Whitney Institute Middle School this week unveiled plans for an almost complete rebuilding of the Smith?s Parish school slated to cost $35 million.

The Whitney Educational Trust this week sought final Planning approval to completely refurbish the Whitney Institute Middle School on Middle Road.

Trust Chairman Tom Davis said it was too early to tell who would pay the expected $35 million.

?It is not necessary that Government will pay the whole amount,? Mr. Davis said. ?At the moment we are in negotiations. We have a kind of unique way of doing it.

?What we thought we would do is get the plans in to see if we got approval for them,? he said.

The application ? received at Planning on March 22 ? includes renovations to the gymnasium, cafeteria, administration buildings, playing field, tennis courts and additional classrooms.

Most of the school buildings close to Middle Road will be demolished to be replaced with three storeys of classrooms, the plan showed, however, the library with its distinctive clock tower would remain as a ?central hub? of ?integrated audio-visual installations?.

?The Whitney Institute is the last of five middle schools in Bermuda to be upgraded,? Troy Livingstone of Planning Agents, the Terceira Trust told Planning in the application on March 22.

Mr. Livingstone also said in the application that the intended upgrade would make Whitney an institution capable of addressing education demands of the future and elevate its capabilities to a level on par with other Middle School Education Facilities in Bermuda.

The application listed the summary of the proposed development as ? ?Demolition and additions to upgrade the school to meet the Bermuda Government?s Middle School facility requirements?.

The proposed additional gross floor area will be 98,094 square feet, it said.

A new access to a public road will be created, it said, as well as 77 additional parking spaces.

?The proposals generate an area of approximately 50,000 square feet to the north of the site that could accommodate functions that are not directly related to education. The space could be utilised to generate capital to fund part of the proposals to upgrade the Whitney Institute,? the preface to a schematic design proposal said.

?Other possibilities include civic functions such as a community hall or Olympic sized swimming pool.?

An existing building to the north of the playing fields ? Rockdale ? could be a ?safe house? to provide special support care for children, it said.

Near Rockdale, there will be a new one-storey performing art wing with classrooms for instrumental, choral and music theory, as well as a drama/dance studio, it said.

It said the sports field will be enlarged and the cafeteria will be refurbished to double as an assembly hall.