The Madeira School last week broke ground for the renovation and expansion of the school’s Student Center, beginning a three-phase master plan that will increase classroom space.
The newly expanded center will have a dining hall that replaces Madeira's 1930s-era kitchen and is large enough to accommodate the whole school community. The plan is to align the road used for student drop-off, create a central reception area for arriving students and visitors, expand the student book store and create new pedestrian walkways.
They hope to preserve the original layout and "feel" of "the Oval" at the center of the 342-acre campus on the banks of the Potomac River.
The Madeira School moved to its present Greenway location in 1931. The land was purchased by David Wing, who was married to school founder Lucy Madeira Wing in 1924.
Wing bought the campus by assembling several adjacent parcels and held it until the school bought the land in 1931.
Madeira conducted a tree-by-tree inventory, and assessed and evaluated the health and condition of all the trees affected by the proposed design plan.