Developer Related Ross expressed commitment to its first-ever private school partnership in Wellington, even as it pursues a second private K-12 school in West Palm Beach with an educational operator it says has not yet been determined.
A Related Ross statement issued Friday, April 11 in response to questions refers to continued support for the planned Wellington school, whose creators have been operating under the name ElevateED US LLC.
“We are fully committed to the Wellington K-12 school project operated by ElevateED and, as a partner, seek to ensure its success as a premier, top-ranked and high-quality private school; that is our priority,” said the statement from Related Ross. “As Palm Beach County continues to grow, bringing 4,000 to 5,000 new employees to the CityPlace developments [in West Palm Beach] alone, we will look at complementary educational programming offerings to support the demand, rather than competing institutions.”
The latest plan is for the Wellington school to open in August 2028. School backers told Wellington’s Education Committee on March 4 that they were considering a bus to West Palm Beach to help accommodate pent-up demand for private school education around the region. They calculated 400 to 500 students in Wellington alone already commute to private schools outside the community, which could be a significant starting point to fill classrooms at a school expected to serve 1,675 students when fully built out in two phases.
The presence of a separate new school in West Palm Beach would not rule out such bus service.
“The Wellington private school catchment area includes West Palm Beach and Palm Beach, so the school would provide bus connections to those and other locations within the county,” said Marianne Rehn, representing the Wellington private school organizers.
The West Palm Beach school would stand on 55 acres that the city currently owns near Okeechobee Blvd. and Florida’s Turnpike, with no student head count, construction timetable or opening date yet spelled out. It would sit on what is sometimes called the Roebuck Road site.
Related Ross is in negotiations to buy the site for a future private school not owned or operated by the developer, possibly supplemented on site with workforce housing or affordable housing for teachers built by the developer.
The West Palm Beach school could serve local families as well as those of financial executives and others relocating from the northeast corridor of the U.S., among other places. A number of them would work in business sites Related Ross has built or planned in the West Palm Beach market.
Many of those prospective arrivals have been accustomed to private-school options where they are from and have sometimes expressed concerns that existing, high-quality private schools in Palm Beach County are largely full, with wait lists.
The land deal could also provide money, at least $6.6 million, to benefit a public school in West Palm Beach, Roosevelt Elementary School, according to Related Ross officials.
“We are currently in the term sheet and due diligence phase, with additional public hearings scheduled over the next six months before closing,” the Related Ross statement explained. “This transaction serves two key purposes: providing immediate funding to Roosevelt Elementary School, a public school, and reserving land for a future private school campus, which is important as the region grows and attracts new businesses and residents. Related Ross will continue to facilitate and enable positive outcomes in the community without intending to develop or operate schools ourselves.”
The official name of the planned Wellington school has not yet been announced.
“There is no formal name for the school at this point, but we look forward to launching the new name in the coming months,” Rehn said.
It is being created by the founders of the international school group Education in Motion, Karen Yung and Fraser White. It would operate independently from EIM as a U.S.-based not-for-profit venture and would feature a $350 million investment spearheaded by the EIM founders’ own funds and supplemented by bond offerings, according to school officials.
In January, the Wellington Village Council approved a $47 million deal to sell land known as K-Park to Related Ross and the school in separate parcels. The school would sit on the western end of close to 70 acres southwest of State Road 7 and Stribling Way.
Related Ross, led by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, agreed to pay $31 million for land on which it proposes to build perhaps 500 residential units, including rental townhouses and apartments, interwoven with a hotel of 150 to 180 rooms, restaurants, boutique grocers, stores, trails and green space. Pairing with a private school in the development pitch represented a first for the company, officials said. The West Palm Beach school would represent a second instance.
The Wellington land deal remains subject to final development approvals from the village over the next 18 months or more.
The school agreed to pay $16 million for its portion of the land. While it describes Related Ross as a partner, it would operate independently.
Related Ross’s statement said the region’s existing private schools are already at capacity with wait lists, “demonstrating the clear need for additional educational options.”
The statement noted, “The arrangement to buy the land is separate from our Wellington K-12 school project, which is the only new private school slated for construction in Palm Beach County. While we are in the early stages of due diligence for the Roebuck Road site, we are not in discussions with school operators.”
