Demolition Begins For School Replacement Project In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Demolition began Monday for the project to construct a new George Mason Elementary School.

Alexandria City Public Schools shared a live video of the George Mason Elementary School demolition starting Monday morning. Students had relocated to a swing space at 1703 North Beauregard Street ahead of the project until the reconstructed school is ready.

An updated timeline presented to the community in late October shows early site work and foundations following in winter 2025 into early 2026. Substantial completion is expected in summer 2027. Renderings of the future school building have been provided on the ACPS website.

Throughout the construction project, the campus is being enclosed with fencing. That includes the closure of the baseball field and tennis area during the project. The Cameron Mills Road sidewalk adjacent to the school is closed to pedestrians.

The replacement of George Mason Elementary is part of the bigger ACPS school modernization effort. ACPS had recommended a full school replacement due to facility conditions, an inefficient school layout and the district's capacity needs. George Mason Elementary School dates back to 1939, had two major renovations in 1949 and 1977 and expanded in 2014 to introduce a larger cafeteria, two courtyards and four new classrooms.

ACPS similarly demolished Douglas MacArthur Elementary, and the new school building opened to students in the 2023-2024 school year. Cora Kelly School is up next, with design funds in the capital budget earmarked for fiscal year 2028 and construction funds for fiscal year 2029.