated access from Maddison to Richardson, and a new one-way traffic pattern to improve safety and reduce congestion. On-site parking has been increased to meet current City of Victoria Schedule C requirements, reflecting neighbourhood concerns about spillover parking on residential streets.

As part of the Pemberton Woods Campus Renewal Plan, GNS proposes to consolidate and redevelop eight school-owned properties south of the existing campus into purpose-built rental housing. These homes are currently nearing the end of their service life, and the renewal plan seeks to maintain housing stock within the neighbourhood by replacing them with 16 new townhome-style rental units. The new housing is designed to meet the City of Victoria’s housing diversity goals and will include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units to accommodate a range of household needs. This initiative reflects GNS’s commitment to being an active community partner while helping address the broader housing shortage. The proposed homes will include indoor and outdoor living amenities, long-term bike parking and off-street vehicle stalls—all integrated to align with the neighbourhood’s character. GNS is also following the City’s Tenant Assistance Policy (TAP) to ensure that any tenants affected by the renewal are supported with compassion, fairness, and comprehensive relocation assistance.

Following resubmission, City staff typically take a few months to review and prepare reports for Council. The timing can vary based on staff capacity and the complexity of the application. GNS anticipates continued review throughout the Spring and early Summer of 2025.

Right now, we're focused on rezoning—which lays the foundation for the future. If the rezoning application is successful, the PW Campus Renewal Project will move carefully into formal detailed design, permitting and then construction. The entire Campus Renewal won’t happen all at once. Instead, improvements will be rolled out in thoughtful phases to allow students to keep learning on-site, families to stay connected, and neighbours to experience as little disruption as possible. Through every phase, the Renewal will honour the character of the school and the neighbourhood. As each phase is completed, the campus will become more welcoming and more sustainable, creating a place that students, staff, families and neighbours can all be proud of.

Ensuring a harmonious construction process for our students, faculty, staff and neighbours, is a paramount consideration. We are fully aware that each phase of work within our renewal plan may differ in scale. However, regardless of the scope of the phase, our commitment remains steadfast to minimising any impact on both the school and the broader community. We will diligently devise mitigation strategies tailored to the unique characteristics of each phase, taking into account factors such as construction size, duration, and potential disruptions. By prioritising effective mitigation, we aim to create an environment that upholds the well-being of both the school and our valued neighbours.

As of May 2025, GNS has submitted its updated rezoning application to the City of Victoria in response to comments from City departments, including Planning, Engineering, Transportation and Parks. The submission is now under review by City staff and will move through the City’s formal rezoning process.

From June 2023 through July 2024, a vibrant community engagement process for the Pemberton Woods (PW) Campus Renewal offered students, faculty, staff, parents, neighbours and the broader community, an opportunity to actively contribute to help shape the long-term future of GNS. Through collaborative meetings and dialogue, the PW Renewal Team gathered input, feedback and ideas to guide planning for the modernization of the school’s infrastructure and resources. This process encouraged community involvement, fostered connections and explored the role of contemporary schools in the neighbourhood setting. The engagement process culminated with a formal presentation to the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association Land Use Committees (CALUC) on May 27, after which the proposed campus plan was further modified based on input and comments received. GNS submitted a rezoning application to the City of Victoria on August 1.

The PW Renewal community engagement process was facilitated by a collaborative team consisting of GNS staff, architects, landscape architects and urban designers, traffic consultants, civil engineers and a third-party facilitator. Collectively, this team ensured that the meetings were organised, inclusive and provided a platform for open dialogue and meaningful interaction. There will be further opportunities for community engagement as we navigate the City process following our rezoning application resubmission in May 2025. Please subscribe to receive update notifications about the status of the rezoning application.

While the bulk of the active community engagement process related to the proposed campus design is complete, we remain open to questions and comments. Following our resubmission to the City of Victoria on May 2, 2025, we will continue to keep our communities—both internal and external—engaged through regular updates on the PW Renewal website, emails, and in-person meetings, as appropriate. Please subscribe to receive update notifications about the status of the rezoning application.

GNS chose to take a “long road” approach to planning the Pemberton Woods Campus Renewal, grounded in principles of transparency, collaboration and trust-building. The engagement process began in June 2023 and spanned approximately one year, featuring workshops, presentations and open houses through to the Spring 2024, demonstrating our commitment to a thorough co-design process before finalizing the concept submitted to the City. We believe that meaningful engagement goes beyond minimum requirements—it involves listening, learning and incorporating feedback in a way that genuinely reflects the interests of both the school and the broader neighbourhood. This co-design approach allowed us to work closely with students, staff, families, alumni, neighbours and community organizations from the earliest stages. Through multiple meetings, open houses, workshops and surveys during that period, the renewal plan has been shaped by a wide variety of perspectives. That collaborative foundation continues to guide us as the proposal now advances through the City’s formal review process.