UPDATED, Dec. 4, 3:30 p.m. KLA Elementary School in Miami just scored a $18.7 million loan as the school plans to build a new campus near Brickell.
The Miami-based private school secured the loan from FirstBank Florida, the Florida arm of FirstBank Puerto Rico, property records show. The new school will be built on three properties just west of I-95.
KLA is planning to build the 90,480-square-foot private school at 375 Southwest 15th Road, and 1131 and 1109 Southwest Fourth Avenue, according to property records. It paid $6.2 million for the properties, which have two apartment complexes, in February.
Candy and Roberto Ortega and a group of investors and educators founded KLA Schools in 2008. The owners began franchising in 2010 and there are now 15 franchisees. It’s based in Brickell at 600 Southwest First Avenue.
Construction for the 450-student school will begin in the first quarter of 2019 and is expected to take up to 16 months to complete. Ortega said he wanted to create an urban and modern setting and was inspired by schools in New York City.
Last week, another private school made big news in South Florida. The Avenues: The World School is planning to open at the former Archbishop Curley Notre-Dame High School site in Little Haiti. New York-based Avenues is an exclusive private school where tuition costs are over $54,000 per year, according to its website.