Lexington district to acquire land from health giant as it plans $50M school
Lexington School District 2 is trading a piece of land in West Columbia as the growing district plans a new school South Congaree.
At an April 7 city council meeting, West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles said Lexington 2 will “trade” property with the Midlands hospital system Lexington Health.
“The hospital owns land out in the South Congaree community,” Miles said at the council meeting. “There is need for the school district to build a new school ... and the hospital has agreed to participate with them to make some land available.”
In exchange, Lexington Health will receive a property on 2305 Platt Springs Road, a 12-acre plot that was once the site of the now-demolished George I. Pair Elementary School. The land would be used for “long-term plans” with “nothing in the immediate future,” Miles said.
“I think it’d be a wonderful thing for both communities, and it’s rare that we get a chance to do something here inside of West Columbia that affects communities as far away as South Congaree directly,” Miles said at the meeting. “I’m excited to have a chance to do it, because they need the new school out there bad.”
West Columbia city council unanimously approved a first reading of the deal.
“We are always evaluating opportunities that will help position Lexington Two well for future growth and our Long Range Facilities Plan,” district officials said in a statement. “Lexington Health is a longtime partner, and we look forward to working with them on the property on Platt Springs Road that will be of mutual benefit to us both.”
The district declined to comment further on the trade.
The materials presented to West Columbia council did not include the parcel that Lexington 2 would be receiving, and the district did not confirm any other details.
However, Lexington Health owns a four-acre plot on the corner of Main Street and Ramblin Road in South Congaree, directly adjacent to Congaree Elementary School, according to Lexington County property records. It’s the site of a major upcoming project for Lexington 2.
Lexington 2 approved a first reading of its long range facilities plan in February, The State previously reported. Among smaller projects were plans for the demolition and replacement of Congaree Elementary School, something the district has been conceptualizing since 2020.
With more than 2,000 new residential units expected in South Congaree and Pine Ridge over the next 10 years, district officials said greater capacity is needed.
Congaree Elementary School, located on Ramblin Road, was built in 1959 and has the smallest capacity among Lexington 2 elementary schools, accommodating about 450 students. A proposal calls for the school to be demolished. A new 110,000 square foot campus, built to serve about 800 students, would be erected in its place.
It will cost the district about $50 million.
A second reading of the facilities plan was approved in March.
Design work on the new school will begin this spring, and it is expected to be completed in June 2029.
