NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Mayor John Cooper Thursday broke down his proposed capital spending plan for 2023 which includes nearly $480 million in capital projects in Nashville.

Under the plan, two-thirds of the nearly $480 million would go toward Metro Nashville Public Schools, public safety, and infrastructure/stormwater management.

MNPS would receive $155 million to rebuild two schools—Lakeview Elementary and Percy Priest Elementary—and almost completely renovate a third school—Paragon Mills Elementary. These are projects district director, Dr. Adrienne Battle said MNPS has been waiting to complete for six years.

“School buildings don’t teach our students,” Battle said. “That’s what our hardworking professionals do every day. They wake up every morning to do just that, but school facilities can, I repeat, can have an impact on the way a student learns, how they feel about their school and how they think their community values them.”

The remaining $27 million would help the school district make needed upgrades and repairs.

The capital spending plan would allot $140 million toward public safety, including the plan’s single largest investment, $92 million to build the first phase of a new juvenile justice center. An additional $230 million would be needed to complete the center, which would be set aside in future budgets.

The current juvenile justice center was built in 1994, and juvenile court judge Sheila Calloway told reporters the building was never big enough for their needs.

“There are so many other things that we will be able to do. [Court Appointed Special Advocates] (CASA) can come back in the building with us,” Judge Calloway said. “All of our other organizations we work with will be able to have a space in the building, so we will have a one-stop shop.”

The new juvenile justice center would be located on a nearly 14-acre lot on Brick Church Pike. It would serve close to 80,000 young people, according to the city.

In addition, the city would spend $11 million to build a new Nashville Fire Department headquarters which would service the North Nashville and Germantown areas.

Metro would also use a portion of the funds to build a new barn for the Metro Nashville Police Department’s mounted patrol unit, purchase new patrol cars, ambulances, fire trucks, and begin the planning and design process for a new gun range.

Mayor Cooper told reporters Thursday that in order to keep up with the growth, nearly $79 million should be spent on repaving roads in more neighborhoods, implementing traffic calming projects, and providing improved pedestrian safety measures.

In addition, $18.5 million would be given to Metro Water Services to help with flood mitigation, among other maintenance.

“To make us a city that, in fact, is that city that our children and grandchildren will thank us for, and that will be a city that they can take advantage of the opportunities being created here,” Cooper said.

This year, the capital spending plan would include a supplemental fund of nearly $84 million in operations revenue the city could spend to “catch up” on other projects, according to Cooper.

Cooper added that money is available to the city as a one-time use fund because Metro has been fiscally responsible over the years.

The capital spending plan needs to be approved by Metro Council before becoming official.