On Tuesday, an architect will unveil his plan to save the historic Boynton Beach High School, which had been set to be torn down last year.
Architect Rick Gonzalez will make a presentation to the city commission with his ideas for the abandoned high school on East Ocean Avenue at 6:30 at city hall.
City commissioners voted to tear down the high school last summer, but were convinced to give a renovation one more try by Gonzalez, who specializes in historic buildings.
Gonzalez says he wants to restore the building to the way it looked 80 years ago. After weighing ideas for apartments, a brewery, retail, he settled on designing the high school as a community center focused on arts.
There will be rooms for music, dance, theater and painting.
He says it will include some retail on the first floor, facing Ocean Avenue. The plan also calls for moving the city's Community Redevelopment Agency offices to the building.
The goal is to move services currently offered at the community center across the street into the high school building. Then tear down the community center to make room for a bigger, development project the city is planning called Town Square.
Cost of previous proposals has always stopped plans to renovate the school. Gonzalez says he has secured investors willing to fund some of the project. More details will be discussed at tomorrow's presentation.
A group of citizens pushing to save the old high school says it's "skeptically optimistic" the city commission will move forward with plans to keep and renovate the school.
