Pasco County Schools has signed a contract with Harvard Jolly Architecture for the design of a new 6-12 School to be built within the Angeline community of Land O’ Lakes.
The architect will be paid nearly $3 million, under terms of the contract approved by the Pasco County School Board on July 28.
The school will be built on an 18-acre site, with a capacity for 1,694 students.
The estimated construction budget is $45 million.
Construction is expected to begin in December of 2021, with completion expected by June 2023.
The construction manager will provide construction management services, with a guaranteed maximum price. The project also will be designed in compliance with a sustainable building rating system.
The school is part of a new community that is expected to become a major job generator, and to be a place where people will live, work, play and learn.
The proposed development — referred in economic development documents initially as Project Arthur, is now known more commonly as the Angeline community.
It is being planned on 7,000 acres, in an area south of State Road 52, east of the Suncoast Parkway and west of the CSX rail line.
Plans call for a 24-million-square-foot corporate business park, which is expected to create large-scale employment opportunities. Supportive services also are envisioned, including residential communities, parks, schools and other uses to be connected through walking and bike trails, the report adds.
The property — which has uplands and wetlands areas — has been used for cattle ranching and a pine plantation for decades, according to a county report.
The landscape includes oaks and pine trees, and forested and non-forested wetlands. It also has open water lakes, which are mostly remnants from prior borrow pit operations, according to the county report.
The report also notes that the project site’s proximity to the CSX railroad line provides an opportunity for commuter rail, in the event that the rail line is converted to a commuter rail line in the future.
Two of the county’s vision roads also go through the project: Ridge Road and Sunlake Boulevard.
The extension of Ridge Road, and the construction of a new interchange at Ridge Road and the Suncoast Parkway also will have a significant impact on the area’s development.
Lee Moffitt Cancer and Research Institute has purchased about 775 acres for a future research hub near the interchange.
Published August 19, 2020
