Historic Fairmont Heights High School Adaptive Reuse Study

A current view of the school from the Nye Street parking lot, looking northeast. The gym can be seen at the rear.

2006 Bignell Watkins Hasser Architects, Feasibility Study

I

n 2006, Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) commissioned a feasibility study of the historic Fairmont Heights High School. “The goal of this study was to determine how best to provide a facility for the students and faculty of Fairmont Heights High School that meets the school’s educational, environmental and instructional needs and today’s building health and safety requirements. The Feasibility Team studied the existing building and site to develop options for the replacement, expansion and/or modernization of this facility. The team prepared several schemes that would be necessary in order to meet the programmatic needs of the school.”18 Salient options were identified, each with cost estimates: 1A. Replacement Building on Site 1B. Replacement Building on New Site 2. Modernization and Addition 3. Renovation and Addition 4. Reuse Current Building Although stating “it can also be argued that because this was the first high school for black students in Prince George’s County, the building’s image should not be altered, but restored to its original appearance and the building preserved as 18 Prince George’s County Public Schools, Fairmont Heights High School Feasibility Study. (Annapolis: Bignell Watkins Hasser Architects, P.A., 2006).Executive Summary.

Prince George’s County Planning Department

Fairmont Heights High School Adaptive Reuse Study • Page 25

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

Historic Fairmont Heights High School Adaptive Reuse Study

Published on Jan 29, 2020

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission

The adaptive reuse study describes the existing conditions of the school and site, including the historic and physical context in which it was built; the current and future approved zoning and land uses, and provides extensive details on its construction, evolution, and current physical condition. The study explores the historic aspects of the site, including its current County designation, and touches on the major findings of the December 2018 Historic Fairmont Heights High School Adaptive Reuse Economic Study. It describes the public participation process for the study, details the stakeholder concerns and interests explored in meetings and community gatherings, and provides an analysis of reuse options suggested by stakeholders. Three potential scenarios for reusing the site and building are described. An analysis of available funding tools is provided at the end of the study.