- September 6, 2024
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As students return to school this year, Sarasota County is building out its infrastructure in anticipation of future growth.
At the same time, it’s also revisiting older schools, repairing the facilities or bringing them up to date.
Here are some of the district’s major ongoing construction projects:
Built in anticipation of future growth in the area of Wellen Park, North Port, this high school is the district’s first since North Port High School in 2001.
Features of the school will include an auditorium, media center, gymnasium, cafeteria and athletic facilities such as an area for sand volleyball that will serve a new district-wide volleyball program.
The facility is introducing a new cooling technology for the district, a water tower storing nearly a million gallons.
Jane Dreger, director of construction services for Sarasota County Schools, said this tower is lower maintenance and uses fewer chemicals than the typical ice storage and will be the district's standard technology going forward.
Budget: $200 million
Size: 363,600 gross square feet
Student stations: 2,070
Completion date: August 2026
Serving the area of Skye Ranch, this project will be the district’s first K-8 school as well as a STEM-focused school.
Its interior facilities will include art and music suites, a P.E. area, a gymnasium, a media center, a dining and multipurpose area, a robotics lab and engineering classrooms. Its exterior facilities will include a running track, play fields, tennis and basketball courts and playgrounds.
Dreger said the infrastructure of the school is deliberately oversized, with more room being constructed than necessary.
“Classroom space is the cheapest space to build in a new school, so we try to identify the space for future growth now and put that on our master plan of our campuses," she said.
Two classroom buildings at Sarasota High School are undergoing a heating, ventilation and air conditioning renovation, which also involves upgrading finishes, ceilings, floors, paint, cabinets, some doors and lights.
“For all intents and purposes, it looks like a new school, but it's in the old building,” Dreger said.
Budget: $37.5 million
Size: 161,950 square feet
Student stations: 2,022 (same as prior to project)
Completion date: 2025
After Garden Elementary School in Venice suffered significant impacts from Hurricane Ian, the district settled on a demolition and total replacement of the building.
As of late May, the district is in the design phase, customizing a prototype to create a design for a larger facility than the original.
Budget: $80 million
Size: 100,000 square feet
Student stations: 950 (450 additional)
Completion date: In design; no date set
Established in 1926, Bay Haven School of Basics Plus is being treated with special care during its renovation to maintain its historic character.
The improvements will address aging conditions in the interior, updating features including security, air conditioning, lighting, walls and carpeting to create new spaces similar to the original ones.
“It's on a really, really small school campus, so relocating those kids on site has been a real challenge, and it’s a small piece at a time,” Dreger said.
Budget: $18,105,000
Size: 35,362 square feet
Student stations: 355 (none new)
Completion date: August 2025
Gocio Elementary will see Building 3 replaced with a new facility.
The project also involves other changes including the replacement of a play pavilion and renovations to the school's front office area.
This will be the district’s first project to use insulated concrete forms, a building system involving polystyrene blocks separated by plastic webbing and filled with concrete.
“It's really good for insulation, keeping heat out, and also good for hurricane wind loads,” Dreger said.
Budget: $25 million
Size: approximately 20,000 square feet
Student stations: 450 (360 new)
Completion date: December 2025
