BUFFALO, N.Y. — A different type of student will return to the former Medaille University campus this fall with the new charter school that bought the property laying out its plans for the future.
Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School or BuffSci announced Wednesday that it will combine its two Western New York high schools under one roof in North Buffalo.
"Our two high schools will be joining as one school called Buffalo Academy or Science High School," said BuffSci Executive Director Dr. Joseph Polat.
In total, 540 students will be brought to campus in September and attend class in the Main Building at the entrance to the campus.
The building is undergoing renovations to make it suitable for high school education but Dr. Polat told 2 On Your Side the campus has so much to offer.
"Especially athletics, science labs, open spaces, we're going to build a soccer field and also it's a college environment," Polat said.
The charter school, which also operates sites in Rochester, bought the 14-acre property at the beginning of May after the former university was forced to close.
People who worried about what would come next after Medaille have been relieved by the outcome.
"You know when a campus of this size closes it really creates a hole in the community," said NOCO Enterprises President James Dentinger.
"Ironically this really started as a K-12 educational facility and it turned into a college and now it's kind of going back to its original roots," he added.
BuffSci won't fill the entire campus to start but has plans to expand in the future. One of those plans includes creating a robotics and AI discovery center where students can partner with local universities.
"With this great move Buffalo Academy of Science will continue to serve Buffalo kids, Buffalo youth, and the whole Buffalo community and with this campus, we'll have much more space not just for our students but the entire Buffalo community," added Dr. Polat.
BuffSci has already listed their downtown high school on Franklin Street in Buffalo. They hope to sell it to help pay for their new campus.
They also launched a 14 million dollar capital campaign seeking donations and sponsors to help cover the cost of the campus and renovate it.