Our campus plan is a direct product of the School’s Strategic Plan, For College and For Life, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2012. The strategic plan specifically calls for dynamic learning environments that are catalysts for the kind of innovative, collaborative, and experiential learning in which our students and faculty engage every day.

All campuses grow and evolve through the generosity of their communities. It will take the commitment and support of our entire community to fully realize the vision outlined in the campus plan. If you would like to learn more about our fundraising efforts and naming opportunities, please contact the Office for Institutional Advancement at 404.609.6275.

Expressing Westminster’s founding values through the School’s community and campus is a core theme of the campus planning process.  The Campus Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees, school leadership, and focus groups comprised of faculty, alumni, parents, and students partnered with several architecture firms and consultants to design spaces that honor Westminster’s classic architecture and meet the needs of learners in the 21st century and beyond. Our familiar building materials of limestone and brick were incorporated into the design of every new structure and buildings were designed to promote fluid learning and community indoors and out.

Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2019. The renovation and expansion of Campbell Hall will be the first project undertaken. Work on the new Community Plaza, updates to the stadium, and construction of the new parking deck are scheduled to begin in Winter 2020.  

The construction schedule was developed to minimize disruption to campus life and to maximize efficiencies related to materials, timelines, and construction staffing. Following is the order in which the first projects will take place.

• Renovation of Campbell Hall and Construction of New Upper School Academic Building (Summer 2019 to Fall 2020)
• Parking Deck
  (Winter 2019 to Summer 2020)
• Community Plaza and Stadium Enhancements
  (Winter 2019 to Summer 2020)
• Westminster Center
  (Winter 2019 to Summer 2021)

Designated visitor parking near Adams Gate will remain available through December 2019. Plans for a temporary visitor parking area are being developed for winter and spring 2020 when current visitor parking will be impacted by construction.

Westminster maintains a strong partnership with the Paces Civic Association. School leadership has been in regular consultation with the association throughout the campus planning process to ensure our neighbors are informed of our enhancements to campus.

Athletics play an integral role in the student experience at Westminster. Almost every student utilizes at least one of the School’s athletic facilities in a given semester. Different venues will be affected during the various phases of the planned construction. Our Director of Athletics is developing individual plans in partnership with the appropriate coaches for teams impacted during construction. These plans will be communicated once finalized. Alfred E. Thompson Stadium will remain open for the fall 2019 and spring 2020 sports seasons with limited access to the home team stands.

Energy efficiency is a core focus in the design and construction of the new spaces planned for Westminster’s campus. The revitalization to our campus has provided us the opportunity to bring energy efficient systems online within a centralized facility, saving more than 5 million gallons of water and 160,000 kwH of energy each year.

Westminster’s tree canopy is one of the most iconic and beloved aspects of the School’s campus. Cultivating and maintaining a healthy and robust campus landscape is a core priority of the campus plan. While the plan focuses on providing community spaces, increased access for all, and more opportunities for our students and visitors to engage the landscape, every effort has been made to mitigate disturbance. The current construction planned will impact an estimated four percent of Westminster’s contiguous campus and two percent of our tree canopy. Approximately 400 trees of 6” caliper or greater will be removed.

While trees will be removed during construction, a significant number of new trees will be planted across the property. The new plantings have been carefully selected under the direction of the landscape architecture firm Andropogon. The plans developed by Andropogon include more than 450 new native trees and a robust assortment of understory native shrubs and development of the bosque with ground covers.

As we prepare for the start of construction, you may notice an increased number of markings throughout campus. These markings take many different forms, such as engineering tape and paint on the ground, trees, and structures. The markings help us indicate a variety of things including infrastructure, building placement, tree removal, and tree replacement. It is important to note that the markings serve as helpful planning tools and are subject to change.

Parking for Juniors and Seniors from August 2019 to December 2019 will be located on the back tennis courts near Kent Field.  These courts will be resurfaced and reopened after the first phase of construction is complete. Parking for January 2020 through August 2020 will be determined in the fall of 2019.

The construction phasing has been carefully designed to ensure as little impact to the academic experience of our students as possible. A village of temporary “Learning Cottages” will be located on Broyles Field for the 2019-20 school year while Campbell Hall is under renovation. Given the dynamic schedule of our Upper School, students will only spend a few of their class periods in the cottages throughout a given day.

The Learning Cottage village will be situated so that the Senior Mudslide can be held on Broyles Field in May 2020.

Westminster has retained JE Dunn to serve as the general contracting firm for construction. JE Dunn is a leader in overseeing complex construction projects on busy campuses. Contractors and construction personnel will only have access to hardhat zones and utilize shuttles to and from off-campus parking. Westminster students, faculty, and staff will not have access to the construction sites.

Yes! The construction timeline has been carefully built to ensure that the Class of 2019 and Class of 2020 can celebrate their commencement ceremony with family and friends on Pressly Plaza.