Benedictine College Preparatory to expand campus by increasing maximum occupancy by more than 500 people

GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The historic all-male high school, Benedictine College Preparatory, will be expanding its acreage after its permit was approved during a Board of Supervisors meeting in August.

During the Goochland County Board of Supervisors meeting on Aug. 5, members approved Benedictine Society of Virginia's conditional use permit application to increase occupancy on its 50-acre campus, located at 12829 River Rd.

The approved increase would allow for maximum occupancy to increase from 935 people to 1,500 people on campus.

In addition to the increased maximum occupancy, Benedictine College Preparatory highlighted the possibility of a middle school in the future, but said there were no short-term concrete plans as of Sept. 4.

"The Benedictine Schools of Richmond are developing a 15–25-year Campus Master Plan to help us envision the future and plan accordingly for growth," the Benedictine College Preparatory shared in a statement to 8News on Thursday afternoon. "As part of this process, we are exploring all possibilities—including the potential addition of a middle school at some point. Our recent request, approved by the Goochland County Board of Supervisors, to increase campus occupancy to 1,500 is one step in this long-term planning effort. There are currently no plans or timeline in place for the development of a middle school."

School president of the Benedictine Schools of Richmond, Jesse Grapes, emphasized that within the last five years, they have invested $90 million in capital development.

"I doubt other than, you know, big business, there's that kind of capital investment in such a small footprint in other parts of the county," Grapes said during the Aug. 5 meeting. "We're building beautiful things."

Benedictine, along with Saint Gertrude, will see some changes, according to Grapes.

"The numbers speak for themselves," Grapes said. "The schools are growing, we're serving the county, and that's good. In some pathways, we are the gateway to Goochland."

Benedictine College Preparatory, founded in 1911, has long been known for its strong emphasis on academics, leadership and military discipline.

8News has reached out to Benedictine to learn more about those changes, but has not heard back as of the time of reporting.