MILFORD, Del. -- The historic Milford Middle School building is getting a first class makeover. The Milford School District has come out with it's plan to remodel and repurpose the decaying building into a school for fifth and sixth graders.
The school's original structure was built in 1929, with additional sections added to the building years later. The building served as a home to a middle school and high school before the school district abandoned the site in 2012.
"It just changes the whole makeup of our street and our neighborhood," says Stephanie McDonough, who's lived near the school for almost 50 years, sent her three children there, and worked there for two years. "You know, not seeing children at that school any longer, it was a very big disappointment."
Last year, the school district made a decision to preserve the building instead of tearing it down. Neighbors within the Milford community were given an opportunity to vote on the future of the site, and they ultimately voted for it to be reopened as a school once again.
The Milford School District has now released a timeline on their website that details each step of the remodeling process. It includes community engagement meetings, planning and bidding, and a construction phase that's scheduled to start in December of 2023 and conclude in July of 2025. The estimate cost of the project is a little more than $57,000,000. The district will use bond sales to cover a portion of that number, and the State of Delaware cover a larger amount of the remaining cost.
The news of the project has been well received by neighbors living and working near the school.
"Actually, I look forward to kids playing around this area and for it took like a place full of life," says Qizhou Dai who has worked at a nearby company for 16 years.
According to the timeline, the school is expected to be open for learning in Fall 2025.