$55 million renovation to Southwest Middle School should be finished this spring
The Southwest Middle School modernization project is set for completion in the spring, a Polk County Public School spokesman said Thursday.
Ground was broken in September 2022 for a project to re-envision the school campus at 2815 Eden Parkway in Lakeland. The Southwest Middle project is the most recent modernization and one of several underway or planned across the district.
“The project will encompass more than 183,000 square feet of facilities, including a centrally located courtyard and new cafeteria,” the district website said in a September post. “The new buildings will also be more energy efficient and have upgraded safety features.”
The project is expected to be completed this spring, said Kyle Kennedy, PCPS senior media relations coordinator. That's about a month later than originally anticipated.
Southwest Middle was founded in 1956 as a junior high school and by 1992 it had become a middle school for grades six through eight. About 800 students attend the school, the school’s website said.
In an Aug. 22 presentation to the School Board, the district’s administration reported that the Southwest Middle modernization would add 297 additional student stations, raising capacity to 1,350 stations.
The most recent change to the project was approved by the Polk County School Board in November when they unanimously voted for a change order to harden Building 2.1 for a hurricane shelter and demolish and rebuild a locker room, agenda documents show. The change order added $3.8 million to the cost of renovations.
The $55 million modernization project was funded by impact fees and Polk County's half-cent sales tax, which voters renewed in 2018.
Multiple generations of families have attended the home of the Seminoles.
Among the list of “notable Noles” are Robert Palmer of RP Funding, and Lindsey Alley, an acclaimed singer and performer, actress and Mouseketeer. Other alumni include athletes such as Maurkice and Mike Pouncey, who played in the NFL; Matt Diaz, a longtime major league baseball player, mostly with the Atlanta Braves; and Alvin Jones, formerly an NBA player.
Among Southwest Middle’s traditions are the annual eighth-grade Crystal ball dance. The school also hosts pre-academies in the fields of agriculture, business technology, culinary arts, media design and science and technology innovation. Southwest Middle has the only deaf and hard-of-hearing program for middle school students in the district.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Southwest Middle School construction nearly finished
