Here’s the first look at Horry County’s new $58 million middle school in Conway
Horry County school board gave the green light to early designs for the new Whittemore Park Middle School at a meeting Monday.
The new school will be constructed on a 39 acre site on El Bethel Road in Conway. It’ll replace Whittemore Park Middle School, which has been plagued by quality issues through the years.
Greg McFarland, with PMH Architects, presented a conceptual design for the school to the district’s facilities committee before it was brought before the school board. The $58 million project will have the capacity for around 1,050 students, and the current Whittemore Park Middle School hosts around 950 students.
Construction is set to begin in the fall or winter of 2022, according to Lisa Bourcier, Horry County Schools spokesperson. Some details are still being worked out, like the interior design and how many classrooms the school will hold, but the finished building is set to be around 145,000 square feet.
The Whittemore Park Middle School building formerly held segregated Whittemore High School, and is held in high regard in Conway’s Black community as a result. Architects and school board members discussed a “legacy room” honoring the history of the school which could be used to hold community meetings and showcase historical memorabilia.
“We want to make sure that has a prominent place in this school as we take that history along with us moving forward into new construction,” said Joe Burch, planning coordinator for HCS’ facilities department.
The fate of the Whittemore schools has been the topic of discussion among its former students since the Whittemore Elementary School building was deemed too expensive to save from demolition by the city of Conway. The school board hasn’t voted on what to do with the current Whittemore Park Middle School after the new building is built.
The historical nature of the school is important to carry on, said Janet Graham, who represents the area of Whittemore Park Middle School.
“I think the community is going to be very excited for the legacy room, the community is really looking forward to it,” Graham said.
This story was originally published December 7, 2021 at 9:58 AM.
