Construction is officially underway on a new shared Hillsborough County campus for Just Elementary and Stewart Middle Magnet School in West Tampa, following a groundbreaking ceremony held Tuesday.
The $77 million project is designed to serve more than 1,500 students. Renderings show the two schools linked together by the historic Blake High School gymnasium.
Superintendent Van Ayres called the project the district’s first investment in the urban core, describing it as a commitment by the school board to support the city.
District 5 school board member Henry “Shake” Washington, who played basketball in the Blake High School gym as a student in 1965, said the historic building holds personal significance for him. Washington had originally voted against closing Just Elementary in 2023, when it was the district’s only school rated “F,” but expressed enthusiasm about the new development taking shape on the site.
Ayres noted that the new campus will replace facilities that are more than 70 years old, at a time when district officials say they are navigating difficult decisions at other schools due to low student enrollment.
Stewart Middle Magnet is expected to reopen to students in January 2028, with Just Elementary scheduled to open in August 2028.
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