M-DCPS Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for Unique, New K-8 / Workforce Housing Facility in Brickell Area

A groundbreaking ceremony was held this morning to unveil an exceptional new campus in the Brickell area. Southside Preparatory Academy will feature a seven-story building on county-owned land that will include facilities for the middle school grades and workforce housing for District employees. This General Obligation Bond (GOB) project is a unique collaboration between Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Miami-Dade County that is valued at approximately $35 million and is scheduled to be completed in February 2023.

The original Southside Elementary School campus is among five Miami-Dade public schools listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, and the second-oldest school building in Miami-Dade County. Converted to a K-8 facility in 2019, the school was renamed Southside Preparatory Academy.

The new construction project will provide 610 student stations, and includes general, science and ESE classrooms; skill development, art and music labs; an administration area; a media center, kitchen, and a multipurpose, roof-level physical education area.

PICTURED:  School Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, center, is joined by School Board member Lucia Baez-Geller, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins, Deputy Superintendent Jaime Torrens, Chief Facilities Design/Construction Officer Raul Perez, PHCD Director Michael Liu, Miami Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Christina Crespi, Southside Prep Principal Annette Degoti and others to officially break ground on the Southside Preparatory Academy/Schoolhouse Apartments project.

Terms of the long-term lease between the District and the County include the construction of 10 workforce housing residential units. The partnership with Miami-Dade County’s Department of Public Housing and Community Development (PHCD) will give preference to qualifying teachers and District employees. The housing units will have separate entrances and exits, as well as a residential lobby. Related Urban Development Group, a real estate company, is joining the construction project to make this a public-private partnership.

Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, School Board member Lucia Baez-Geller, Southside Prep Academy Principal Annette Degoti, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins,  PHCD Director Michael Liu, and District staff gathered this morning to break ground on the new construction.

The school bond projects resulted from voter approval of the $1.2 billion General Obligation Bond. The bond is being used to modernize and construct school buildings throughout the District, expand student capacity, enhance facility safety, and provide technology upgrades at all schools. 

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 TOP CAPTION:  Architectural rendering of Southside Preparatory Academy/Schoolhouse Apartments