(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signed the first piece of steel that will be used to build the Walker Jones School, Library, and Community Recreation Center, the first new school and library that will be built by the Fenty Administration.
"This is going to be a first-rate facility from top-to-bottom," Mayor Fenty said. "And we're building it in a community that deserves nothing less. This school is going to come in on time, ready for the 2009 school year."
The school, which will serve students from kindergarten to the 8th grade, will serve as the education and recreation anchor for Northwest One, one of the District's four New Communities projects. Northwest One will replace some of the city's most challenged low-income housing with a new healthier, safer neighborhood with hundreds of new housing units available for residents at every income level. Every low-income unit will be replaced one for one with a new unit of comparable size.
The Walker Jones project is being built on the former Terrell Junior High School site along New Jersey Avenue between L and Pierce Streets NW. The facility co-locates a new library and community recreation center, and athletic fields all in the same footprint.
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development is coordinating the project in partnership with District of Columbia Public Schools, the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization, the District of Columbia Public Library and the Department of Parks and Recreation. Forrester Construction, Regan Associates and Banneker Ventures are the private sector partners in the project.
The entire project will include a 100,000 square foot school, a 20,000 square foot community recreation center and a 10,000 square foot public library. A multi-purpose athletic field is also included in the program with blacktop play areas and a secure playground for younger children. The structure and site will meet LEED certification for schools and will incorporate a green roof.
L Street will be reopened for traffic and all new Mt. Vernon and NOMA Streetscape standards will be implemented.