VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Construction on the new Princess Anne Middle School is on track to be completed in just a few months.
A News 3 crew was given a tour of the 257,784 square foot facility on Friday. The new building is positioned just across from Princess Anne Elementary School on Seaboard Road. It will replace the current middle school two miles away, also known as the Old Kellam High School.
Tony Arnold, the Executive Director of Facilities Services for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, said the school had outgrown the old building. He stated that the new one is about 100,000 square feet larger.
“Buildings today require more square feet per student and a lot more technology infused in the building, in all school buildings today,” Arnold explained. “There are a lot more flexible group learning spaces in this building, just like you have at Kellam and the new Old Donation School and the most recent school we opened, Thoroughgood Elementary.”
The project costs $77.9 million.
The design has similarities to Old Donation School, and that’s because some of the same companies worked on that campus. The main contractor is McKenzie Construction, and the architectural firm is RRMM Architects.
The new Princess Anne Middle School features a courtyard, a “green roof,” a large theater, fitness room, an indoor walking track above the gym and many alternative seating areas for students.
Arnold said the building will also receive solar panels in the spring, "which will reduce the energy consumption in this building by more than 50 percent."
“Every single space in the building is designed for students and for learning, which is what I’m so excited about,” said Dr. Sandra Brown, the principal of Princess Anne Middle School.
When asked about COVID-19 and potential changes for the fall, Brown responded, “I hope we don’t have to do the social distancing and all the mitigations that we have to do at this point, but I’m completely comfortable that we’ll be able to do it even more easily in the new building.”
