A new private preparatory school is coming to the village of Wellington, but a top official said the school’s opening date has moved to August 2029 from its original opening date of August 2028.
The extra year will allow Wingrove Academy to raise more money for the school’s construction on 45 acres of property along State Road 7, said Jeff Clark, chairman and chief executive of Wingrove’s parent company, ElevateED.
Wingrove Academy’s developer is Karen Yung, a founder of Education in Motion, a Singapore-based education network of 14 international private schools. Yung later founded ElevateED in the United States, and Wingrove Academy is its first U.S. school.
West Palm Beach real estate developer Stephen Ross, chairman of the Related Ross firm, is bringing the school to Wellington as part of his proposal to also build a mixed-use complex on this rare vacant property.
Ross is donating an unspecified amount of money to the new Wingrove school.
Parents who currently send their children to private schools outside the village have said would consider sending them to an international private school in Wellington.
Clark said Wingrove Academy’s curriculum will be innovative, and its faculty will be recruited nationally. In addition, the school will have a $10 million scholarship fund for Wellington residents who show financial need. Tuition will range from $24,000 to $51,000, depending on the grade.
The academy plans to offer a variety of programs: science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, known by the acronym STEAM, athletics and more. There will be a focus on interdisciplinary studies that puts equal weight on all areas of learning.
“Parents want to make sure their kids get the best education regardless of geography, and that’s one of our missions … to be a school for the entire community,” Clark said.
Where will Wingrove Academy be built?
Wingrove Academy will be built at K-Park, a village-owned property that covers about 70 acres along Stribling Way just south of the Mall at Wellington Green.
This is the largest undeveloped parcel along Wellington’s State Road 7 corridor. The property had a variety of uses proposed for it through the years and most recently has been an organic farm.
In January 2025, the village of Wellington agreed to sell K-Park for $47 million to Related Ross and the founder of Education in Motion. At the time, village leaders said Related Ross’ proposal was preferable to another competing proposal for more money because of the promise of the new private school.
When open, the $280 million Wingrove Academy campus will be able to serve more than 1,000 students, with an additional phase possible for 1,750 students. Classes will be offered starting at age 2 through 9th grade, and then eventually through 12th grade.
The campus will have three main buildings for a lower, middle and upper school. There also will be athletic facilities.
Details of the Wingrove Academy plan
When the school first was announced in 2025, K-Park was supposed to be sold to Related Ross and ElevatedED separately.
But soon after the January 2025 announcement, the agreement was amended, according to village records obtained by The Palm Beach Post.
Related Ross now will buy the entire property by the end of the year. ElevateED then will exercise its option to buy the land for the school once the school’s financing is complete, Clark said.
Clark said this arrangement makes it easier to obtain financing, details of which are coming together.
About $110 million is being raised through a tax-exempt bond, Clark said. Another $150 million is coming from donor-financed loans. And about $18 million is from cash and other gifts.
Meanwhile, Related Ross recently revealed plans for the mixed-use project it plans for its 25-acre portion of K-Park.
Village Landing will feature a 180-room hotel, 320,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 90,000 square feet of offices. More than 80 retailers are planned for the project, which is slated to open by fall 2028.
Related Ross originally had proposed building hundreds of residences on the site, but that’s no longer part of the plan.
Clark said he is confident the school will be built, although a contract provision allows Related Ross to develop the site if the school isn’t constructed.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Proposed Wellington private school opening pushed to fall 2029
Reporting by Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
