TAMPA, Fla. — A new chapter begins for two West Tampa schools. On Tuesday, Hillsborough County Schools broke ground on a shared campus for Just Elementary and Stewart Middle Magnet School.
The $77 million project aims to serve more than 1,500 students.
“This is our first investment in the urban core, and it’s important to me and important to our school board that we invest in our city. And this is our commitment as a school board to do so,” said Superintendent Van Ayres.
Renderings show the two schools linked together by the historic Blake High School gymnasium. Henry “Shake” Washington, District 5 school board member, says that gym has personal meaning to him. He played basketball there as a student in 1965.
“This was Howard W. Blake High School basketball gym, and this is where the gym was located back here, I mean, crowds of people,” he said.
Washington originally voted against closing Just Elementary School in 2023. At the time, it was the district’s only “F” school, but now, he says seeing what’s to come where Just Elementary once stood is exciting.
“Look at this beautiful environment around here,” Washington said. “We have almost 800 students here and just think it’s great to be here to leave just, go to Stewart, and then go to Blake and that’s what, less than three football fields? That’s phenomenal,” said Washington.
And at a time when district officials say they’re forced to make tough decisions at other schools due to low enrollment, Ayres says this new campus will accommodate more than 1,500 students who currently attend schools that are 70+ years old.
“As our schools get old, there’s times we have to go in and just have new projects, build on top of the history we have in these schools and build new schools within our urban core, and that’s an example of what this is,” said Ayres.
Stewart Middle Magnet will re-open to its students in January of 2028. Just Elementary School will open in August of 2028.