Henrico County Public Schools breaks ground on new $16.3-million environmental ‘Living Building’

Henrico County and Henrico Schools officials gathered at the Wilton Farm property Sept. 29 to celebrate the upcoming construction of a new environmental education center for HCPS students.

The $16.3 million center, which will open to students next fall, will be the first public K-12 “living building” in the world. To meet the strict requirements of the Living Building Challenge, the building will produce all of its own energy through solar panels, create its own drinking water by collecting and purifying rainwater on-site, and be constructed using recycled materials.

“More than any project in our school division’s history, the living building reflects our deep commitment to sustainability and to innovation,” said HCPS Superintendent Amy Cashwell. “Here, students will have hands-on experiences that may inspire future careers in environmental science and sustainability.”

The building and the 62-acre site it is located on – all undeveloped land near the James River – will be a “living laboratory” for students, Cashwell said, and also the new home for Varina High School’s Center for Environmental Science and Sustainability.

In 2019, Henrico County purchased the 1,200-acre site of Wilton Farm for $10 million, with about half of the site designated to stay undeveloped. The land previously had been zoned for the development of as many as 2,700 condominiums, apartments, and single-family homes, but after discussions with Varina District supervisor Tyrone Nelson, the county decided to use the space for conservation, recreation, and for public schools, according to Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas.

“The purchase of these 1,200 acres at Wilton farm would stand as one of the most significant undertakings in my tenure as county manager,” Vithoulkas said. “I would suggest to you that as we go forward, and as this building is constructed, that this place be forever known as the house that Nelson and Cashwell built.”

In 2022, Henrico voters passed a bond referendum that approved the use of more than $13 million to construct a new school building on the site.

Wilton Farm also once was the site of a 2,000-acre tobacco plantation, which in the 19th century was home to the largest enslaved community in Henrico County. The living building project aims to acknowledge the history of the site as well as the natural environment, Cashwell said.

“We knew that it would come with a very complicated history, and one that we would need to be incredibly mindful of,” she said. “And that understanding there might be burial grounds here. So there are certainly some who have undertaken the history of the project. It’s something our construction project manager is very aware of.”

The project will likely also be used as a model for future HCPS buildings, with elements such as the solar panels and plant-covered “green roof” possibly being used for upcoming projects, Cashwell said. 

HCPS officials also hope to host community members on the site along with students once the building is opened, she said. Construction is set to start as soon as possible and conclude after about an eight-month period.

The living building represents the future of Henrico and its younger generations, said Henrico School Board member Alicia Atkins (Varina District), and will weave the site’s complicated past into a present focus on sustainability and conservation.

“It's a model of sustainability, a beacon of innovation, a template for what schools can become,” she said. “Please hear me when I say, this land, once a tobacco plantation, today, with shovels in the ground, it is reborn into something so new, so hopeful.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.