In April 2023, Westridge announced to its students, parents, and faculty that the school purchased an adjacent plot behind the Commons. Located on 310 Arlington Drive, the property is a 20,000 square foot lot that the Westridge Board of Trustees voted to buy with the objective of building more classrooms and expanding Westridge’s curriculum. 

The last official update from the school was sent in a Westridge Weekly in October 2023, informing the community of the “310 Taskforce.” Organized and chaired by Westridge parent and trustee member Jim Lygopoulos, the group consists of Westridge parents, alumnae, faculty, and administration. The taskforce is in charge of keeping the Board of Trustees and stakeholders updated on the properties progress. In the summer of 2023, the group went on local school tours to gain insight on schools with recently finished or in-progress campus remodeling. These schools included Marlborough, Campbell Hall, Crossroads, Windward, and Flintridge Preparatory School.

Aside from the tours, a survey was sent out to students, faculty, and parents to gain perspective and insights on what was important and desired for the future of the Arlington plot. “It was very important for us to get input and get ideas and have involvement from all those key  groups, key stakeholders. [Head of School Ms. Andrea Kassar and the Westridge faculty] came up with that idea, which I loved,” said Mr. Lygopoulos. 

After receiving input from the community, the 310 Taskforce sought an architectural firm to materialize their plans. Currently, the group is working on deciding which architectural firm to work with, whose work will align with Westridge’s mission to “develop intellectually adventurous thinkers and courageous, compassionate leaders.” 

Once the team decides on a firm, they are hoping to work on sharing a public timeline and plan with the community. “We will tell them all the things that we’ve gathered…all the feedback, all of our thoughts and ideas, and then we’ll get their suggestions and input,” Mr. Lygopoulos said. “Then I think it’ll be a process for the management of the school, [Ms. Kassar] the school, and the board, and they’ll make sure that they consult and keep the school community updated.” 

Along with the developments coming to 310 Arlington Drive, the Board of Trustees also formed a new Buildings and Grounds Committee. “[The Buildings and Grounds Committee will] just take [the] strategic focus of development of the campus areas, and that would include [the] new property,” Board of Trustees Chair Valerie Rubio Lemmon ’92 said.

 It has not been confirmed what classrooms will be on the property. Nonetheless, student-athletes are hoping for more space to accommodate Westridge’s growing sports program, specifically those who practice off campus. “I think it’s good because I do believe that we need more academic areas, but I would love a swimming pool or a tennis court,” Wendy H. ’28 said.

However, the 310 Taskforce has noted that the school needs more space for offices and classrooms designated for STEM and art. “We have other buildings that may be more suited for [STEM and art classes], and we could transition the things that are currently in those buildings to this new one. And so we’re trying to think of the campus overall when we add this additional space,” Ms. Lemmon said.

As a Westridge alumna, Ms. Lemmon’s campus looked very different to the one Westridge has today. “When I was a student, anything across the Madeleine Courtyard, so anything from PAC, Rothenberg Science Building, all that didn’t exist,” she said. “Whatever we do with the campus, and especially this new development, would just be furthering the [school’s] mission and making sure that our needs are met in terms of classroom space and collaboration space.” Audrey B. ’25 said, “I’m very curious to see what Westridge wants to expand on and am really excited to see what exactly that will look like when I visit campus after graduating.”