Riviera Schools scores $22M loan for expansion

Miami private school is planning to add a new building with classrooms and theater, plus tennis courts and parking

Peter Cohen and the Preparatory School campus in Miami
Peter Cohen and the Preparatory School campus in Miami

UPDATED, Jan. 28, 11:50 a.m.: Riviera Schools scored a $22 million construction loan to expand its Preparatory School campus in Miami.

The private school secured the loan from BB&T to build nine tennis courts, additional parking, and a new building with classrooms and a theater, according to Peter Cohen, associate director of Riviera Schools.

Riviera Preparatory School, at 9775 Southwest 87th Avenue, enrolls students grades 6-12. The school moved to the 14.7-acre site in 2011. Annual tuition comes out to about $26,750.

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Riviera Day School was founded in 1950 as an elementary school and middle school, and later began operating a high school. It has two campuses: the Riviera Day School at 6800 Nervia Street in Coral Gables and the prep school on 87th Avenue.

Other private schools in the area have also planned expansions. In October, Ransom Everglades School bought a home at 1921 South Bayshore Drive for about $3.7 million, adding an acre to the 16.7-acre campus.

Avenues: The World School is also 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.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the acreage and other details about Riviera’s history.