A former elementary school campus in the Highline (Washington) district has been called back into service after a fire last month significantly damaged a building that housed two secondary school programs.
The Highline district says crew are working seven days a week to renovate the 1950 Beverly Park Elementary building site in Seattle. It has been used most recently for storage and an after-school program.
The building is needed to provide a home to programs that had been housed in the former Southern Heights Elementary facility in Burien. Southern Heights was significantly damaged in a July 10 fire. The main office and gym are a total loss and are slated to be demolished in the coming weeks.
Southern Heights was home to Innovation Heights Academy and Highline Virtual Academy. Because of the extent of fire and water damage at Southern Heights, Highline had to quickly identify a new location for the 2024-25 school year, and the old Beverly Park building was selected.
The renovations needed include cleaning, adding restroom accessibility, painting, installing new flooring, and electrical and plumbing improvements.
Some renovation work will continue in the evenings and weekends after the school year begins. The district expects renovation work to continue through January.
