ACPS
An overhead view of the MacArthur Elementary School Forest Concept, which the School Board adopted for construction.
Alexandria City Public Schools officials have selected the "Forest" concept for the new Douglas MacArthur Elementary School.
The concept focuses on giving elementary school students plenty of indoor and outdoor play and creativity spaces. "The community also wanted a school that capitalized on the wooded area to the back of the school and brought the sense of nature into the building," according to the ACPS announcement. The school is expected to be net-zero energy
The new Douglas MacArthur Elementary School is set to open its doors in January 2023.
The project has had its share of controversy in the past few years.
The original opening for the new school was scheduled for 2025, but in April 2019, the School Board voted to use swing space at the former Patrick Henry Elementary School for Douglas MacArthur students beginning in September 2020.
Many residents in the Patrick Henry community were unhappy about that decision, as they had been told the old school would be torn down to make room for fields, playgrounds, and parking for the new school and recreation center. Rec center users are now parking on residential streets in the neighborhood.
The former Patrick Henry School, which was decommissioned, is now under construction to make it safe and usable for students again.
Combined with the new Patrick Henry K-8 school, more than 1,400 students will be on the Patrick Henry campus, and nearby residents have raised concerns about traffic on weekdays and safety should the school campus need to be evacuated.
It is likely that many MacArthur students will use the recently-road-dieted Seminary Road to get to the new Patrick Henry campus, and at least some parents will drive their students even though ACPS plans to make buses available.
Then, this winter, a plan surfaced that City officials were considering adding affordable/workforce housing to the MacArthur site, surprising some residents and drawing quick protest from parents who were concerned safety, traffic and other issues.
"The City Manager and Superintendent agreed that it was essential to 'keep the MacArthur project on its unique, and extremely tight planning, design and construction schedule,'" according to ACPS. "Exploring housing is likely to have delayed the project and extended the use for swing space. Instead, other forms of colocation such as for after-school recreational facilities and programming and pre-K space will continue to be explored for the new MacArthur building."
The co-location of various services, office space and affordable housing on city and school district sites has been a long-term goal of City officials, who need to maximize space in an increasingly dense city, and co-location plans will be part of the discussions for all school projects moving forward.
See documents and video from the Feb. 6 School Board meeting here:
- MacArthur Concepts presentation slides (PDF)
- MacArthur building design concepts booklet (PDF)
- Watch video of the School Board presentation, discussion and vote
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