George Mason University Phase II

Construction Status:  Under construction

First Shovel of Dirt:  November 2007

Doors Open:  Spring 2010

Size:   244,000 square foot academic building
Parking:  443 spaces; three levels underground

Tax Assessment: Not Applicable

Just the Facts

• Phase Two of the George Mason University (GMU) expansion of their Virginia Square campus includes a 244,000-square-foot academic building that will house the School of Public Policy, the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution and academic and student support services. The building will also house a 300-seat auditorium, a 5,670-square-foot multipurpose room, a 438-seat library containing 100,000 volumes and three levels of underground parking that will include 443 new parking spaces. Occupancy is anticipated for spring 2010.
  
  
• Developer and architect for the project is George Mason University.
  
  
• The seven-story building will be spiral shaped with a four-story cylindrical library on the site’s eastern edge. Exterior materials include glass as well as metal panels of various textures and tones
  
  
• In October 2007, the County Board passed a resolution requesting that the university enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the County on the operations, maintenance and community use of the facilities and public plaza. The resolution also asks for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for Mason’s Phase II expansion and LEED Silver certification for its planned Phase III expansion. The resolution calls on Mason to install temporary art on the auditorium’s exterior southern wall.
  
  
• The entire GMU campus at Virginia square covers five acres. The land parcel is bounded by Kirkwood Road, Fairfax Drive, Washington Boulevard and North Monroe Street.
  
  

Community Benefits

• One-half-acre public plaza
• 300-seat auditorium
• Utility under-grounding across the entire site
• 438 seat library with 100,000 volumes
• Proposed LEED project totaling 30 points
• Shared parking after 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; after 2 p.m. Saturday; and all day Sunday
• Enhanced landscaping along Kirkwood Road and in the plaza
• Exhibition space for public art on the plaza
• Bookstore and café with outdoor seating on plaza
• Bike racks for 50 bikes and on-site showers for bike riders
• Art programs
• Classrooms, television studio, computer labs, multi-purpose rooms and faculty offices

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