Palm Beach Post
The city council did not make a decision on selling the land, which school officials say is needed for a middle school by John Murawski
May 9th 2001
County school board officials Tuesday repeated their months-long request to buy 40 acres from the city for a middle school of up to 1,500 students.
Speaking to the city council, Superintendent Art Johnson said the proposed school would have a running track and football field, and could be built by August 2003 on city owned land at the T-Rex Technology Center; formerly known as Blue Lake Corporate Center.
The Palm Beach County School District is being forced by population growth to build the school, Johnson said. District officials do not have a backup location.
“This is an excellent location to have a school, ” Johnson said. �This offers opportunities for the interrelationship between the school community and the business community.’
Council members made no decision Tuesday on selling the land-part of an 82- acre parcel the city bought for $15 million in September. The matter has been set for the council’s next meeting on May 22.
“I would like to see more advertising and more public input before we make that decision,” said Councilwoman Susan Haynie.
The city could be earning $$2,600 a day in interest if the $15 million were invested, City Manager Leif Ahnell said. The county and school board have offered to buy the land at the same price the city paid per acre.
But Councilwoman Carol Hanson said the land is environmentally sensitive that should be kept vacant.
“This is a former wet prairie. It’s a former swamp, “she said.
In all, the city bought 308 acres at T-Rex for $45 million, and plans to develop most of the land, but hasn’t decided how. Proposals include a golf course, library, fire station and a botanical garden. The city had planned to sell the 82 acres all along.
County commissioner Mary McCarty said the county will buy whatever land the city can’t sell.
“We’ll buy 40 acres. We’ll buy 80. We’ll buy none. We’ll do whatever you want. We’re just here to help,” she said.
The school board hasn’t designed a curriculum for the proposed middle school at T-Rex, but Johnson said it would train students in computer technology and make them qualified for jobs paying up to $100,000 a year.