Old Mount Vernon High School Update Planned At Community Meetings

MOUNT VERNON, VA — Community meeting are coming up to provide updates on the future of the Original Mount Vernon High School.

The former high school at 8333 Richmond Highway is a historic site that was once part of George Washington’s estate. The 22-acre property is now owned by Fairfax County and is being planned for renovation and reuse.

The in-person meeting on June 24 and virtual meeting on June 28 will focus on the status of design plans for renovating the building and site. There will also be an update on the efforts to finalize the programming uses, such as education, community use, recreation, childcare and more, as well as a vision for a human development center.

The June 24 meeting will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Original Mount Vernon High School Gymnasium. Attendees are asked to RSVP for either meeting at DPWESCAPOMVHighSchool@fairfaxcounty.gov or by calling the Building Design & Construction Division admin office at 703-324-5800.

The Original Mount Vernon High School campus includes the main high school building and several smaller buildings to the west and south as well as two athletic fields planned for community use. The county began planning for reuse in 2016. There have been interim and permanent uses at the site, including the renovated gym opened for use, a satellite Fire Marshal’s Office for the South County area, a Fairfax County Public Schools registration site, and teen/senior center relocated from the South County Center.

A development team was hired in 2018 to consider redevelopment of the site combined with the George Washington RECenter and park. The county ultimately decided to follow a phased redevelopment approach to align with the EMBARK Richmond Highway and Bus Rapid Transit project, which is in the planning phase. The first phase of the redevelopment focuses on renovations and reuse of the old high school.

More information is available on the project website.