Norfolk School Board approves Maury High School schematic design with conditions to keep Ghent community involved

The Norfolk School Board on March 18 approved the schematic design for the Maury High School rebuild and authorized the project to move into the design development phase, with board members recording that the design process should retain flexibility and continue direct engagement with Ghent School stakeholders.

School system staff and the project team presented a progress update before the vote. Norfolk Public Schools staff said the project is in an interim agreement phase with developer Heartland, which will deliver design development documents and a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) after schematic design is finished. The design team said the goal remains to open the new Maury for the fall 2028–29 school year.

Architects and the developer reviewed the site plan, athletic and arts facilities, a new bus canopy entry on Washington Park, and a proposed shared-use natatorium. The team said the plan retains the most historically significant portion of the existing Maury building while proposing selective demolition of non-historic additions; a Preliminary Information Form (PIF) will formally begin the Virginia historic‑resources review needed to set the historic boundary.

Mel Price of WPA, the lead architect, told the board the schematic is a “snapshot in time” and that the team has more stakeholder meetings planned. Price said the designers heard concerns from parents and teachers about how Ghent School’s playgrounds, basketball court and mobile classrooms (learning cottages) would be relocated and are continuing site-level conversations to try to avoid loss of on-site amenities. “We hope we will have the opportunity to continue to work with Norfolk Public Schools, with the parents, with the faculty, so that we can get this right,” Price said.

Project managers said Heartland will provide a GMP at the end of design development; if the GMP is accepted by Norfolk Public Schools and the City of Norfolk, Heartland would enter a comprehensive agreement and construction would follow. The presentation listed site security measures, stormwater landscaping, a proposed turf multipurpose field and a covered bus loop. The team said they had conducted two community meetings (June 2024 and January 2025) with roughly 140–150 attendees, and they plan a third community meeting before construction documents.

Board members asked detailed questions about acreage and play space for Ghent students, the status of the learning cottages and how the project will avoid reducing outdoor space used by Ghent. Project staff acknowledged they have placed the required amenities on the new site plan but said they have not yet completed a specific calculation of net open play area and that they will provide those measurements in the next phase. The team said some portable classrooms are planned to be decommissioned and that Norfolk Public Schools is evaluating whether to move those classroom uses inside the new building over a summer schedule.

After questions and an amendment to emphasize that the design approval should allow continued flexibility and include Ghent community participation in follow-up planning, the board voted to approve the schematic design and allow the project to advance to design development. The administration and project team said they will return with a GMP and further community engagement as design development proceeds.

What this means: With schematic approval the project moves to a phase in which design details, phasing and pricing are developed. The GMP produced during design development will be the contract figure Heartland offers for construction; the city and school division must agree on that number before a construction contract proceeds. The historic‑resources review (PIF) will establish what parts of the current Maury building are considered historic and therefore must be retained.

Board members, project staff and the developer emphasized the plan remains iterative and that further changes are possible in design development, particularly around Ghent School amenities and the final historic boundary determination.