Construction crews are moving into cap construction at Harriet Tubman Elementary School, as the District presses ahead with a full modernization of the Columbia Heights campus. The project will replace the 1970s-era building at 3101 13th Street NW and create expanded classroom, gym and dining space for neighborhood students.
On Wednesday, the Department of General Services shared a short progress clip on Facebook that highlights recent exterior and framing work, according to the DGS reel. The post frames the modernization as part of the city’s push for more equitable public education while showing demolition, new framing and roof installation across the site.
What the new building will include
District planning documents say the modernization combines renovation and new construction to provide dedicated academic space, a gymnasium, a central courtyard and an expanded dining area for students, according to DCPS Facilities Planning and Design. The project page also notes that the work is being designed to meet at least "LEED for Schools 6 Gold" standards and to achieve Net Zero energy performance, goals the city describes as central to the rebuild.
Size and design background
Reported square footage for the project has shifted as the design has evolved. The DGS reel describes the new building as roughly 74,000 square feet, according to the DGS video, while formal review documents include larger figures. The Commission of Fine Arts’ July 2024 minutes outline concept numbers that include an 83,000 square foot addition and a roughly 107,000 square foot concept reflecting design options considered during early reviews, per the Commission of Fine Arts.
Who is building it and the schedule
DC Public Schools lists MCN and Perkins Eastman as the design-build partners and names Alex Casey and Yash Kulkarni as DGS project managers on the modernization, with construction marked as underway. The district’s project page sets a Fall 2023 start and a Summer 2026 completion window, according to DCPS Facilities Planning and Design, and MCN’s website offers background on the firm’s work on large local school projects (MCN).
Where students are during construction
While the Columbia Heights site is rebuilt, Tubman students have been moved to a temporary swing space at 800 Euclid St NW. The school’s move FAQ says the community is scheduled to return to the new building in August 2026. The swing space page also lays out travel guidance for families and notes that the old school’s fields and playgrounds will be closed during construction, according to TeamTubman.
For Columbia Heights residents, the latest construction reel is a visible sign that the long-planned modernization is finally taking shape. Officials say the work is intended to deliver a modern, energy efficient campus for a growing neighborhood. As crews close in on the building shell and shift more work indoors, Tubman’s project is lined up to join a string of recent DC school upgrades aimed at improving both learning spaces and sustainability.
