Beverly Park Elementary School’s original location at 11427 3rd Avenue South is currently undergoing extensive renovations after Southern Heights Elementary School was severely damaged by a possible fire in July.
As we already reportedLate at night on the morning of July 10, 2024, a suspicious brush fire burned through the former Southern Heights Elementary School in Burien, destroying Southern Heights’ main office and gymnasium, prompting school officials to quickly find a new location for students and staff before the 2024-25 school year.
The main office and the gymnasium (building 100) are a total loss and are to be demolished in the coming weeks.
Southern Heights was home to two high schools – Innovation Heights Academy and Highline Virtual Academy. With the Southern Heights campus no longer usable due to fire and water damage, a construction crew from Forma Construction is working seven days a week to renovate the 1950s-era Beverly Park site. The goal of the renovation is to provide students with a safe and functional learning environment by the first day of school in September.
Renovations include cleaning, creating accessible toilets, painting, laying new flooring and upgrading electrical and plumbing systems.
Highline Public Schools is working with its insurance company to obtain reimbursement and expects most costs to be covered.
The original Beverly Park site, which has been used for storage and after-school programs in recent years, will be remodeled to accommodate both schools. Construction will take place weekdays and Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., with some work continuing on Sundays. Renovations are expected to last through January 2025.
Superintendent Ivan Duran thanked everyone working hard to renovate the Original Beverly Park Site, as well as our neighbors and community:
“We appreciate the support of our neighbors at both locations, our school board and our community as we transition our facility plans to support our students and staff.”
