The St. Lucie County School District is moving forward with plans for a bus compound on Walton Road, east of U.S. 1.

School officials purchased a 40-acre site, called Tiffany Woods, for $5.5 million earlier this year. They plan to build a bus garage in the northern edge of the L-shaped site, leaving the bulk of the site in reserve for a future kindergarten through eighth grade school, if one is ever needed, said Marty Sanders, the district’s executive director of growth management.

Plans for the bus garage, which would be on about 12 acres, took a step forward this week when the school board approved a contract with Donadio & Associates Architects, P.A. of Vero Beach, for the design of the proposed compound.

Construction costs for the compound are estimated at $5 million. Another $1.8 million would pay for architectural fees, security cameras, tests, inspections and contingencies.

School officials plan to seek permits for the project next week, and hope to start construction in about four months, said Joe Piper, a project manager for the district. Between 125 to 150 buses could be parked there as soon as August, he said.

The school district has a bus garage in St. Lucie West and another in Fort Pierce, but none in the southeastern part of the county. To serve schools there, about 90 buses drive from St. Lucie West four times a day. Those trips can take up to 45 minutes, depending on traffic, Piper said.

A new bus garage could save an estimated $1.5 million a year by cutting down on that travel, Sanders said.

“We won’t have what they call deadhead time of driving out to pick up students,” Piper said. “The buses will already be there.”

Plans for the new compound call for it to be built in two phases. The first would include school bus and driver parking, building footprint and utilities, while the second would include the building, fueling station and fuel tanks.

The facility would include administrative offices, storage space, maintenance bays, a classroom and learning area and lounge area for drivers.