Middletown Council heard updates on the design and construction of a new elementary school at its meeting Monday.
The city tasked Becker Morgan Group with creating a concept plan for the Green Giant Elementary School, which its team presented at Monday’s Council meeting.
Slated for the Planning Commission consideration later this month, the team came to Council to receive feedback and answer questions on the project so far. As it stands, the school is planned to be two stories and about 90 thousand square feet.
Appoquinimink School Board President Richard Forsten said this school is and will be a collaborative project.
“The town required that this land be set aside by the developer for the school district, and so [it saved] the school district a lot of money,” Forsten said. “And it's now it's many years later, but it's finally coming to fruition.”
Forsten thanked Councilmembers for advocating for the school district and helping them obtain this property and the nearby high school property.
The project, along with new high school and middle school buildings, is expected to open in fall 2029 after a successful referendum in 2024.
That referendum raised $77.8 million in local revenue, or about $66.7 million for capital costs. It cost homeowners an additional 43 cents per $100 assessed value.
The project’s civil engineer is Becker Morgan Group’s Christopher Duke. He said the next steps are to meet with the Planning Commission, then return to Council and meet with state agencies.
“We have a meeting with DelDOT scheduled for June 8 to talk about the curve and some other design details,” Duke said. “Right now, we're anticipating construction beginning approximately April 2027, which will hopefully allow us to be open for the 2029 school year.”
The Appoquinimink School Board President attended Monday’s Council meeting and stressed the importance of the partnership between the city, Council and school district in making this project possible.
