The Milwaukee Common Council this week approved the sale of three city-owned properties, paving the way for St. Augustine Preparatory Academy’s $30 million campus expansion plan.
The private school, located in Milwaukee’s Lincoln Village neighborhood on the south side, plans to build a 111,000-square-foot building next to its existing 225,000-square-foot building at 2607 S. 5th St.
The new building would house K-5th grade students to accommodate the school’s growing enrollment. St. Augustine, which opened in fall 2017, has about 1,000 students currently and projects enrollment to grow by another 700 to 900 students within the first few years of opening the new building.
The project would include three stories of academic space, including 32 classrooms, a gym, cafeteria and commons area, along with underground parking.
“We’ve expanded quickly and this new proposal would allow us to accommodate a lot of our waiting list,” said Matt Miller, chief operating officer of St. Augustine Prep.
The expansion is planned for a site directly north of the main campus. To accommodate the project, the Common Council this week approved the sale of three vacant city-owned properties at 2548, 2552 and 2556 South 5th Place, which total 8,640 square feet.
Korb & Associates Architects is designing the new building.
Gus Ramirez, chairman of Waukesha-based Husco International, founded the school. The Ramirez family gave $40 million to open the $50 million school campus in 2017.
The nondenominational Christian school participates in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, and enrolls students from every Milwaukee zip code. The existing facility includes an Olympic-sized indoor pool and turf soccer field. As part of the school’s curriculum, all students receive swim lessons.
