‘It’s beautiful’: Tradition Lakes K-8 in St. Lucie County ready to open after week-long delay
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —
Tradition Lakes K-8 in St. Lucie County is set to welcome students Monday morning after construction delays postponed its opening by a week, according to school district officials.
During a rescheduled open house on Friday, parents and students toured the new campus and shared their impressions.
Eighth-grade student Isabella Conde is excited.
“You saw the new school; what do you think? It’s really nice; it’s a lot bigger than my old school,” Conde said.
TRADITION LAKES K-8:
Orlando Reyes helped his daughter set up a classroom earlier in the day.
“Looks like it’s ready to go? Yeah, it is; it is pretty much ready to go. I was here early this morning with my daughter to set up her room, and the room is really pretty nice,” Reyes said.
Kenneth Rozier, a worker who helped install the flooring, shared positive feedback.
“Ah, it looks beautiful; everything looks beautiful. Everything is in place? Yeah, everything looks wonderful. It’s good,” Rozier said.
The school’s opening was delayed due to construction and final preparations taking longer than expected.
Deep Dive: WPBF 25 News Investigates
“Part of it was occupancy, but a lot of it was just the fact that there were a lot of things like textbooks, furniture, things weren’t put together. You know, you don’t want parents coming into empty classrooms or unfinished classrooms,” said St. Lucie Public Schools Superintendent Jon Prince.
Although some construction is still ongoing, the school is ready to begin the academic year.
“So, it’s a phase construction. When the school is fully completed, it will have 1,800 students. But we capped it at 1,100. There’s one academic wing and the gym that will be finished in mid-September, and the last academic wing will probably be finished between September and October,” Prince said.
Crews are expected to continue working over the weekend, with much of the remaining work being cosmetic.
Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25