Lexington 1 picks land for new elementary school land in White Knoll area

The Lexington 1 school board picked land for one of its upcoming construction projects — an elementary school in the White Knoll attendance area.

The board agreed April 9 to purchase 35 acres at the intersection of South Lake Drive and Bluefield Road. The land is owned by Linda Kay Mack and Jimmy Shumpert and has a total appraised value of $336,000, according to Lexington County information.

The district’s building plan, approved by voters in November 2018, indicates the elementary school would cost $37 million to build and equip. It would accommodate 800 students and be open for the 2022-2023 school year, the plan says. Two other elementary schools, one to replace Gilbert Elementary and one to support the River Bluff attendance area, are also planned.

The next phase for the district is completing due diligence work, such as traffic studies and other preliminary assessments, to be sure the land is suitable for a school.

This story was originally published April 10, 2019 at 9:24 AM.