Southwest Middle School at 2815 Eden Pkwy. has a brand new look. Following a groundbreaking ceremony held in September 2022, Polk County Public Schools celebrated the opening of the refreshed campus in March 2024.
The goal of the $55 million+ Southwest Middle School Campus Modernization master plan was to update the entire school, which was founded in 1956. Around 800+ students are currently enrolled — now that construction is finished, capacity could increase to around 1,350 students.
![An outdoor courtyard at Southwest Middle School pictured at dusk. A two-story building and another building with an outdoor seating area are connected with curved sidewalks. Between the paths are light poles and newly planted trees.](https://6amcity.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e31b283/2147483647/strip/true/crop/800x450+0+43/resize/1000x563!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fk1-prod-sixam-city.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd8%2F62%2F203c6c0744c8a4c859506e5355d7%2Flal-southwest-middle-school-courtyard-mar2024.jpeg)
Staff + students are already using the newly built facilities.
Photo via Polk County Public Schools
How will the middle school accommodate all those extra students? A new two-story building totaling more than 175,000 sqft includes:
- Administrative offices
- Classrooms + laboratories
- Media center
- Fine arts suite
- Combined cafeteria + auditorium
- Outdoor dining space
![An open outdoor seating area at Southwest Middle School. Picnic-style tables with seats are covered with a roof outside of an indoor seating area.](https://6amcity.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3817253/2147483647/strip/true/crop/709x399+29+0/resize/1000x563!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fk1-prod-sixam-city.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd3%2Fa7%2Feadabba1408482ae5c3946658f7a%2Flal-southwest-middle-school-seating-mar2024.jpeg)
Students can hang out outdoors in the new courtyard.
Photo via Polk County Public Schools
In addition to these features, there’s also a new bus loop, parent pick-up + drop-off location, and lit fields. Is it normal to be jealous of middle schoolers?
Students and teachers have been using the updated buildings since January 2024 — next, most of the older structures will be demolished, barring the original physical education facility, gym, and science building.
The Southwest Middle School Campus Modernization project is funded by impact fees + Polk County’s half-cent sales tax. Compare these original renderings from fall 2022 with the finished project.