Broward schools sell Parkland land to Broward Health for $14 million

The Broward County School Board approved the $14 million sale of the long-vacant Trails End property in Parkland to Broward Health, clearing the way for an outpatient medical facility at 7625 University Drive. The 10.14-acre parcel sits just south of Parkland Commons and beside Trails End Road, on land the district once reserved for a new elementary school.

Declining enrollment has reshaped school-space planning. State rules require existing classroom space to be used before new construction funding can be approved. BCPS’s Redefining Our Schools materials also say under-enrollment, population changes and increased competition are forcing the district to rethink where it operates schools.

The district bought the parcel with an original plan for an elementary school, then left it unused for nearly two decades. The district acquired the land on March 1, 2006, for $5,875,832.75 through a Certificate of Participation, with the City of Parkland contributing $850,000. The obligation tied to that financing has since been paid off, and the site was declared unnecessary for educational purposes, allowing the district to sell it under Florida law.

The deal moved through a formal surplus process last year. The School Board approved a spot survey in October 2024, the Florida Department of Education approved it later that month, and the board adopted a resolution in December 2024 to surplus the site and direct staff to negotiate with Broward Health. After three appraisals, the district’s Negotiation Parameters Committee set a minimum asking price of $13,937,500.

Broward Health plans to use the property for an outpatient medical facility aimed at expanding health care access in the growing Parkland area. Broward Health wants to create a specialty-care physician practice clinic within three to five years, and earlier versions of the proposal included retail space, community green space and a medical educational component. Broward Health already owns an adjacent 7-acre parcel, purchased in 2020 for $14.5 million.

The current agreement requires a separate Student Engagement Agreement before closing, and the proposal includes on-site health science programs, clinical internships and career development opportunities for Broward County high school students. Board member Torey Alston backed the medical-facility concept as a way to bring a state-of-the-art health site to northwest Broward, while board member Daniel Foganholi said a medical center is a community need and pointed to the distance some residents face when traveling to Broward Health in Coral Springs.