Local

Oakcrest School plans to relocate

Gretchen R. Crowe | Catholic Herald

Oakcrest School in McLean is seeking sealed bids on their current property prior to moving to a new location in Vienna.

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Looking to spend a spare $19 million?

The private Catholic high school Oakcrest School in McLean is
accepting sealed bids for its current property on Balls Hill
Road in McLean in anticipation of moving to a new location
near Hunter Mill Road in Vienna.

The all-girls school purchased its future site, which is on
23 acres of land, in November 2007. Earlier this summer, the
school submitted a special application for its new building
to be located in what is zoned a residential-estate area.
Should Fairfax County approve the permit and relocation plans
move forward, the amount of space Oakcrest will have will
increase significantly.

Ellen Cavanagh, head of the school, said the current
facility, located on 5 acres of land, has become “inadequate
for carrying out our mission and our vision for this school.

“It really is not providing the kinds of classrooms that we
want for the girls,” she said. “We want to provide the
ability to expand our programs and to also reach a larger
number of students … in a building that we design that
reflects who we are.”

Oakcrest first opened its doors in September 1976 in its
first of two Washington, D.C., locations. In 2000, it moved
to McLean. Because the relocation is in a holding pattern, no
timeline has been set for the move. The special exception
hearing is scheduled for Oct. 15.

The building in McLean was the former home of McLean Bible
Church. It has accommodated Oakcrest’s 220 students since
2000. Parents, faculty, alumni and students all have been
involved in the planning process, and the school is
developing a capital campaign. It will rely on “philanthropy
and the sale of the current facility” to reach its
fund-raising goals.

James Kazunas, president of Hollywood Real Estate Services,
which is handling the sale, said the McLean property “will be
sold in sealed bid format,” and bids must be received by
Sept. 30.

Cavanagh said that little preparation would be done to the
building prior to its selling, and that it had been
well-maintained.

“The property is probably best suited to continue as a
school, given the scarcity of similar type properties in the
Washington, D.C., area,” said James Connelly, vice president
of LPC Commercial Services, Inc., who has been involved in
sales and acquisitions in the D.C. Metro area. “Additionally,
the parcel would allow for expansion of the existing
improvements, but not to the level Oakcrest requires.”

The transition to Vienna is sparking much excitement and
anticipation, Cavanagh said, but she is realistic.

“We have to get the special exception and permitting. Then we
will start,” she said. “We’re focusing on that part of the
transition.”

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