Historic Hastings High School is located at 6195 S.W. Main St. | St. Johns County School District
Published on June 11, 2025 at 2:46 pm
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Work will begin this summer on renovations to the historic Hastings High School in St. Johns County, after a unanimous vote this week by the St. Johns County School Board. The St. Johns School District plans for the shuttered school to reopen in the fall of 2026 as a satellite campus of St. Augustine’s First Coast Technical College.
Originally built in 1924, Hastings High School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Designed by St. Augustine architect Fred A. Henderich, the building is a Mediterranean Revival design with stucco walls and a ceramic tile roof, according to the National Register.
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Funding for the project is coming from a mix of federal and local sources, with the district pitching in $1.5 million from its capital fund. The renovation is expected to take around a year. Once it opens, the campus will provide workforce and job training, along with early childhood education on site for the children of students.
Among the supporters of the school transformation is St. Johns School Board Chair Tony Coleman, who was raised in Hastings and attended Hastings High School.
“Having that portion of that building automatic, up and running, it says a lot,” Coleman says about the early childhood education that will be offered.
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Nicole Cubbedge, St. Johns County Schools’ executive director for planning and government relations, says the goal is to restore the historic high school building to its former glory.
“We’ve gone and found that the manufacturer that made the roof tiles 100 years ago is still in business. We’ll be getting roof tiles from the same manufacturer, Ludowici,” she says.
Hastings, once a bustling agricultural town, has seen recent infrastructure investments from St. Johns County to the tune of $30 million. Meanwhile, the Hastings Main Street booster group has been working to promote economic growth while maintaining its small-town charm.
Sallie O’Hara, executive director of Hastings Main Street, said in an interview that the community is “beyond elated” with the addition of St. Johns Technical College and is “joyous in their anticipation” for its opening.
O’Hara says the community has been lacking educational opportunities since the high school closed in 1985. Now, that’s changing, thanks to a new private school opening within the old Potato Growers Association and, now, the technical college campus.
“It brings jobs to the area, too. They need staff, they need students. The students have to eat lunch, that feeds the businesses, and it’s just a lovely addition,” O’Hara says.
