Palm Beach County's newest elementary school will open early because of growth. Where?

Palm Beach County's school district unveiled plans for its newest elementary school on Tuesday. The school will open in August 2025 and serve a quickly growing western part of the county near the Arden and Westlake developments.

Rarely do new schools serve brand new communities in Palm Beach County, where a majority of campuses have been built to address growth in existing cities like Boynton Beach, the western Lake Worth Beach area and the neighborhoods west of Boca Raton.

But West Acreage Elementary (to be renamed) will hold 950 students from families who have moved to the nearby communities, including the 2,000-home "Agrihood" known as Arden. The project, originally set to be built in 2026, was accelerated by two years because of the massive growth in the area.

"Your best choice is moving into your backyard," Superintendent Mike Burke said at a groundbreaking event for the school Tuesday.

Burke was being literal: The school will be built on Cane Field Trace, just southwest of the Arden community and two miles east of 20-Mile Bend. The school's entrance will be outside the gates of Arden, which was an important part of winning over neighbors who were concerned about traffic.

Planners hope most traffic to the school will use the entrance to Cane Field Trace, which is past the entrance to Arden. The parking lot will be on the north side of the school building and include a snake-like path for cars to follow during pick up. The bus loop will be located on the southwest corner of the school's lot.

The school will cost about $45 million to build, according to district officials.

'We're extending farther and farther out west'

Families who attended Tuesday's groundbreaking were excited about the school and looking forward to the relief it will likely bring to nearby elementary schools.

Bink's Forest Elementary in Wellington serves 500 students who live in Arden, Burke said Tuesday. The school is currently at 100% capacity, according to the district's most recent enrollment reports. Loxahatchee Groves Elementary and Frontier Elementary, also nearby, are at 82% and 80% capacity, respectively.

Audrey Cook's children go to Binks Forest and are very unlikely to attend the new school due to where they live, but Cook is excited to see the plans for the new campus and is happy to know it'll cut down on crowding in her kids' school.

"(Binks Forest) was not built for that," Cook said of the 1,200 students who attend. "Obviously there's a need for this. I've lived in Wellington for more than 20 years ... it's growing so much, and we're extending farther and farther out west."

The boundary-writing process for the school will begin in the fall, according to the school district.

The new school will be designed with a "coastal farmhouse chic" style, Burke said with a chuckle Tuesday. Zyscovich Architects will design the school, and Moss Construction is responsible for getting it built.

Dave Zita, a resident of Arden since 2019, said he appreciated the school district moving up the construction of the West Acreage Elementary campus. One of his two daughters will attend the school when it opens.

"We really have a sense of community here," he said, adding that having a school will make that sense even stronger. "We're off the beaten path, but we're intentionally off the beaten path."

The school, which was originally supposed to open in August 2027, is now just over a year away from opening its doors, according to district Chief Operating Officer Joseph Sanches.

To move up the project, the school board voted to start financing it in this year's budget. No other school projects were bumped to move up the West Acreage project. After West Acreage's opening in 2025, the next new elementary school is scheduled to open in 2027 in the Palm Beach Gardens area.

More about future schools: Where will the next new schools be in Palm Beach County? A look at the next 7 years

Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work, subscribe today!

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Where will new elementary school be in Palm Beach County? Near Arden