Howard County’s soon-to-be 14th high school took another step toward becoming reality Wednesday as officials announced they’d secured the site at Troy Park in Elkridge.

“We know that a permanent high school located in Elkridge is a key priority for Elkridge residents,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said Wednesday morning at the future school site. “For many years, our Elkridge community has strongly advocated for a high school.”

How soon the school might be built is an open question. While Elkridge has been growing rapidly, the school system’s enrollment has stabilized, and capacity issues were eased with the 2024 opening of the nearby Guilford Park High School in Jessup.

Design and construction of the new high school are at least a decade away, said Cornell Brown, the school system’s chief operating officer, on Wednesday

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Funds for the new facility are not yet included in the school system’s long-range master plan for the capital budget.

Ball said he is submitting legislation next week to authorize the transfer of the 48.6 acres of land at Troy Park to the school system.

“Once the land is transferred and secured in the school system land bank, the site will remain dedicated for the future high school 14,” Ball said.

Troy Park is located along Route 100 between Interstate 95 and Washington Boulevard, a.k.a. U.S. Route 1. It’s currently home to four multiuse fields and a playground.

Ball identified Troy Park as his preferred location for a 14th high school nearly six years ago. It was already county owned land, but the idea hit a snag when the county learned that over two dozen acres of Troy Park were restricted by state parkland requirements.

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To overcome this hurdle, the county first had to designate new parkland in other parts of Elkridge.

The county spent roughly $16.6 million to acquire nearly 55 acres of land to meet the state’s land conversion obligation. This included 25 acres for the future Elkridge Community Center and Park on Old Washington Road, 21 acres from Camp Ilchester, a former Girl Scouts camp off Ilchester Road, and 8.7 acres on Lawyers Hill Road in Elkridge.

“It’s been a Herculean task to get to this point,” said Meg Ricks, the vice chair of the Board of Education and a Elkridge resident, on Wednesday. “Today is a day worthy of celebration. Having this site will meet the needs of the future rather than having to scramble to catch up.”

Baltimore Banner intern Elias Katz contributed to this story.