Spring 2008 News: UPDATED May 09, 2008

Arlington Public Schools & Arlington County Break Ground on Reed School/Westover Library

State-of-the Art Building to Combine Facilities, Preserve Open Space

Arlington Public Schools and Arlington County Government officials joined members of the community today to celebrate the beginning of construction of the Reed School/Westover Library Project with a groundbreaking ceremony. The $21.6 million joint project will renovate the existing Reed School and combine it with a new, expanded Westover branch library into one environmentally sustainable building. [Full press release]

Winter 2008 News: UPDATED February 22, 2008

New Westover Library wins approval

The Arlington County School Board approved the final bids for the new Westover Library / Reed School at a meeting on 2/21/08. The contract for constructing the new facility has been awarded to Grunley Construction. It is estimated that demolition will begin the first week of March. Construction will begin in early April and will last about sixteen months.

Summer 2007 News: UPDATED July 7, 2007

Arlington County Board Approves Joint Plan to Build Reed School / Westover Library

Plan preserves 1938 Reed School, combines it with library

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Arlington County Board today approved a joint plan by Arlington Public Schools and Arlington County to reconstruct Reed School and Westover Library as a single building that preserves both the facade of the 1938 Reed School and nearly all of the site's existing open space.

The Board issued a use permit for a 61,504 sq. ft. environmentally sustainable building at the corner of Washington Boulevard and McKinley Road, near the Westover Shopping Center, that will be fronted by a pedestrian plaza. The building will include a 45,000 square foot school portion that will house three programs: The Children’s School, Integration Station and the Teen Parenting Program, and a 16,403 square foot library portion.

Reed School and Westover Library combined

The plan only slightly reduces open space on the 10.88-acre site from 89 percent to 87 percent, even as it nearly triples the size of Westover Library, one of the County’s most heavily used branch libraries. The project combines the library and school facility, now in two separate buildings, into a single building on the south side of the site. Two existing playgrounds will be updated, a sledding slope will be preserved, the asphalt playground will be improved and a ball field will be relocated and reconstructed.

The Schools portion of the building will feature an internal courtyard and a two-story multi-purpose room. The project will provide 71 on-site parking spaces and at least 30 bike racks.

"We are all eager to see Reed School and Westover Library reconstructed," said County Board Chairman Paul Ferguson. "The community, the schools, and the County have gone through a long and complex process to come up with a plan that combines these two projects under a single roof. The hard work has paid off with a plan that will benefit the schools, the library and the entire community."

Expanding Westover Library

A highlight of the project is the reconstruction and expansion of Westover Library, currently located at the corner of North Lexington Street and 18^th Street North, which now will be one wing of the building. The reconstructed library will feature a light-filled children’s reading room fronting with a curtain window on Washington Boulevard.

"The new Westover Library brings an exciting, vibrant County presence to complete the village of Westover and presents a modern and dynamic library program for the community," said Director of Libraries Diane Kresh.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification has been applied for and a rating of silver is anticipated. In addition, the library has included photovoltaic cells on the roof to offset some of the energy costs of the building, and extensive use of natural light enhances the space and improves the quality of the indoor environment for customers and staff.

Background

Built in 1938, the red brick Reed School originally was an elementary school, but now houses the Children’s School, a daycare program for 150 children, and Integration Station, a preschool for 20 children with special needs. The use permit granted today by the Board provides new spaces for those programs, and space for the Teen Parenting Program, for 60 high school teen mothers.

In May, 2006, the Arlington Public Schools and the Arlington County Board signed a Memorandum of Understanding, combining the school and library reconstruction projects.

The School Board appointed a Building Level Planning Committee consisting of community stakeholders, commission members, staff, neighbors and parents. The BLPC held 16 meetings and had considerable input into the project design. Several neighborhood civic associations have endorsed the project design.

The existing building has been added on to through the years and currently includes a one story and a two-story school building, two playground areas, three asphalt court areas and a baseball field. The proposed building would house most uses within a single story, with the exception of the portions of the Teen Parenting Program, which will be housed in the second floor of the preserved portion of the existing Reed School building. The project will be financed with a combination of current revenues and bond funds.

Project at a Glance

Applicant

• Arlington Public Schools
• Arlington County
• Contact: Greg Emanuel  703-228-5022

Architects

• Cox Graae + Spack Architects
• Contact: Bill Spack 202-965-7070

Location

• Bounded by Washington Boulevard on the south, McKinley Road on the east, 18th Street N. on the east and west and Lexington Street on the northeast.

Square Footage

• 61,504 square feet
• School uses: 45,101 square feet
• Library: 16,403 square feet

Community Benefits

• Committed to obtaining an environmental LEED score within Silver level; will be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council
• Creates pedestrian plaza, suitable for community events
• Preserves facade of 1938 Reed School
• Improves streetscape by adding street trees and wider sidewalks on McKinley, Washington
• Upgrades playgrounds, ball field
• Anchors the corner of Washington Boulevard and McKinley Road with strong civic presence

For Questions About Westover Expansion:
Please contact Steven Carr at 703-228-3708