Sidwell delaying North Cleveland Park expansion; Murch renovation on schedule

Under Sidwell Friends’ original expansion plans, the renovation of the former Washington Home and hospice would have begun by now. The school instead is revising its plans to consolidate its upper and lower schools at its North Cleveland Park campus, and that means delaying the work.

Sidwell originally planned to move its youngest students from its Bethesda campus to the Washington Home site, but The Northwest Current reports the school has decided instead to place the upper grades there. Head of School Bryan Garman tells the Current, “[W]e have learned that the building will require fewer modifications to accommodate Upper School students, allowing us to reduce renovation costs.”

The change in plans does require Sidwell to go back to the District for new zoning approvals, and it will delay the project until at least 2019. Read the article at currentnewspapers.com.

Meanwhile, the Murch School renovation has a July 2018 completion deadline, and the project is said to be proceeding on time. The new addition to the school at Davenport and 36th Streets is taking shape.

Steel erection looking good in the gymnasium area @murchschool @DCPS_Mods @DCDGS pic.twitter.com/k1emL7ZXfX

— Sarah Pearlstein (@HasselmannSarah) July 5, 2017

And the old school’s new windows were to be installed this week.

Next week, windows will start being installed @murchschool #lookinggood @McnBuildDC @HordCoplanMacht @RMcArchitects pic.twitter.com/qYHMaFYl9o

— Sarah Pearlstein (@HasselmannSarah) July 26, 2017

Here’s the latest update, dated July 27.