Demolition Begins Before $46M Replacement Of Mulberry High School

MULBERRY, FL — Demolition has started at Mulberry High campus as architects and construction crews work to build a $46 million new high school that will be approximately 177,600 square feet.

Funding for the project is from the county's half-cent sales tax for education, said Polk County Public Schools. Voters approved the sales tax this past November, which helped move this project forward, said Angela Usher, assistant superintendent.

"This is going to be almost a complete replacement of the existing school," said Jose Murguido, vice president of Zyscovich Architects. "The existing school was designed about 65 years ago, and of course it prepared kids for a whole different world that doesn't exist anymore. So what this school is doing is providing a 21st-century learning environment for the kids."

The new school is described as a single, international-style building with signature academies that include cell, robotics, engineering, automotive lab and a world-class agricultural lab. It will have a dining hall that opens up into a courtyard so that students can eat outside.

Architects for the project said that the future building will have small economic footprint. There will also be a new gymnasium on the campus.

The construction and demolition will not interfere with the current building's school schedule when students are allowed to return to school. Governor Ron DeSantis held a Facebook Live announcement on Thursday afternoon, and is in favor of schools reopening in the fall.

The project will be done in phases. The new main building is expected to be completed by December 2021. The entire project is estimated to be complete by August 2022.