For over 80 years, 67 of them in the Town of Vienna, Green Hedges School has provided a challenging, liberal arts-based academic program steeped in core academics, world languages, the arts, and athletics, while supporting the healthy intellectual, social, and emotional growth of our students. We are honored to be one of the most established schools in Vienna and are proud to partner with local organizations and open the campus to Town and community use.
The vision of our founders, the Kilmer family, was to create a place of wonder and joy, and this vision still holds true today. It is for this reason that Green Hedges will embark on a journey of renovating Kilmer Hall, the School’s primary academic building, and redesigning playgrounds and outdoor spaces to provide inspiring, innovative, and collaborative spaces so our students and teachers may imagine, thrive, and learn to their fullest potential. This is Phase 1 of a multi-year project.
The renovation necessitates modifications to our existing Conditional Use Permit (CUP) with the Town of Vienna. This process has begun and will continue through the 2022-2023 school year to receive the proper permits and updates to the CUP to allow campus improvements to move forward.
Phase 1 of this project, in which Green Hedges adds to the back of Kilmer Hall and updates playgrounds and play spaces, will be approximately 15 months from start to completion. Potentially, Green Hedges could break ground on Phase 1 as soon as Summer 2024 depending upon permitting and other factors. Phase 2 and Phase 3 will begin upon completion of Phase 1, contingent upon fundraising, permitting, and other considerations.
We are currently planning for what the 2024-2025 school year would look like with construction on campus and will certainly keep our families and neighbors informed of our plans.
Meetings that take place with the Town of Vienna will be listed below. We encourage our families to join the School at these meetings when possible.
Green Hedges provides regular updates to our neighbors about upcoming events and happenings on campus.
Green Hedges will plan for a mix of trailers and utilizing existing classrooms that will not be impacted by construction. Potential spaces include classrooms in the Karen Wiechelt Stable, Rice Arts Center, and the front classrooms of Kilmer Hall. Trailers will be intentionally designed for an educational setting.
The School is invested in helping to control noise on campus. Green Hedges is planning for the planting of mature landscaping around its campus once construction is finished to help with noise abatement. During construction, we will be mindful of keeping construction to normal workday hours. Before the School begins construction, it will be in communication with neighbors to inform them of the timeline and any other relevant information pertaining to noise on campus from construction.
This is part of a concerted effort to make better use of campus grounds by controlling the crossings and exposure between pedestrian and vehicular circulation on campus. Locating parking lots on the perimeter of campus adjacent to the public roadways is a way for the School to be both safe and efficient. Further, the perimeter parking creates a natural boundary between the public roadways of Nutley and Windover Streets and our campus. In addition, the location of the parking makes their use by the Town of Vienna community groups or Madison High School on the weekends easier. The project intends to provide a landscape buffer between the parking lots and any homes and streets.
Yes, the School is considering buses in the future and there are several families who have walkers. A number of our families carpool and we make concerted efforts to link families for carpooling purposes. We also encourage students who live near campus to ride bicycles and recently installed a bike rack for that purpose.
Yes, facilities will be available for rental, adhering to the School’s CUP. Per our current CUP, the School will provide priority scheduling for use of facilities to neighborhood youth teams, clubs, and organizations.
Lighting will be compliant with industry standards including incorporating sustainable approaches such as dark sky or similar. Green Hedges is not looking to add any unnecessary lighting to its campus. Instead, it will light the campus for safety, abiding by the Town’s Board of Architectural Review recommendations. The School plans to light building entries, the drive, and walking paths. Fields and playgrounds will not be lit.
Green Hedges is proud to partner with the following organizations on this campus renovation:
Learn more about our program and inquire regarding select openings this fall or future years.
GREEN HEDGES SCHOOL
415 Windover Avenue, N.W.
Vienna, Virginia 22180
Phone: (703) 938-8323
Email: [email protected]
