NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A new Maury High School is one step closer to reality. 

Norfolk City Council voted 7-1 Tuesday night after a public hearing to enter into an interim agreement with developer Heartland Construction for preliminary design work for the school, set to be built next to the current Maury High in Ghent. Heartland’s also expected to give the city a guaranteed maximum price for construction.

Councilman JP Paige said he voted no because he feels other schools are being disregarded.

“As long as Booker T. and other schools are left off, leave me off too,” Paige said.

The city will pay $6.1 million for the design work, which will include a study of a potential new pool complex. The pool at the current Maury High serves the city’s other public high school swim teams and is crucial going forward, speakers said.

“[The request for a pool] has been consistently a top priority in all community feedback surveys and meetings, including the school board vote last year,” said Jeff Belcher, a Maury High parent. “A pool at Maury High School would benefit the entire school system and is essential for building a high-quality swim program.”

Speakers said they also would like to see a track added, something that’s missing from the current Maury High. 

This comes just over seven months after the Norfolk School Board voted unanimously to move forward with the proposal from Heartland. Plans have called for building a new multi-story school on the other side of Maury’s football field, while turning the current Maury High into housing. However that reuse of the historic structure isn’t guaranteed, Norfolk Preservation Alliance’s Alice Allen-Grimes pointed out Tuesday.

City leaders clarified that despite the school board vote last year, council will still need to vote to decide the future of the historic Maury High building.

Mayor Kenny Alexander and Councilwoman Andria McClellan though both publicly expressed support Tuesday for preserving the historic building.

“I agree with Ms. McClellan as it relates to the repurposed, adaptive use of Maury. At some point we need to start those conversations so we can retain and preserve that historic structure.” 

There are still several other steps before construction would begin on the new school, including at least two more public input meetings. City and school district leaders held the first community meeting on the project last month to gather feedback.

The design work is expected to start in August 2024, and the new Maury’s currently expected to open for the 2028-29 school year.

City council is also held public hearings Tuesday on a proposal to sell the former Greyhound station and adjacent property off Brambleton Ave. to Breeden Investment Properties, Inc. for a development called Houndstooth, as well as a proposed parking garage from Bruce Smith and Armada Hoffler at St. Paul’s Blvd. and E. Bute Street across from Scope.

Resolutions related to both of those public hearings were approved.