A groundbreaking ceremony Thursday will mark the beginning of construction on a long-awaited park and community center at the historic Rosenwald school site in East Altamonte Springs.

The project will transform the 12-acre property into a gathering space that includes a new 6,000-square-foot Rosenwald Community Center, walking paths, pavilions and a fishing pier. The community center will feature programming space for cultural events, community services and youth activities.

Toni Anne Violetta, who lives next to the property, said she has been looking forward to the development.

“I think it would be lovely. I think this area needs it,” Violetta said. “It looks like kids would have a lot of fun there.”

The Rosenwald School originally opened in the 1930s to serve the thriving African American community in East Altamonte Springs. The school was integrated in the 1970s before permanently closing in 2011.

Seminole County purchased the property from the school district in 2019 with plans to redevelop it. Andrea Wesser-Brawner, chief strategy and innovation officer for Seminole County, said the project is designed to honor that history.

“We’ve preserved some really great historical writing in the concrete behind us that will be a cornerstone of the building,” Wesser-Brawner said. “And then the architecture, the aesthetics of it, will actually be reminiscent of Rosenwald architecture throughout the country.”

Wesser-Brawner said preserving the site’s historical elements was a priority because of what the property means to the community.

Thursday’s groundbreaking is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at 1096 Merritt St. Construction is expected to be completed in summer 2027.