The next chapter for Lincoln Middle School and Williams Elementary School will include an opportunity for the community to help shape the design of a state-of-the-art facility that will serve students and staff from both schools.

Plans are underway to transform the current Lincoln Middle School campus into a K-8 school serving students from Lincoln and Williams, which are located on adjacent properties in southeast Gainesville. The project will also honor the legacy of the late Joseph Williams, for whom the elementary school is named, and A. Quinn Jones, the first principal of what was then Lincoln High School.

The School Board has budgeted $96 million for the project, which is expected to be completed in the fall or winter of 2029.

Families, school staff and community members are encouraged to attend one or both of two upcoming community input sessions to ask questions and share ideas with representatives from Alachua County Public Schools and PBK Architects, the award-winning firm selected to design the revitalized campus.

Chad Jones, who will lead the design project, also oversaw the revitalization of Westwood Middle School and Littlewood Elementary School, as well as the design process for Santa Fe College’s Blount Center in downtown Gainesville.

“We feel very fortunate to be part of the exciting work of revitalizing a campus with such a storied history,” said Jones. “We look forward to hearing from people in the community and incorporating their stories and perspectives into our design.”

The input sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, November 10, at 6 p.m. and Tuesday, December 1, at 6 p.m. Both will be held in the Lincoln Middle School auditorium, located at 1001 SE 12th Street in Gainesville.

An additional community input session is planned for early next year. An online survey will also be distributed to ensure that anyone interested in sharing ideas about the campus design has an opportunity to participate. Once a preliminary design for the new K-8 facility has been developed, community members will have another opportunity to review the plans and provide feedback.