KIPP DC Legacy College Preparatory
KIPP DC, a prominent local public charter school, received approval to redevelop the District-owned Legacy College Preparatory School. The site provides District residents with a new, fully modernized Ferebee-Hope Recreation Center and a high-quality public charter high school in Ward 8. In addition to the recreation center and school, the Ferebee-Hope site includes shared spaces for public meetings, community gatherings, and events.
All photos copyright Hoachlander Davis Photography
Additional programming space for the high school includes a running track; a playing field for sports such as football, soccer, and lacrosse; spectator seating built into the topography; a small concessions building; and an outdoor classroom located within a bio-retention area.
The new state-of-the-art high school educates approximately 900 students from grades 9 through 12. It offers rigorous college and career preparatory academic programming alongside various extracurricular programs and wraparound services.
Colonnade
Back-of-house programming includes the gymnasium, cafeteria, lecture hall, and colonnade. The regulation-sized gymnasium features high-performance LED lighting and the outdoor patio features a floor-to-ceiling, glazed storefront window system that enables views of the gym and the lobby below. The inviting space is a large student commons seating area that overlooks the fields.
Attractive, durable, and easily maintained finishes are always challenging in a high school project. At the new KIPP DC Legacy College Preparatory School, Studio Twenty Seven Architecture used a pattern of brightly colored acoustical panels by Kirei USA to enliven the walls and control noise in the cafeteria and central staircase. Kinetics provided the ceiling and wall panels in the auditorium. The warmth of natural wood greets students entering the lobby space. The lobby stairs and ceiling are European white oak by reSAWN TIMBER. You can’t beat polished concrete floors for an attractive and durable floor surface throughout the building. Throughout the building, polished concrete floors were used as an attractive and durable floor surface.
A new DC DPR recreation center is co-located on the site and includes a multi-purpose room, indoor pool, boxing ring, and a full-sized gymnasium. As part of Mayor Bowser’s initiative to reclaim vacant sites, DGS has reactivated this site in Ward 8. The Department of Parks and Recreation manages the recreation center facility. Open to the public, it serves Washington Highlands residents and helps current and future students thrive.
View from high school roof
School athletic field view
Ferebee-Hope’s redevelopment of a 12-acre site that includes a recreation center, redeveloped outdoor spaces, and a 120,000 SF high school not only serves Ward 8 now, but for many future generations to come.
