GMU Misled Board, York Says

When pressed to explain the change, Hennessey said that "we just couldn't" proceed without some commitment to develop the area around the campus. He added: "The point that I tried to make with [the supervisors] was that, while we might accept it as a gift if it in fact was given, we couldn't have a full campus without all the other requirements that we need."

York and Burton say they aren't angry at Greenvest for being unwilling to donate the land now that the board has killed the plan to open up Dulles South, a 9,200-acre expanse west of Dulles International Airport, to high-density development. That's a typical business arrangement, they said. What upsets them is that the developer didn't make its position clear at the outset. In their view, Greenvest tried to use the George Mason gift to leverage support for the development proposal.

Greenvest officials did not return phone calls seeking comment last week.

Greenvest was one of several developers poised to build large, planned communities in Dulles South had the board approved the Comprehensive Plan Amendments to allow higher-density housing in the area. Greenvest had proposed four such communities; one of them, Arcola, would have been within walking distance of the GMU campus. It would have featured a "town center," with a mix of homes, including apartments and townhouses for students and faculty members, as well as space for neighborhood retail uses such as restaurants, a dry cleaner and a bank.

York's other objection to GMU's plans was the university's expectation that the county would contribute to the development of the campus. Given Loudoun's struggles to keep up with the service demands of a growing population, taking on debt for university buildings is not an option, York said.

But Hennessey said that is the model that GMU has used, with great success, at its campuses in Fairfax, Prince William and Arlington counties. The Prince William Board of County Supervisors agreed to assume the debt for both a sports and fitness center and a performing-arts hall, both of which are shared by the university and the community.

"It's the way we build campuses," Hennessey told York at the meeting last month.

Hennessey said that GMU still planned to build a campus in Loudoun but that it would take much longer now that the location is uncertain. GMU operates a satellite classroom facility in Sterling, but the hope is for a full-service campus to serve the western reaches of the Washington region.