Submitted Photo/City of Medicine Hat

By Jett Schwaier

CITY HALL

Medicine Hat council is set to make a decision to demolish the former Riverside School building

Nov 12, 2025 | 6:53 PM

The Municipal Planning Commission has approved a development permit application to demolish the former Riverside School building.

Medicine Hat city council will now decide whether the demolition will proceed.

The application, submitted to Planning and Development Services, stated the demolition would make way for low-density residential lots.

The building, located at 201 Second St. N.W., has become a safety hazard and has attracted vandalism.

Because the site is zoned as a Direct Control District under Land Use Bylaw 4186, the city council must make the final decision on the application.

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A video presentation shown at City Hall illustrated the building’s deteriorating condition.

One audience member spoke in favour of salvaging parts of the school.

Other concerns raised during the meeting included whether demolishing the structure would erase a piece of Medicine Hat’s history.

There are no formal restrictions preventing demolition because the building is not a designated historic resource.

Riverside School closed on June 30, 2017, after serving the community for more than a century.

It has mainly sat empty since it closed, occasionally utilized by the Medicine Hat Police Service for training.

The Medicine Hat Public School Division put the school up for sale in the fall of 2017, with Covenant Care purchasing the site in July 2018 for $850,000.

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READ: Demolition of Riverside School to be discussed at upcoming Municipal Planning Commission meeting

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