A $53.8M Orlando Gifted Academy Is Rising Near Mills 50: Inside the New OCPS Campus
Orange County Public Schools is rebuilding one of its most distinctive magnet programs from the ground up. With the design now finished, the new Orlando Gifted Academy will trade 1947-era classrooms for a modern 100,000-square-foot campus on Fern Creek Avenue, with construction set to begin in January 2027.
The Jared Jones Team is tracking the $53.8M Orlando Gifted Academy rebuild near Orlando’s Mills 50 district.
Image © Schenkel Shultz Architecture. Conceptual rendering; final design may change.
What to Know
The Orlando Gifted Academy project in brief
A full rebuild of the district’s only stand-alone magnet school for gifted students, on a nine-acre site minutes from downtown Orlando.
$53.8 million rebuild. A new Orange County Public Schools campus for the Orlando Gifted Academy magnet program, near Mills 50 at 1121 N. Fern Creek Avenue.
100,000 square feet. A new building replaces several older structures on the nine-acre site, some dating to 1947, when it opened as Fern Creek Elementary.
Opens fall 2028. Demolition wraps by mid-October, construction begins January 2027, and Pirtle Construction is targeting a fall 2028 opening.
The new Orlando Gifted Academy is a $53.8 million Orange County Public Schools project near Mills 50 in Orlando. Architecture firm Schenkel Shultz has finished the design for a 100,000-square-foot campus at 1121 N. Fern Creek Avenue, replacing buildings that date to 1947. Construction begins in January 2027, with the school set to open in fall 2028.
Winter Park-based Schenkel Shultz announced on September 14 that it had completed the design, clearing the way for construction. As reported by the Orlando Business Journal, the project replaces several aging buildings with a single modern campus for the district’s gifted magnet program, which serves students in grades two through eight from across Orange County. It joins a wave of campus construction reshaping Central Florida as districts and private schools race to modernize.
What is being built near Mills 50?
The centerpiece is a new 100,000-square-foot building on the school’s nine-acre site in the Colonialtown North neighborhood, just off the Mills 50 district. It replaces several older structures, some of which opened in 1947 as Fern Creek Elementary. The Orlando Gifted Academy itself debuted in 2018 as the district’s magnet school for intellectually gifted students, taking applications district-wide.
Pirtle Construction is the general contractor, and the replacement school is designed as a two-story campus for roughly 800 students, targeting a Three Green Globes sustainability certification.
What will the new campus include?
Schenkel Shultz designed the campus around how gifted students actually learn. The plan centers on grade-level “STEM hubs” that group hands-on, interdisciplinary work together, with specialized science, technology and language-arts labs woven throughout.
Beyond the labs, the design adds a deep bench of arts spaces, including rooms for music, drumming, drawing, photography and performance, plus flexible, technology-rich areas that flex from individual study to large project-based collaboration. Outdoor gardens and learning spaces extend the campus beyond the classroom walls.
When will the new Orlando Gifted Academy open?
OCPS spokesman Michael Ollendorff said demolition of the old buildings is expected to finish by mid-October, with a public meeting to present the completed design set for November. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2027, and the campus is expected to open in fall 2028.
Until then, the Orlando Gifted Academy continues operating out of the former Orange Technical College campus in Winter Park at 901 W. Webster Avenue. Ollendorff said the school will remain at that temporary home through the 2027-2028 academic year.
The new campus by the numbers
The figures frame a full public-school rebuild in one of Orlando’s older core neighborhoods, replacing mid-century facilities with a purpose-built magnet campus.
A light real estate read on the project
For the Mills 50 and Colonialtown North area, an eight-figure school investment is a quiet vote of confidence. Districts rebuild where they expect families to stay, and a modern magnet campus in an established core neighborhood tends to lift the long-term appeal of the streets around it, from Colonialtown to the nearby Milk District. For buyers weighing where to land, it is one more reason to study how Orlando’s neighborhoods compare before making a move.
The wider backdrop is more nuanced. The district said it lost 7,600 students heading into this school year, more than expected, as voucher expansion and lower birth rates reshape enrollment, part of a broader shift in Florida school and housing rules this fall. Even so, OCPS still counts nearly 200,000 students across roughly 200 campuses, and it is choosing to invest here rather than pull back, which is the detail worth noticing for anyone tracking where Orlando is putting its money.
“When a district invests eight figures in a magnet campus, it is telling you the surrounding neighborhoods are worth building for. Families notice that, and so do buyers.” – Jared Jones, Jared Jones Team
The Takeaway
The completed design marks the point where the Orlando Gifted Academy rebuild stops being a plan and starts becoming a construction schedule. Demolition this fall, a public design meeting in November, and a January 2027 groundbreaking put a real timeline on a fall 2028 opening.
For buyers and sellers watching Orlando’s core neighborhoods, it is a reminder that public investment often signals where an area is headed. Mills 50 and Colonialtown are getting a brand-new, purpose-built school, and that kind of anchor tends to matter for years.
FAQ
Where is the new Orlando Gifted Academy being built?
The new campus is being built at 1121 N. Fern Creek Avenue in Orlando, in the Colonialtown North neighborhood just off the Mills 50 district, on the same nine-acre site the school has occupied since it opened as Fern Creek Elementary in 1947.
How much does the new Orlando Gifted Academy campus cost?
The Orange County Public Schools project carries a total cost of $53.8 million and includes a new 100,000-square-foot building that replaces several older structures on the site.
When will the new campus open?
Demolition is expected to finish by mid-October 2026, construction begins in January 2027, and the campus is expected to open in fall 2028. A public meeting to present the completed design is planned for November 2026.
What will the new Orlando Gifted Academy include?
The Schenkel Shultz design centers on grade-level STEM hubs with new science, technology and language-arts labs, plus dedicated arts spaces for music, drumming, drawing, photography and performance, along with flexible learning areas and outdoor gardens.
Where are Orlando Gifted Academy students during construction?
Students are attending classes at the former Orange Technical College campus in Winter Park at 901 W. Webster Avenue, and OCPS says the school will stay there through the 2027-2028 academic year.
External Links & Related Reading
For readers who want to review the design team behind the new Orlando Gifted Academy, plus related Central Florida coverage, these are the key references.
- Building Enclosure: Schenkel Shultz Completes Design of Orlando Gifted Academy’s New Campus
- Schenkel Shultz – Project Architect
- Orlando Gifted Academy – Official OCPS Site
- Pirtle Construction – General Contractor
- Related on jaredjones.com: Central Florida’s Private Schools Are Building Big
- Related on jaredjones.com: What Changed for Florida Schools and Housing in September 2026
Watching Orlando’s core neighborhoods?
Development stories like this one say a lot about where an area is headed. When a move is on your radar, local context matters. The Jared Jones Team, brokered by eXp Realty, serves Winter Garden and the greater Orlando area. Call or text 407-706-5000.