Former Site of Fairfax High and Paul VI Getting Redeveloped

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — For the first time in more than 35 years, St. Paul VI Catholic High School will no longer call Fairfax City home this fall after moving to its new Loudoun County location. The site, which also served as Fairfax High School before moving to its current location in 1972, is being redeveloped into a mixed-used community called Boulevard VI.

Originally opened as Fairfax County High School in 1935, the school was sold to George Mason University in 1972 to serve as the university's north campus. The Catholic Diocese of Arlington in 1983 purchased the school and land, located on what is now Fairfax Boulevard, from GMU for $3 million. The building underwent renovations before opening as Paul VI.

The IDI Group Cos. of Arlington bought the Fairfax site from the Catholic Diocese of Arlington and will preserve the school building and its lawn as the company develops the Boulevard VI mixed use community. Boulevard VI will include retail space along Fairfax Boulevard, with the 24,000-square-foot school as the focus.

"We're very excited about the opportunity to bring our vision to this important and historic piece of land," Enrico Cecchi, managing director of The IDI Group, said in a statement. "We understand the significance this land has long had for the community, and we know we're privileged to be the ones to bring about its next iteration of vibrance and importance."

In November 2018, The IDI Group received approval from the city of Fairfax to redevelop the 18.5-acre property. The new site will include 115 townhomes, 144 condominium homes, seven single-family homes and 44,000 square feet of commercial and community space.

In 2015, Catholic Diocese of Arlington announced that St. Paul VI Catholic High School would move from its 15-acre campus to a 68-acre campus in the South Riding area of Loudoun County. The school, with an enrollment of about 1,000 students, will open for the 2020-21 school year five days a week with a combination of in-person and virtual learning, with half of students in the building and half joining online on an alternating schedule.

Since the 2008-09 school year, a large rock sat on the campus in Fairfax City to serve as a rallying point for students. In July, The IDI Group had the rock moved from the old site to the new location of the school in Loudoun County.

“The class of 2009 was instrumental in bringing the rock to PVI from a local quarry and it has been a fun way for students to express themselves for the past 10 years,” Paul VI Head of School Ginny Colwell said in a statement.