ST. CLOUD, Fla. – As some districts in Central Florida consider closing schools, Osceola County is set to build a new K-8 school in St. Cloud.
The school will be located in the middle of a new subdivision.
The new subdivision, Triple H Ranch, is coming to St. Cloud off Hickory Tree Road. It will include 787 single-family homes and 278 townhomes. The county board of commissioners approved the subdivision about a year ago and recently approved an agreement between the developer and the School District of Osceola County (SDOC) to bring a school to the area.
The agreement allows the developer to sell the future K-8 school site to the school district in exchange for school impact fee credits.
“The School Impact Fee Credits will be submitted to the County in place of cash payment for School Impact Fees that would have otherwise been paid directly to the County. While the agreement has various portions concerning the developer and the SDOC, the County’s only role in this agreement is to ensure we do not give more credits than should be earned,” a county spokesperson told News 6.
[WATCH BELOW: St. Cloud reevaluates proclamation policy after controversy over Pride Month]
The subdivision will be right off Hickory Tree Road, which currently is only a two-lane road. The addition of many new homes and a school has raised concerns about increased traffic congestion.
Cody Beasley, a resident living nearby, expressed worries about traffic.
“We’re on the outskirts [of town], like Old Hickory Tree, right? And going back into town and then going to Irlo Bronson — 192 — that’s just a whole other nightmare,” he said.
Beasley feels that better infrastructure, such as widening the road to four lanes, would help alleviate traffic problems.
[WATCH BELOW: Osceola County opens new trail connecting Kissimmee, St. Cloud]
“[It] would definitely help out, you know, with school traffic, coming home traffic,” he said.
While excited about having a school closer to home for his family, Beasley acknowledged the impact on traffic in an already crowded area.
“We’re coming from Virginia, and then we were from L.A. So even that, I’m like L.A. traffic, everybody [says it’s] a nightmare, but they haven’t been to Florida yet,” Beasley added.
The Osceola School District is also set to open a new high school on Nova Road next year, about 15 minutes from this subdivision. The district says these new schools will help meet the demands of the growing neighborhoods in St. Cloud.