Lorton Prison Reformed Into Arts Center

The gala will be in a former prison gym, where organizers dream of adding heating and air-conditioning and theater seats. For now the digs will remain rustic, although a dance floor was bought to protect Baryshnikov's toes.

The site was established in 1910 to house nonviolent and short-term prisoners from the District, after concerns grew about poor conditions in city jails. The red-brick buildings, designed by D.C. municipal architect Snowden Ashford, were built by inmates during the 1920s and are resonant of the quadrangle at the University of Virginia, with a central courtyard and airy arches. Over the years, prisoners from the workhouse -- including, in 1917, some famous suffragists -- cultivated fields, raised chickens and ran the prison's dairy.

The forbidding penitentiary buildings, concertina wire and towers came later, as Lorton grew into a crowded penal complex with more than 7,300 inmates by the mid-1990s.

Fairfax County, which bought the Lorton site from the federal government in 2001, is leasing the workhouse buildings to the arts foundation and approved the sale of $26 million in bonds to finance the initial redevelopment. It also gives the group a matching grant of $1 million yearly for maintenance of the buildings, for now.

Leone said that the foundation's goal is to be self-sustaining and that fundraising and fees from classes and programming would cover the bulk of the debt service on the $26 million bond, as well as operating costs.

Officials expect about 150,000 visitors in early years. In contrast, the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, which sits on a spot well-trafficked by tourists, draws 500,000 yearly visitors.

A 2005 analysis by Fairfax County budget staff concluded that the project would succeed only if the foundation "is successful in an on-going fundraising campaign" and that money from its programming and county contributions alone would not sustain it.

The foundation hopes to raise at least $1.9 million annually after the first five years, which would be more than half its total expenses, the report said. If it fails, the county could reassume control of the buildings at a cost of nearly $10 million, which would be offset by some operating income, the report said.

An audit last year showed that the foundation raised $618,595 in 2005 and $1,042,220 last year.

"We still have fundraising to do . . . but our goal is to be self-sustaining and keep it that way," Leone said. Once the center is open, she said, "I fully expect our fundraising to ramp up significantly."

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly called the arts center "a marvelous concept."

"Assuming it succeeds, it will really transform the former workhouse site into something very vibrant and creative and could create an artists colony to rival the Torpedo Factory in Old Town," he said.