A private school planned for Wellington’s K-Park and backed by billionaire Related Ross Chairman Steve Ross is set to open to students in 2028.
Wingrove Academy will be operated by West Palm Beach-based ElevatED and will enroll PreK through eighth grade beginning in August 2028, South Florida Business Journal reported. It is planned for the K-Park site at 10040 Stribling Way. The not-for-profit school will add its first class of high school students in 2029, the publication reported. At its full capacity, Wingrove will serve 1,700 students.
David Manfredi, CEO and founding principal of Boston-based Elkus Manfredi Architects, is designing the campus. The firm has previously designed buildings for Harvard University, Northeastern University and Emerson College, its website shows. The Hudson, Ohio-based executive search firm, RG175, was tapped to recruit a head of school, the Business Journal reported.
In January, affiliates of Related Ross and ElevatED reached an agreement with the Village of Wellington to buy the 70-acre K-Park site for $47 million, the Palm Beach Post reported. Part of the site will be used to develop the Wingrove campus, and part will be used for a planned mixed-use development by Related Ross. The developer is planning a restaurant and retail district with a 180-key hotel and 500 residential units, similar to its CityPlace district in West Palm Beach.
Demand for private schools has surged in South Florida in recent years, fueled by the post-pandemic wealth migration to the region. Enrollment is at record highs, and acceptance rates are at all-time lows, school leaders say.
Ross has been on a mission to meet the unmet demand for private schooling, which real estate insiders say is key to luring top financiers to the offices he is building in West Palm Beach. He is also planning a K-12 private school on 55 acres in West Palm Beach.
–– Kate Hinsche
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