INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Developers of Pointe West have the ability to turn what was to be a public school site into something else now that the Indian River County School Board has released the development from its obligation to provide land for what was to be Osceola Magnet’s new campus.
Pointe West President Chuck Mechling has said that the property could be used for another school, but he doubts he would move forward with such a plan.
Mechling thanked the School Board Tuesday night for acting quickly to release its option on the property, which frees him up to explore other possibilities for the site.
“It’s been quite an adventure,” he said of the years-long process of working with the School District to locate a school at the community.
“It’s very obvious we won’t be building a school on that property,” School Board member Carol Johnson said, adding that it is only fair to release the property.
She said that future development of the site, however, would be restricted to public uses and could not be developed as commercial.
Johnson said it could be used for recreational purposes.
“I wish Pointe West and the developers well,” she said.
Late last year, the School Board decided against building a new campus for Osceola Magnet, which has suffered chronic flooding and drainage problems for years.
Instead, the board explored other options, including relocating the magnet to Dodgertown Elementary. In the end, however, the board decided to move Osceola Magnet to the Thompson Lifelong Learning Center, displacing the voluntary pre-K and adult education classes.
The voluntary pre-K program will be moved to Vero Beach Elementary once the school’s replacement campus opens in the fall.
