GMU Prepares For a Farewell To an Original

The rest of the building has problems such as asbestos and lead issues and difficulties in heating and cooling rooms. There is no food service, other than a coffee cart and vending machines, because ventilation is so poor. And the escalators, in addition to breaking down frequently, are too narrow, making access difficult for people with disabilities.

"Forget wheelchairs, even people on crutches have a very hard time,'' Czarda said.

The new building, which is being funded by state dollars except for $5 million in bonds issued by Arlington County, will house the School of Public Policy, the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution and academic and student support services. The building also will have a 438-seat library containing 100,000 volumes and three levels of underground parking.

Outside will be the plaza, which has been the subject of much discussion among county and university officials and students in recent months. It probably will feature a sculpture garden and other types of art, along with space for gatherings.

The county is hoping that the plaza "will be the center of the whole neighborhood,'' Holzheimer said.

Students, many of whom attend classes at night, need a central gathering place, said Renee Espiau, a senior associate at Project for Public Spaces, a New York-based consultant hired jointly by the county and the university to help design the plaza.

The space where the plaza will be set up "is now a surface parking lot, which is where students wait before classes, and they eat dinner in their cars. It's very insular,'' she said. "It's no surprise that people show up for class and leave right after class because there's nothing to entice them to stay.''

After the project is completed in 2010, the university envisions a third phase of the Arlington campus expansion, but it's unclear what that would entail or who would pay for it. When the new building opens, the Kann's building will be used sparingly and eventually razed.