Could Closed School Sites Become Teacher Housing? A Look at M-DCPS’s New Playbook and the Former Miami Springs Middle Site

MIAMI SPRINGS, FL — South Florida’s affordable housing crisis has hit public school educators particularly hard, making it increasingly difficult for Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) to recruit and retain teachers. To fight back, the school district is pioneering a creative “co-location” and redevelopment strategy: turning closed, underutilized, or surplus school properties into dedicated workforce housing for educators.

With the former Miami Springs Middle School site officially closed following the school board’s June 2026 vote, local residents are left asking a crucial question: Could workforce housing be coming to Miami Springs?

How M-DCPS is Building Housing for Teachers

The district’s strategy bypasses the exorbitant cost of Miami land by using properties M-DCPS already owns. By partnering with private developers via long-term ground leases, the district is building mixed-use developments that combine school facilities with affordable apartments.

M-DCPS has already moved forward with several major housing projects:

• The Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory Project (South Miami-Dade): Just this month (August 2026), the School Board approved a 99-year ground lease with a private developer to redevelop 10.3 acres of the school’s campus. The project will build approximately 364 affordable and workforce housing units, with school staff and M-DCPS teachers receiving first priority to rent.
• Southside Preparatory Academy (Brickell): Opened in late 2025, this innovative project co-located a brand-new middle school with 10 affordable residential apartments on the top floor. The units are reserved exclusively for school board and district staff, allowing teachers to live affordably right in the high-priced urban core where they teach.

These projects typically target households earning between 60% and 140% of the Area Median Income (AMI), lining up directly with the salary ranges of public school educators and support staff.

What About the Former Miami Springs Middle School Site?

As M-DCPS looks for more surplus land to repurpose and monetize, the former Miami Springs Middle School property represents a massive footprint right in our backyard.

While school board representatives have previously stated that there are no plans for residential development at the former school, the district has not yet announced its official final plans for the Miami Springs Middle site.  The school board’s recent actions in South Miami-Dade and Brickell prove that redevelopment for workforce housing is firmly established in their playbook.

If M-DCPS decides to go this route in Miami Springs, it would be a financial gain for the district. However, any such redevelopment would assuredly spark intense local debate regarding zoning, density, and traffic in our quiet municipal enclave.

What do you think, Miami Springs? Should the district consider converting a portion of the former Miami Springs Middle site into workforce housing for our local teachers, or should the site be preserved for other community and educational uses?