NORFOLK, Va. — Plans are moving forward for a new Maury High School in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood.
It's a project that's been in the works for the last several years to address the current aging building at the corner of DeBree and Shirley Avenue.
Educators, students, and families gathered in the school's cafeteria—which is showing its age—to get a glimpse of the exciting new plans for Maury High School.
The proposed design showcases a four-story building located at the corner of 20th Street and Llewellyn Avenue, featuring a main entrance on DeBree Avenue. Among the highlights of the new facilities are modern athletic fields, a spacious auditorium, and an indoor swimming pool facility.
The meeting on Thursday featured a structured format designed to facilitate one-on-one dialogue between community members and project team members. After an introductory presentation, attendees had the opportunity to engage directly at various workstations set up around the room. Each station allowed guests to discuss specific design elements with engineers and construction specialists.
Former Maury High School Principal Michael Spencer emphasized the importance of flexibility in modern educational spaces.
“Education is changing pretty quickly, and we want to make sure that spaces are flexible and can be retreated for other uses," he said.
In light of recent events affecting school safety nationwide, Spencer, who is also a Maury HS alum, stressed that ensuring the security of students is paramount.
“A lot of people have looked at schools and talked about how to make them safe for our children and keep people with bad intentions away,” he said.
The historical significance of the original Maury High School, which has stood for more than a century, is another crucial aspect of the new plans.
"It's just worn itself out," he said. "The structure itself is iconic in this neighborhood. It's really an anchor to the north side of the neighborhood, but the facade and the ceramic work on the outside, all of that is iconic."
Robert Hudson, the vice president of Heartland Construction led Thursday night's presentation. He reiterated the commitment to maintaining the historic core of Maury High School while integrating new developments.
“It’s challenging for our team to carefully preserve the historic portions while taking off some of those additions to allow us to build the new fields," Hudson said.
Hudson told News 3's Jay Greene the design phase isn't quite over yet.
"We're going to get to get to a point where it's our job as a developer to put together what's called a guaranteed maximum price," he said. "And so at that point in time, we will go to Norfolk Public Schools and the City of Norfolk with a design and with a guaranteed maximum price. And at that point, it's up to them to determine if they want to keep moving forward with design and construction or take a step back and possibly pursue other options."
If all goes according to plan, construction on the new Maury High School could commence as early as next year and would be completed in a four-phased approach.
The project comes with an expected completion date of mid-2028.
