Wharton-Smith team members joined Polk County School Board members, local government officials, and members of the community to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new high school. See more pictures.

The event opened with a prayer by Bishop Willie R. Mincey, Jr. and musical performances by the Ridge Community High School Marching Band and Girls Ensemble Chorus.

Slated to open in August 2021, the new three-story school will accommodate 2,500 students. The state-of-the-art prototype from SchenkelShultz Architecture will feature a three-story school on a 60-acre site with a performing arts center, administration offices, gymnasium, and stadium.

David Torbert, a partner at SchenkelShultz Architecture, talked about the project timeline: “As we mentioned earlier, this high school is on an aggressive schedule. That’s why we feel very blessed to be teamed with Wharton-Smith — a firm that we have a lot of experience with and have a lot of faith in.”

Tom Iarossi, Director of Operations, Tampa Commercial, added, “We pour a lot of passion and pride into everything we do. We want to make sure we are spending your dollars wisely and giving back to the community that gave us this opportunity.”

The yet-to-be-named school will have career and technical education academies focused on visual and performing arts, computer modeling and gaming, hospitality and hotel management, culinary arts, landscape operations, and horticulture.