School

Fort Walton Beach extends Montessori school’s lease, giving more time for construction

Fort Walton Beach City Council voted to amend a lease agreement with Montessori Learning Center, extending the deadline for school construction by one year due to increased building costs.

Jared Williams

The Fort Walton Beach City Council has granted the Montessori Learning Center an additional year to begin construction on its new educational facility, amending a lease agreement for city-owned property at 35 Memorial Parkway SW.

During Tuesday’s council meeting, Montessori board members requested a six-month extension to Section 20 of the lease agreement, which originally required construction to begin within three years of the lease commencement on October 11, 2021.

Stephen Arrowsmith, a 10-year board member of Montessori Learning Center, addressed the council, citing “unforeseen delays caused by significant increase in construction costs” as the primary reason for the extension request.

“We firmly believe this location is the best possible place for the future of our school, and we look forward to another 40 years of teaching young minds at that new location,” Arrowsmith said.

The council ultimately decided to extend the construction deadline by one full year, amending the lease agreement from three years to four years. This change gives the school until October 11, 2025, to begin construction or purchase the property.

Morgan Smith, vice president of the Montessori board, expressed confidence in the school’s ability to move forward with the project. “Our intent would be to likely make the purchase within the next six months,” Smith said, noting that the school raised over $140,000 in the past year for the project.

While granting the extension, the council maintained other terms of the lease agreement, including an increase in monthly rent from $500 to $2,500 starting in the fourth year of the lease.

The property, formerly known as Seabreeze Park Youth Baseball Field on Memorial Parkway, was declared surplus by the city in June 2020. The 2.98-acre parcel has an appraised value of $520,000. City Manager Jeff Peters confirmed that Fort Walton Beach does not have any other plans for the property at this time.

The amended lease agreement passed with a 6-0 vote, with Councilman Travis Smith noting his wife’s position on the Montessori board but confirming no financial conflict of interest in his vote.

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