Museum Plans Bold Expansion

Children's Gallery, More Space Wanted

A children's gallery with hands-on exhibits. Exterior walls of glass so the public can see what's going on inside. A resource center for teachers to plan history lessons for their classes.

That is all part of the Manassas Museum's planned $3.4 million expansion. And just as museum officials are designing a more creative experience for visitors, they are also seeking more creative methods of paying for the expansion.

Under the ambitious growth plans, the city-owned museum would more than double in size, with the biggest portion of the new space going toward exhibition space, collection storage and a children's gallery. A resource center for teachers, public meeting spaces, an archive and other work and storage spaces would also be added. All told, the museum would mushroom from 7,000 to 17,000 square feet.

The project's steadiest source of funding, interest from $3 million in trusts established by the Merchant family, has suffered recently because of the stock market decline. The trusts fund the museum and Manassas Baptist Church.

Although the museum has already collected some money from the trusts, the recent poor investment returns have driven home a key point: The project can't be funded by just one family.

"They're going to have their hands full," said Manassas City Manager Lawrence D. Hughes. "It's going to be a major fundraising effort."

The plan was to pay for the project through a bond issue to be proposed on the 2005 ballot. But Melinda Herzog, the city's historic resources and museum director, said she would prefer to pay by other means, including donations from individuals and foundations and state and federal grants.

That way, "it's just more building for the buck; it's not losing money," Herzog said. "We'd like to put every dollar into the building and not [into] paying back the debt service [on a bond]. We also have a desire to establish an endowment to support the operating costs of the expanded museum."

The Manassas City Council will decide in December whether to fund the expansion through a bond and, if so, for how much. Over the next several months, Herzog and other officials will try to resolve the project's funding questions.

If the city does seek a bond for a portion of the funding, it must show that can it afford to make the payments, which could run as high as $300,000 a year.

"We need to be sure that we can cover that expense," Herzog said. "The important thing is that we look to a variety of funding sources to be able to make this happen . . . it's got to come from the broad community, and we service Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William but also the surrounding communities: Fairfax, Fauquier and Loudoun counties."

Museum staff members have begun to research state and foundation grants and to meet with Virginia and federal representatives for funding options.

"The challenge is in finding people who are interested in contributing," Herzog said.

Herzog said she hopes local companies will support the effort.