Development under way on Lake Marion Creek School in Poinciana

December 19, 2005

Students on the Polk County side of Poinciana, many of whom are currently attending schools outside the 47,000-acre master-planned community, will soon have their own K-8 school a lot closer to home.

Officially named the Lake Marion Creek School, it will be located on a 40-acre site that was donated and conveyed to the Polk County School Board (PCSB) by Poinciana developer Avatar Properties Inc. It is one of six Poinciana school sites that Avatar has donated and conveyed to school boards in Osceola and Polk counties, and soon will be the home for the 11^th school serving students living in the massive community that covers approximately 74 square miles in northwest Osceola and northeast Polk counties.

Site development is under way for the new $32 million school on Lake Marion Drive, and PCSB officials expect the school to be complete and operational for the 2007-2008 school year.

The new school will have 195,416 sq. ft. under roof including general classrooms with 1,216 student stations, a gym, library, cafeteria, music suite, art classrooms, and skills development computer labs. Outdoor facilities include a playground and playing fields for soccer and softball.

The Lake Marion Creek School was designed by BMK Architects of Sarasota and will be built by MM Parrish Construction Company of Winter Haven. The new school joins a growing roster of schools serving Poinciana including Reedy Creek Elementary, Poinciana Elementary, Sunrise Elementary, Deerwood Elementary, Chestnut Elementary, Discovery Intermediate, Horizon Middle, Poinciana High, and New Dimensions Charter. Development also is under way on a second high school in Poinciana targeted to open in August 2007.

For more information on Lake Marion Creek School, contact Bob Williams, assistant superintendent, facilities and operations, Polk County School Board, at (863) 534-0620, or Tony Iorio, Avatar’s vice president of land development, at (407) 933-5000.

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