Downtown Eustis High is about to look very different. Lake County Schools is moving ahead with a roughly $40.5 million overhaul of the high school’s main campus that will tack on new classrooms, athletic spaces, and parking to the tight downtown site. The district says construction is expected to start at the end of May 2026 and will be phased so students can stay on campus while the work happens. The plan brings ninth graders back to the main campus and adds a new weight room and field house alongside a large classroom building. Officials say they are aiming to finish the project before the 2027-28 school year.
What the plan includes
The district’s RFQ and capital plan put total funding at $40,480,000, with about $35.48 million for construction, $2 million for design work, and roughly $3 million for furniture and equipment. The solicitation describes an approximately 600-student classroom addition with science labs, ESE rooms, an industrial lab for the Construction Academy, and a PE weight room. It also calls for site work that includes converting the existing softball field to a practice field, expanding the bus loop, and adding parking. The bid documents highlight the challenge of building on a tight, historic campus and tell potential contractors to account for staging and student safety, according to Lake County Schools.
Size, contractors and schedule
Local coverage describes the new classroom building at roughly 56,000 square feet, paired with a separate field house and a new weight room that students and coaches have been lobbying for. General contractor Charles Perry Partners, Inc. is listed as the lead builder, and Miami-based Zyscovich is named as the project architect, according to reporting by the Orlando Sentinel. District facilities staff told that outlet they expect to break ground at the end of May 2026 and to phase work so most construction wraps before the 2027-28 school year.
Where students will go during work
The district plans to keep ninth-grade students at the Curtright campus while the new addition goes up and to use Curtright as a swing site for Eustis Elementary while that older campus is rebuilt. Board presentation materials lay out a timeline that would move the elementary to Curtright for roughly two school years, with students returning to a rebuilt Eustis Elementary in August 2029, according to ClickOrlando. “The timing just kind of worked out that we're going to move all of those students from the elementary school into the Curtright campus,” Kelly Randall told the Sentinel, according to reporting in the Orlando Sentinel.
Timeline and constraints
The district’s RFQ lists a tentative substantial completion date of July 2027 and notes that the main campus is small and surrounded by a historic, built-out neighborhood. Those constraints have driven the construction sequence and safety planning. The solicitation urges proposers to consider industrialized construction techniques and early procurement of long-lead items to stay on schedule while protecting students and staff, according to Lake County Schools. District leaders say the new classrooms, career and technical education labs and athletic upgrades are meant to expand learning options and modernize aging facilities without relocating the high school out of downtown Eustis.
Design selection, permitting and a guaranteed maximum price are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. Procurement records and meeting summaries show the district has been working with shortlisted construction managers and preconstruction teams over the past year. Those summaries indicate Charles Perry Partners has served in preconstruction and construction manager roles on district projects and took part in discussions about how to phase work at Eustis High, according to public meeting notes and workshop coverage. As plans are nailed down, the district says it will hold community briefings on traffic, staging and safety so neighbors and families know what to expect.
