Alexandria City Public Schools

New Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 Project


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New Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 Project


RECENT NEWS

PK-8 School Educational Specifications Executive Summary Now Available

Educational Specifications: A User's Guide (PDF)

The Educational Specifications (Ed Specs) document provides a written means of communication between stakeholders and design professionals. The purpose of this document is to articulate the educational and community needs and how they relate to the physical environment for Pre-K through Grade 8 schools in Alexandria City Public Schools. The goal is to provide facilities that will support those needs through flexible learning environments that will support Alexandria, VA for many years to come.

Therefore, these facilities must be flexible and dynamic to support evolving programs over time. This Educational Specifications document will provide relevant information for each type of space being designed in a PK-8 school in ACPS and should be consulted throughout the design process. In order to provide consistency in PK-8 schools built in the future, please use this document as a tool during the design process for each facility.

View the entire document (PDF)

The Jefferson-Houston Steering Committee, via a competitive RFP process, has selected two consultants to assist with the design and management of the project.

  • VMDO will facilitate the process of developing new preK-8 educational specifications which will help shape the program for preK to 8 schools in ACPS as well as the specifics related to the Jefferson-Houston school. It is also the basis for the architectural and design work for the new Jefferson-Houston school. View the VMDO proposal (PDF).
  • The firm of Brailsford and Dunlavey has been selected as the project manager to support ACPS through all phases of the project including planning, design, construction, commissioning, project close-out, and LEED certification. Their emphasis will be on execution of the vision for a new building, delivering to our students and the community a high quality facility, built on-time and on-budget. Members of their team include a lead project manager, assistant project manager, technology advisor, sustainability advisor, and a modular construction advisor.
  • The selection of the architectural and engineering consultant is underway. Proposals were due on September 19, 2011; the proposal review committee met to select the top responders and have invited them back for oral interviews on October 19th. Following selection of the top finalist, contract negotiations will occur.
  • Planning on the key elements of phasing and construction options for the new building will begin as soon as the architect and engineering consultant has been selected. Other actions in preparation of this work will commence immediately, such as the site surveys, and investigation of subsurface conditions.

Project Description

Student enrollment in ACPS has increased 3.8% per year over the last four years and is projected to increase an average of 2.9% each year over the next five years. As part of the capacity expansion, the ACPS School Board has approved the construction of a new PreK-8 school to replace the existing K-5 Jefferson-Houston Elementary School.

The existing Jefferson-Houston school building, located at 1501 Cameron Street, Alexandria, VA, was constructed in the early 1960's as an open plan school, based on an educational curriculum model that is no longer in use. The school is within the Parker-Gray Historic District which was named for the Parker Gray School which opened in 1920.


Existing Public Facilities

The school is adjacent to Alexandria's Durant Recreation Center and an outdoor city swimming pool. This will continue to be a shared public use site during and after the construction of the new school.

The site is the focus of significant community involvement and interest, and offers Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) the opportunity to build an award-winning school, for its academic facilities, its connections to the community, the design, and for its use of energy saving technology. ACPS is committed to constructing a building that will become an integral part of the historic architecture of Old Town Alexandria, and that will serve Alexandria students well for the next 50 to 75 years.

The ACPS School Board approved the budget for construction of a new state-of-the-art LEED-certified building which is designed specifically for a PreK-8 curriculum program on May 12, 2011. The new school will be approximately 120,000 square feet. The ACPS School Board has set an aggressive timetable for completion of this project so the facility will be ready to open during the 2014-15 school year. The use of modular construction techniques will facilitate meeting this timetable.

Project Milestones

  • Process - Define the communication structure and design the project website.
  • Building the Team - Hire the educational specifications consultant, the project manager, and the architect/engineer.
  • Approvals - School Board, BAR, City Planning and Zoning (for more information on the City process visit alexandriava.gov/Development)
  • Design - Collaboration between architect, staff, and the community.
  • Construction
  • Occupancy

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