School Board Selects Architect to Design New Patrick Henry School, Rec Center

Editor’s note: Watch a video below from a December community meeting about the project.

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ALEXANDRIA, VA -- The Alexandria City School Board has approved the selection of Moseley Architects to design the new Patrick Henry school and recreation center, Alexandria City Public Schools announced Thursday.

The cost of the project is expected to be about $38 million. The school is located at 4643 Taney Ave.

Moseley Architects has the experience of working in Alexandria City and was responsible for the design of T.C. Williams High School, which was completed in 2007, the school system points out in a news release. The decision to use Moseley was made jointly by staff from both the City of Alexandria and Alexandria City Public Schools. The architect will be tasked with designing both the new school and new recreation center to meet the minimum of LEED Silver standard.

Patrick Henry Project Community Meeting: Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Patrick Henry Elementary School.

The School Board added a comment about pre-K prior to approving the contract to ensure that the usage of floor space in the new building remains flexible. The architect will be charged with exploring flexible classroom spaces in the event that pre-K classrooms may need to be converted to elementary classrooms.

“This is an exciting time for Alexandria City Public Schools and the City of Alexandria as we launch into the creative work of designing the new school and recreation center of the future,” said ACPS Chief Operating Officer Clarence Stukes. “We look forward to working with both the community and the architects to ensure that we achieve a quality educational and community facility.”

Moseley Architects was founded in 1969 in Richmond and has since been involved in the design of more than 710 educational projects. The company provides both architecture and engineering services. Having both the architectural side and engineering side of the project provided by the same company ensures that the design phase runs smoothly.

Ten years ago, Moseley partnered with ACPS to provide architectural and engineering services for T.C. Williams High School, which was designed and constructed while the former high school remained operational. The new Patrick Henry school will be built along this model, using the old school as swing space.

“Over our 46-year history, we have earned a reputation for quality, reliability and responsiveness,” said Bill Brown, managing principal at Moseley Architects.

The School Board approved the construction of a new Patrick Henry School for grades preK-8 in June. The Board voted in favor of building a new school adjacent to the current school so that students could utilize the old building as “swing space” while the new one is being built. Alexandria City Council voted in favor of a neighborhood model for the recreation center in June.

“The City looks forward to working with Alexandria City Public Schools and Moseley Architects in designing a joint facility project that meets the needs of students and the community,” said Jim Spengler, director of the City’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities.

The firm of Brailsford & Dunlavey came on board as the project manager for the joint project in September 2015. Brailsford & Dunlavey has also worked with ACPS on previous projects including the Long Range Educational Facility Plan and the construction of Jefferson-Houston School.

The 13 members of the Patrick Henry Community Advisory Group, who will act as liaisons between the Design Review Team, civic associations and the wider community, were introduced to the community in December and met for their first full meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 13 (watch a video below of the meeting).

Construction on the new Patrick Henry school building and recreation center is scheduled to start in the spring of 2017. The school is currently projected to open in time for the start of the new school year in September 2018.