PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - A building under construction at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland is set to replace the building where the mass shooting occurred on the school’s campus.
Members of Broward County Public Schools held a press conference to discuss the new building at the school’s campus, Thursday.
School board member Lori Alhadeff, who lost her daughter Alyssa Alhadeff in the Feb. 14, 2018 shooting, was on hand to show off the new $18 million structure.
“Welcome to the site of our new classroom building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School,” Alhadeff said.
The 44,000 square foot, two-story building, which will house 30 classrooms, will replace the 1200 building, which has sat unused since the Parkland massacre.
“As you look around, you’ll see that the building’s foundation and exterior structure has already been put in place,” BCPS Superintendent Robert Runcie said. “What I’ll say to you also is that going forward in this district, all new construction will include security features and sustainability features that we have here.”
School officials said they are considering adding a water feature in the courtyard just outside the new building.
“We want to create a very peaceful, tranquil water feature with possibly an eagle representing, overlooking the safety of this building,” Alhadeff said.
Officials said the building will also have improved intercoms.
However, besides the improved intercoms, school officials are not saying much about specific security features the new building will have.
Instead, they focused on talking about some of the district-wide security measures they have put in place, including more real-time surveillance cameras, more radios and a centralized security office.
“Our goal is to make our campuses the safest campuses in the country,” Runcie said.
The new building is scheduled to open in the fall for the upcoming school year.
Because the 1200 building is considered a crime scene, it will remain in place until the trial and sentencing of confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz is complete.
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