Basilica School of St. Mary
Location: Alexandria, VA
Client: BarnesVanze Architects
Owner: Basilica School of St. Mary
Size: 16,000 SF
Axias Role: Cost Estimating
Located in Old Town Alexandria, the Basilica School of St. Mary is a private Catholic school for children in pre-kindergarten through grade 8. The parish school, which has been in continuous operation since 1869, moved to a newly constructed building at 400 Green Street in 1950. Since then, additions and improvements to the 3.9-acre site enabled growth from 500 students in 1950 to its current complement of more than 700.
In April 2021, the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, on behalf of St. Mary’s, applied for and received approval from the City of Alexandria Planning Commission for a special use permit to construct an addition connecting the elementary and middle schools and implement associated site improvements. The 8,000-square-foot addition, which will house a state-of-the-art library media center, will trigger interior and exterior renovations to the two existing buildings.
The surrounding landscape will be transformed to improve campus safety, facilitate pedestrian and vehicular circulation, create a new dedicated play area and upgrade existing ones, and introduce a new faculty parking lot. Enhancements will include 27 street trees, new fencing, and stormwater system improvements.
Axias provided cost estimating services during design to confirm that the owner’s scope and quality requirements would fit within the available budget.