GMU Prepares For a Farewell To an Original
Expansion of Arlington Campus Means Closure for Old Building

By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2007

For more than a quarter-century, students at George Mason University's Arlington campus have attended classes in an old department store -- literally.

The former Kann's department store building, which houses GMU's School of Public Policy, is cramped, poorly ventilated and has few windows. At one point, administrators occupied what used to be the ladies' lingerie department on the second floor. Students ride to class on escalators that are so old -- and break down so often -- that it's hard to find anyone who makes the parts.

"It's been one of our monumental buildings, one that everyone who attended class there remembers, and somewhat fondly," Larry Czarda, GMU's vice president for regional campuses, said of the three-story red-brick structure known on campus simply as "the original.''

"But the reality is, it's a tough building,'' he said.

Now, the Kann's building is going the way of the Kann's department store -- into history. GMU is embarking on the second phase of an expansion of the Arlington campus, one that will include a 256,000-square-foot academic building with a 300-seat auditorium, a 5,670-square-foot multipurpose room, a larger library and an outdoor public plaza to be used for concerts, flea markets, lectures, receptions and other events. Construction is scheduled to begin this month, with occupancy in 2010.

The $82 million project is a key part of a five-year, $600 million expansion and renovation of three GMU campuses in Northern Virginia, including Fairfax and Prince William counties. But the need is particularly acute in Arlington, university and county officials said.

"This will provide great facilities for a great university, which we don't have today in the existing building in Arlington,'' said Thomas G. Calhoun, GMU's vice president of facilities. "I think it's critical to the image of the university. You can teach in facilities that aren't great, but you can't do it across the board for a long period of time.''

The Arlington campus opened in 1979 when GMU established its law school in the former Kann's building on Fairfax Drive in the Virginia Square neighborhood. GMU, which had been a branch of the University of Virginia, had become a stand-alone university seven years earlier.

From the 1930s through the 1950s, Virginia Square was the commercial center of Arlington, but the Kann's store closed in 1975, said Terry Holzheimer, director of economic development for Arlington County. The campus's location there was never intended to be permanent, and GMU has been gradually moving programs and classes to other buildings.

The university's Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution is housed in rented space next to the Kann's building, and a new law school building, Hazel Hall, opened in 1998. That $20 million project was the first phase of the renovation.

But public policy and other graduate classes and a handful of undergraduate classes are still held at the Kann's building, and the building contains the Arlington campus's only room large enough to host speeches and other public events. The mechanical problems never cease, university officials said.

"It's noisy in that room; it's hot and cold; and the acoustics are terrible,'' Czarda said. "We're not trying to do upscale theater, but for lectures it can be difficult.''

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.