A new permanent educational facility inside a major mixed-use corporate campus demonstrates how large developments can incorporate community-serving uses alongside commercial space. Arlington Community High School has opened at Amazon’s HQ2 campus in Metropolitan Park, providing the alternative high school with a permanent 30,000-plus-square-foot facility.
The school occupies two floors at 1450 S. Eads St. in National Landing and has a dedicated entrance from S. Eads Street. The facility includes purpose-built classrooms, common areas and spaces for educators designed around the needs of the school.
Amazon funded the complete buildout as part of a partnership with Arlington Public Schools. The arrangement originated with a commitment made during Amazon’s planning for its second headquarters.
The school serves approximately 300 students who are at least 16 years old. Many students work full or part time while completing their diplomas, so the program provides both daytime and evening classes.
The school is located within Metropolitan Park, a major component of Amazon’s Arlington HQ2 development. The campus includes two 22-story office towers with more than 2 million square feet of commercial space, 50,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and a 2.5-acre public park.
Students at the school can use the public park and community garden, while 13 local small businesses operate within the campus retail space.
Metropolitan Park opened in May 2023 and currently accommodates nearly 8,500 Amazon employees. The development's towers have achieved LEED Platinum v4 certification and operate as an all-electric campus powered by renewable energy, according to Amazon.
The school opening adds an educational use to a large corporate development and creates a permanent facility for an existing public school program.
For developers and owners, the project demonstrates how community facilities can be incorporated into mixed-use developments and coordinated with surrounding commercial and public spaces. The school also illustrates the potential for major developments to provide permanent facilities for public institutions while integrating those uses into broader campus planning.
Source: Clark Construction.
