Irmo High phase 2B: district unveils business incubator plan and campus changes

Lexington District 5 staff presented conceptual designs at the March 9 board meeting for Irmo High School Phase 2B, a project that would repurpose parts of the existing east wing into a small-business incubator with maker spaces, flexible studios, a culinary/food-truck lab and a school-run retail component.

Director of facilities Alan Knox and Irmo principal Dr. Karen Hampton walked trustees through renderings and programming goals. The incubator is intended to combine career-and-technical pathways, creative arts and community engagement: students would design and produce goods in a school store, prototype items in a maker space with 3D printers, practice mobile food-business operations in a culinary lab adapted from the existing kitchen infrastructure, and use studio space for podcasting and multimedia projects.

Staff said the plan relies on partial demolition of the oldest portions of the east wing to create additional parking and a single secure public entrance to the incubator, allowing weekend community use while keeping the main campus secure. Administration emphasized reuse where feasible (retaining some kitchen hoods/equipment) to reduce costs.

Dr. Hampton described an instructional progression: introductory exposure in ninth grade, pathway selection by the end of tenth grade, and project execution in junior/senior years, with a planned "Piranha Pond" pitch process modeled on Shark Tank to help students secure seed funding. The incubator will connect with existing CTE pathways and may include business-in-residence partnerships, internships and community sales events.

Trustees asked about operations budgets, annual supply and staffing needs, and public access; administration said initial outfitting would come from referendum funds and that recurring operational costs will be allotted through the usual annual budget process as enrollment and program needs grow.

Staff proposed internal building labels (Campus I, R, M, O) to clarify navigation on a large campus and announced a community input meeting March 26 (3:00-6:00 p.m.) to solicit design feedback and memorialize stakeholder preferences.

What happens next: LS3P (architect) and staff will host the March 26 public input session, refine designs and present cost and timeline details at future board meetings before requesting formal approvals tied to referendum-funded phases.