Updated July 31, 8:30 a.m. to clarify the completion date.

Fort Bend ISD's new high school design features new types of learning environments, including open collaboration spaces and learning communities, according to the schematic design presented to the district's board of trustees.

Architecture firm DLR Group was contracted to design the 485,000-square-foot school located east of FM 521, near the district's Ferndell Henry Center for Learning and Heritage Rose Elementary. High School 12 will eventually be surrounded by residential space, DLR Group Principal Taryn Kinney said.

"This is the first major building in this area, so it could create a community," Kinney said.

The site plan includes academic areas for each grade level, athletic and fine arts areas, administration and a secure outdoor learning area. Kinney said the design can accommodate 2,800 students in the academic areas.

Based on High School 12's location, Fort Bend ISD is suggesting the feeder pattern will be Heritage Rose, Donald Leonetti Elementary and Ronald Thornton Middle School.

Each academic area is called a "learning community," which features classrooms, science laboratories and open collaboration spaces.

The budgeted construction cost per square foot is $265, or about $128.5 million total, according to the district.

"Building a high school is a big deal," FBISD trustee Grayle James said at the meeting. "It feels like a mountain we are climbing—financially and in every other way."

Kinney said plans for the school include submitting it as a LEED-Silver-certified building. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a green building certification given by the U.S. Green Building Council for commercial and residential buildings that meet certain health, high-efficiency and cost-saving criteria.

The construction time frame is still being worked out, but district officials said they anticipate starting construction early with possible completion for the 2022-23 school year.