Since October 2019, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) has been planning to expand the existing high school facilities in the city by building on the Minne Howard Campus.
At a meeting held Tuesday, ACPS staff revealed preliminary designs for the campus including the main building, the athletic fields and the new aquatic facility.
The campus will have a track around a portion of the site for use by students and members of the public and two surface lots will provide parking and drop off space. The colocation of an early childhood center and teen center on the school campus will have a separate entrance for security purposes.
The overall design will attempt to be as environmentally friendly as possible with the utilization of solar panels and other design elements. It will feature brick, glass and a linear appearance.
According to a survey taken in June on the plans for the campus, 77 percent of 421 respondents liked the new design. 82 percent believed it complemented the King Street Campus well or very well while 71 percent felt that the design balanced traditional and contemporary styles well or very well.
The largest revelation of the meeting was designs for the recently approved aquatic facility. The facility has been controversial because of the additional $19 million it will add to the cost of the project — originally projected at just $12 million — which is already estimated at over $150 million plus $7 million for the collocated teen center and Department of Community and Human Services space.
The aquatic facility will have two bodies of water. One will be a large pool for competitive activities like laps, diving and water polo. The pool will measure 25 yards north and south and 30 meters east and west with depths ranging from 3 feet 6 inches to 12 feet 3 inches. Two 1-meter springboards diving boards and 12 swimming lanes will allow for a variety of uses.
A smaller training pool will allow for swimming instruction, therapy and other uses that require more shallow water. It be kept at a warmer temperature and will have an accessible ramp.
A classroom with sightlines to the pool, lockers, team rooms and spectator seating will round out the aquatic facility which will take up two floors of the proposed 75 foot school building.
ACPS also announced the Gilbane was chosen as the construction company for the new campus. The family-owned and operated company was founded in Connecticut and has operated in the DC area for 50 years. The company most recently worked on the Meridian High School in Falls Church.
ACPS will continue to host community meetings on the project throughout the design phase. The project will be reviewed by City Council in January 2022 and if approved, construction is expected to begin in June 2022 with completion and occupancy set for September 2024. Updates will be posted regularly at the project webpage.
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Images courtesy of ACPS
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Images courtesy of ACPS
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Images courtesy of ACPS
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Images courtesy of ACPS
Image courtesy of ACPS
