Windermere Prep proposes new campus

Horizon West residents worry that Windermere Preparatory School’s proposed elementary campus in Horizon West will exacerbate the area’s existing traffic and pedestrian safety issues.

Residents raised concerns during an Orange County community meeting Thursday, March 26, at Bridgewater Middle School’s media center regarding the private school’s expansion

Orange County officials and Windermere Prep leadership presented two proposals at the meeting: a Change Determination Request to reduce framework streets for connectivity requirements and a Development Plan Request to build a two-story pre-K-5 elementary school for 880 students with associated sports fields at 15765 New Independence Parkway. 

Windermere Prep’s Head of School Alex Birchenall said the school is looking to expand into Horizon West because its pre-K-12 main campus at Lake Butler has reached capacity. He added leadership has wanted to move closer to the Hamlin area for many years, even before he was brought in, seeing this as a great growth opportunity. 

Birchenall said the decision to only have up to 880 elementary students is a determination the school and its owner, Nord Anglia Education, worked out to “make the financial model work.” 

The school building would be about 93,000 square feet and house 44 core classrooms, with each set of four classrooms connected by a pod with an internal learning environment. Plans also feature a media center, cafeteria, gym and outdoor gardens. 

Courtesy image

The parking lot is set to have 160 spaces, one entrance and two exits. The main entrance and exit will sit on the west side of the property, using Lakewalk Drive as a “buffer zone” to steer traffic. The other exit will be on the opposite end of the parking lot flowing into New Independence Parkway. 

David Boers, a Horizon West resident, was concerned about the traffic buildup the pick-up and drop-off times could cause.

He said the proximity of this new elementary school to Independence Elementary School, which is less than 2 miles away, will worsen road congestion in the area.

“It’s not real common to see elementary schools like that plugged in right next to each other,” Boers said. “There could have been a better opportunity in a different area that wasn’t going to impact the actual residents who do live in the area as opposed to the students that would be coming to (the new elementary) from a much greater distance.”

To mitigate congestion, Chris Godwin, a professional engineer with Traffic & Mobility Consultants, displayed a site plan developed with county staff to manage the queue of student drop-off and pick-up times. The plan is to split the students into three sections spread across 20-minute intervals. 

Graphics illustrated with color-coded lines showed paths cars would take across the entire width of the parking lot stretched across the 13.69-acre property. The plan anticipates the total number of pre-K students to be 240; first- through third-grade students to be 320; and fourth- and fifth-grade students to be 320. 

Mohammed Abdallah, founder of Traffic & Mobility Consultants, said each queue line is expected to fit 60 to 80 vehicles at a time, with peak hours of student drop-offs from 7 to 9 a.m. He said they expect around 600 vehicles during that timeframe. 

In regard to when the drop-offs would occur, Birchenall said the school probably would start at 8:20 a.m. and possibly would adjust its start times taking the other elementary schools’ start times into account. 

“We don’t want to cause congestion,” Birchenall said. “We want to work with the community and figure out what makes sense for the school side and support what we need to be good community members.”

District 1 Commissioner Nicole Wilson brought up pedestrian safety. She said the area around 15765 New Independence Parkway gives her “so much heartburn.”

“(Horizon West) was created to be a walkable, bike-able community and there are people living (by New Independence Parkway) who don’t really have a safe way to even cross for the businesses that are over here,” Wilson said. “The concern is real about safety.”

Lindsay Turner lives across the street from Horizon High School, where she said pedestrian safety is an issue. She said there aren’t any crossing guards present at every intersection by the high school and asked if it’d be different for the new elementary. 

Birchenall said the current Windermere Prep main campus has two Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies that direct traffic in the area along with a school resource officer. 

Abdallah added the overall evaluation for the property recently completed includes a pedestrian crossing. The type of crosswalk has not been decided; that is up to the county. 

The plans for the new private elementary school still are in the technical review stage. Next, the Development Review Committee will meet on a date to be determined to offer a recommendation for the Change Determination Request and make a final action on the Development Plan Request. If the DPR is approved, the CDR will be seen by the Board of County Commissioners for a final decision. The BCC meeting would be open for public testimony.