DCSD Breaks Ground on Bond-Funded Elementary School 50 in Lone Tree

The Douglas County School District broke ground Feb. 2 on Elementary School 50, a 2024 Bond-funded neighborhood elementary in the Lyric community of Lone Tree that is scheduled to open in August 2027. District renderings and site plans show a new 84,863 square-foot building on an 8-acre parcel at the northwest corner of Adage Street and Lyric Street, with planned playgrounds, parking and connections to the adjacent Bebop Park.

The project is listed with the City of Lone Tree as “Douglas County School District, Elementary School #50” and is moving through the City’s site improvement plan process. The city invites public input and instructs: “To provide comments on this application, please fill out the comment form available here. All public comments received before the priority deadline will be included in the agenda packet for this project’s public hearings. Comments received after the priority deadline will be incorporated into the public record at the public hearing.” City planning staff can be reached at 9220 Kimmer Dr., Suite 100, Lone Tree, Colorado 80124; 303.708.1818; Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. The city page also notes the community is under Stage 1 Fire Restrictions as of December 15.

District officials say attendance boundaries for Elementary School 50 will be set through a year-long, public process during the 2025-2026 school year and into summer 2026, with Board of Education approval required one year before the school opens. Families should note that students who are currently enrolled at other DCSD schools may remain at those schools and will not be automatically moved to ES 50, and that families attending a school other than their assigned neighborhood school may not be eligible for DCSD transportation.

DCSD is soliciting community input on naming and other details and encourages residents to participate. The Lyric page urges: “Put those thinking caps on!” The district’s materials list the new school as serving Lyric and the broader RidgeGate neighborhood; existing neighborhood schools include Eagle Ridge Elementary, a K-6 Lighthouse Leader In Me School at 7716 Timberline Road, Lone Tree, CO 80124, Main Office 303-387-7075, Principal Doug Humphreys.

A related district project, Elementary School #51 in Sterling Ranch, has its own contractor and timeline. A JHL Constructors press release about ES #51 includes the observation that the ES #51 groundbreaking "is especially meaningful as it marks DCSD’s first new elementary school in more than a decade," language that refers to the Sterling Ranch project and not to Elementary School 50.

For local residents, the new school means added neighborhood capacity, new sidewalks and park connections, and a multi-year process for boundary decisions that will determine which households are served. Next steps for the public include submitting comments to the City of Lone Tree, reviewing DCSD renderings and engagement materials, and watching for the district’s boundary process in 2025-2026 that will culminate in Board approval ahead of the August 2027 opening.