N. Charleston middle school to be demolished to make way for new $66M school

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston County School District plans to demolish a middle school built in the 1950s to replace it with a multimillion-dollar new campus where it currently stands.

Chief Operating Officer Jeff Borowy said this is the final school year for the current Morningside Middle School off Rivers Avenue.

Students who are zoned there will move over to the old Garret Academy, which is about 10 minutes away, while they work on the new campus.

Borowy said the total project cost is $66 million to demolish and build a new two-story school that will support 900 students. Currently, 536 students are enrolled at Morningside Middle School.

He added the new building will have 48 classrooms, a gym, cafeteria, media center and outside play area.

Borowy said that schools built back then are much smaller and have narrower hallways and classrooms found in newer schools.

Officials said the campus’ upkeep, such as replacing roofs and HVAC systems, has gotten to a point where a new school is better in the long run.

“Basically, making sure the building is waterproof – windows, flooring, bathrooms -- all of that,” Borowy said. “When you look at all of those items, really, there is a need for a new school. The amount of work that would have to be done to bring all of those to a point where we’re happy with them for the next 20 years.”

Officials believe they can have the school open to students in the summer of 2025. Despite the enrollment increase, officials do not believe attendance lines will have to be redrawn once the new school opens.

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