Westminster Academy Fort Lauderdale Is Expanding — And It's a Big Deal for Families Moving to the Area
One of Fort Lauderdale's top private schools just broke ground on a major campus expansion — and for families evaluating the Fort Lauderdale area as a relocation destination, this announcement is worth paying close attention to.
I'm Joe Vairo — a 2x eXp ICON Agent, ranked the #3 real estate agent in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine, and founder of the Vairo Group, ranked the #3 real estate team in Fort Lauderdale. Full disclosure: I am a Westminster Academy alumnus — I attended for my junior and senior years and graduated from here. So this one is personal. But beyond the personal connection, the $20 million investment Westminster is making in its long-term future on Federal Highway is a meaningful signal for any family evaluating private school options in Broward County.
What Westminster Academy Is
Westminster Academy is a private Christian K through 12 school located on Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. According to Niche, it is the number one best Christian K through 12 school in Broward County with an overall A+ grade — a rating that reflects academic performance, college preparation, faculty quality, and the overall student experience.
For families relocating from the Northeast — where private school education is often a baseline expectation rather than an exception — Westminster Academy consistently comes up in the conversation about where to send children in the Fort Lauderdale area. The combination of strong academics, a values-driven environment, and a K through 12 structure that allows families to establish one school relationship from early childhood through graduation makes it a compelling option for the relocation buyer evaluating Fort Lauderdale's private school landscape.
The Expansion: What Is Actually Being Built
Westminster Academy just broke ground on phase one of a multi-phase campus expansion on the East Campus — the Federal Highway location — and the scope of what is planned reflects the kind of institutional confidence that a $20 million commitment represents.
Phase one focuses on the aquatic center and includes a 25-meter competition pool, a dive well, a dedicated training pool, and an athletic pavilion. Competition-level aquatic infrastructure of this caliber is not standard even among Fort Lauderdale's top private schools — a 25-meter competition pool with a separate dive well and training pool is a facility that supports serious competitive swimming programs at the high school level and positions Westminster for hosting meets and events that smaller facilities cannot accommodate. Phase one completion is expected in fall 2027.
But phase one is just the beginning. The broader multi-phase expansion plan includes expanded athletic facilities beyond the aquatic center, new academic buildings, and new early childhood spaces — all part of a $20 million investment in Westminster Academy's long-term presence and growth in Fort Lauderdale.
Why a $20 Million School Expansion Matters for Real Estate
Private school infrastructure investment is one of the most reliable indicators of a residential market's long-term health and the quality of the family demographic it is attracting. Schools do not commit $20 million to campus expansion in markets they do not believe in. Westminster Academy's decision to invest at this scale in its East Campus on Federal Highway reflects institutional confidence in Fort Lauderdale's continued growth as a destination for exactly the kind of families who prioritize private education.
For the buyer relocating from the Northeast with children — particularly families coming from markets like Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, or New York where private school enrollment is common and expected — the quality and trajectory of the private school landscape is one of the first questions they ask when evaluating a new city. Westminster Academy's expansion directly improves the answer Fort Lauderdale gives to that question.
The neighborhoods surrounding Westminster Academy — Imperial Point, Coral Ridge, Oakland Park, and the broader East Fort Lauderdale corridor — benefit from this kind of institutional anchor in measurable ways. Strong private schools create stable residential demand in their surrounding neighborhoods because families make housing decisions around school access. A $20 million expansion that adds competition-level athletic facilities and expanded academic buildings strengthens Westminster's position as one of Broward County's premier private school destinations — and strengthens the residential case for the neighborhoods around it.
Westminster in Context: Fort Lauderdale's Private School Landscape
Fort Lauderdale and the broader Broward County area have a meaningful private school landscape, and Westminster Academy sits near the top of it. For families evaluating options, the conversation typically includes Westminster alongside Cardinal Gibbons High School — one of the most recognized Catholic high schools in South Florida, located in the Coral Ridge neighborhood — and Pine Crest School, which draws a more nationally competitive academic profile.
Westminster's distinction is its Christian K through 12 identity combined with its Niche A+ overall rating. For families for whom a faith-based educational environment is a priority alongside strong academics, Westminster is the most compelling option in Broward County at the K through 12 level. The expansion underway reinforces that position by adding the physical infrastructure — particularly the aquatic center — that supports both athletic competitiveness and the kind of full-campus experience that families evaluate when choosing a school where they intend to enroll multiple children across multiple years.
What This Means If You Are Moving to Fort Lauderdale with Children
If you are relocating to Fort Lauderdale with school-age children and private education is part of your plan, the Westminster Academy expansion is worth factoring into your neighborhood search in a specific and practical way.
The East Campus on Federal Highway serves as the geographic anchor for the school's footprint in East Fort Lauderdale. Neighborhoods within a reasonable commute of Federal Highway — Imperial Point specifically, which I have covered separately as one of the best family neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale, as well as Coral Ridge, Oakland Park, and parts of Pompano Beach to the north — are the most naturally positioned for families whose children will attend Westminster.
Imperial Point in particular warrants mention here. It is a neighborhood I have covered in depth for its suburban feel within East Fort Lauderdale, and it sits within approximately five minutes of Westminster Academy alongside Westminster, Cardinal Gibbons, and Pine Crest — a concentration of private school options in a single commute radius that is genuinely rare in South Florida. For the family whose school decision is driving the housing search, that concentration is a meaningful practical advantage.
A Personal Note
I spent two important years at Westminster Academy and graduated from here. The environment, the academics, and the community that school built for students during those years shaped my time in Fort Lauderdale in ways that I still carry. Watching the school invest $20 million in its future — a competition aquatic center, expanded athletics, new academic buildings, new early childhood spaces — is gratifying on a personal level and meaningful on a professional one.
The families I help relocate to Fort Lauderdale who are asking about private schools deserve an honest, ground-level perspective on what these institutions actually deliver day to day. Westminster Academy is the real deal — the Niche ranking reflects genuine institutional quality, and the expansion underway is the kind of investment that compounds that quality over time.
Thinking About Fort Lauderdale for Your Family?
I'm Joe Vairo with the Vairo Group. If you are relocating to Fort Lauderdale with children and want an honest conversation about neighborhoods, school options, and how to find the right fit for your family's specific priorities — reach out directly.
📲 Text or call me at 954-830-1126 📩 Email me at [email protected] anytime — I respond personally
Joe Vairo is a 2x eXp ICON Agent, South Florida real estate agent, and Fort Lauderdale Magazine's #3 ranked agent in Fort Lauderdale. The Vairo Group, ranked the #3 real estate team in Fort Lauderdale, specializes in waterfront properties and luxury relocation in the $1M+ market.
