Phase 1 opens at new $335 million Suitland High School project

Phase 1 of the new Suitland High School project is open, marking the first major shift for a campus that has served students since 1951. Local and state leaders marked the milestone on June 12 as Prince George’s County Public Schools moved ahead with a $335 million replacement of the existing 344,875-square-foot school.

The new campus is planned at 389,108 square feet and is designed to house both the Comprehensive High School and the Center for Visual and Performing Arts. PGCPS says the building is sized for 1,500 CHS students and 500 CVPA students, a change from the roughly 2,500 students who were using the old campus before the rebuild. The district says the project is now tracking toward estimated completion in 2027, after originally projecting an opening in 2026 at the 2022 groundbreaking.

For students, the transition has already reshaped daily life in stages. Career and Technical Education programs moved to Crossland High School in 2022, creating a southern CTE hub for the county. For the 2025-2026 school year, 9th graders and all CVPA students were moved to Forestville High School, while 10th- through 12th-grade comprehensive students remained at the main campus, known as Suitland Proper, before moving into the new building in April 2026 to complete phase 1.

The Suitland rebuild is one of the county’s most closely watched school capital projects because it affects academics, arts education and access to modern facilities all at once. The county has said the new school will provide modern learning environments and amenities for both college-ready instruction and arts-focused programming. WTOP previously reported that the campus is also expected to include a performing arts theater and an athletics stadium, reinforcing that the project is meant to replace the old school outright rather than simply renovate it.

The school’s arts program has remained a central part of that broader payoff. PGCPS said the Class of 2025 graduated as the school prepared for the new campus, and 68 CVPA graduates earned more than $8.3 million in scholarship offers that year. On June 24, Dr. Phelton Moss organized a construction tour that brought together board members, project staff, community groups, law enforcement officials, alumni and county officials, underscoring how much attention the new Suitland campus has drawn as it moves toward full completion.