The new facility set to replace the Arlington Career Center will be named after a noted Navy admiral and computer scientist who lived in Arlington.
Grace Hopper Center will be the campus’s new name following a 4-0 Arlington School Board vote last night.
“Grace Hopper… was a pioneer in computer programming, software development, a Naval officer, math teacher, Ph.D., master’s degree — all types of facets and areas of study that embody what this building will contain,” said Vice Chair David Priddy.
“Grace Hopper Campus” was a naming committee’s second choice, after “The Pike Campus.” Priddy acknowledged that students currently call the facility at 816 S. Walter Reed Drive “the Pike,” but said, “from my specific point of view, we needed something more formal for the name.”
The School Board also felt that the word “center” more accurately reflected the building’s character.
Officials broke ground on the project in a ceremony Thursday afternoon. The new building is slated to open in the fall of 2026.
Standing five stories tall with a four-story parking garage, Grace Hopper Center will have the capacity for over 1,600 students in vocational and technical courses.
The $180 million project has drawn its share of controversy, including concerns about the future of open space on the site and the building’s environmental commitments. Recently, the project also attracted criticism from state representatives, labor unions and the NAACP for its lack of a prevailing wage agreement.
At the groundbreaking, Principal Margaret Chung called the ceremony an “emotional moment” and thanked school district and county leaders for the years of work that led up to it.
“Today we are breaking ground to our future,” she said. “We are proud of the journey we have taken and could not be more excited [for] what this new building will bring and create for our students, our staff, our families and our community. Thank you so much.”
