Henrico Schools break ground on ‘living building’ at Wilton Farm
VENN
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Henrico County Public Schools has officially broken ground on a project unlike any other in Virginia -- the state’s first K-12 public school “living building.”
On Monday, Sept. 29, school and county leaders gathered at Wilton Farm — just off the Interstate 95 and Interstate 895 flyover — to launch construction of a facility designed to “give back more than it takes,” according to Superintendent Amy Cashwell.
The Living Building at Wilton will serve students enrolled in the Center for Environmental Studies and Sustainability, providing hands-on lessons in conservation and green design. Plans call for solar power, rainwater capture that converts to potable drinking water, and other environmentally conscious features.
(Photo: Henrico County Public Schools)
(Photo: Henrico County Public Schools)
(Photo: Henrico County Public Schools)
“This structure will be an example for the state and the nation, and beyond that, a lasting, positive impact for those who follow us,” Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas said.
The building will rise on 62 acres of the 1,200-acre Wilton Farm property, once worked by enslaved people. Henrico County purchased the land in 2019, with preservation in mind. Just 14 years earlier, in 2005, developers had received zoning approval to build thousands of homes there.
Instead, county leaders committed to maintaining its natural landscape of wetlands, farmlands, lakes, and open spaces along the James River. Voters later approved funding for the project in the county’s 2022 bond referendum.
Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson, who joined the board in 2012, called the project “a thoughtful use of this property” that will “demonstrate innovation and harmony with nature.”
Nelson credited Cashwell for first bringing the concept to county officials, saying the building represents a shared vision for the county’s future.
Vithoulkas went even further, calling the project a testament to their leadership.
“This place will be forever known as the house that Nelson and Cashwell built,” he said.
