SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Whittier Middle School has been part of a Sioux Falls neighborhood for more than a century. Since 2018, the Sioux Falls School District has been working to replace it. As of Tuesday, the district's purchased nearly half of the lots needed to make room for the new Whittier Middle School. "We've been slowly, over time, some of those homeowners would contact us and identify that they would like to, at this point in time, work through the process of completing a deal with us to be able to purchase that," assistant superintendent Jamie Nold said. Harvest help for neighbor involved in semi crash A timeline for the construction of the new middle school was discussed at a school board meeting last week with the goal of having a bond vote decided for Spring of 2027 and construction plans developed for later that fall. The district hopes to begin construction in Spring of 2028. The new middle will take shape on the current football field and on the block in between. "We'll still utilize the current building throughout that whole process," Nold said. "We just won't utilize the football field. The kids will go elsewhere for the time that they would use that football field. So, that will not disrupt any of the learning for the students that are at the school there." Some people in the neighborhood are excited about the projects. Some still have concerns. We spoke with Jordan Deffenbaugh this summer. "We're also talking about removing a bunch of old houses that have been there for nearly a century and displacing those folks that were in those houses. Yeah, they'll be paid for them, but who wants to move in this market?" Whittier neighborhood resident Jordan Deffenbaugh said in June. The district says it chose the plan that would disrupt the least number of homes in the neighborhood. It's aiming to have the middle school completed by Fall of 2030. You can watch the full meeting on upcoming district projects including the new Whittier Middle School here.