Advertisement

Header Utility Menu

  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Events

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

  • Login

Virginia Business

Mobile Menu

  • Issues
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Business Law
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Federal Contracting
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Transportation
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • Coronavirus 2020
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Most Influential Virginians
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards/Events
    • Diversity Leadership Series
    • Vote Now for Women in Leadership
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read the issue
    • Order a copy
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Nominate execs for 2021

Advertisement

Header Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Home News Regions Work to begin next year on GMU’s $168M Arlington campus expansion

Work to begin next year on GMU’s $168M Arlington campus expansion

Published April 29, 2021 by Carol Hazard

Construction on George Mason University’s Institute for Digital InnovAtion is slated to begin in spring 2022. Concept rendering by Mason Innovation Partners / EYP
Construction on George Mason University’s Institute for Digital InnovAtion is slated to begin in spring 2022. Concept rendering by Mason Innovation Partners / EYP

Move over, Silicon Valley. Northern Virginia is poised to become the next super hub for tech talent.

The charge is being led in part by George Mason University, which is bringing together a diverse community of digital innovators at its growing Arlington campus.

The university is tearing down an old building and replacing it with a 360,500-square-foot research, learning and business center for graduate students, educators, entrepreneurs and industry partners.

The $168 million expansion — sparked by Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters under development in Arlington — is central to the state’s Tech Talent Investment Program designed to produce 31,000 more graduates in computer science and engineering during the next 20 years. Mason is one of 11 universities taking part, committing to graduate 2,277 bachelor’s and 5,328 master’s degree holders.

The university received an $84 million investment from the state and has raised $21 million toward its matching $84 million.

“That infusion accelerated our progress to expand our programs,” says Liza Wilson Durant, associate provost of GMU’s Strategic Initiative and Community Engagement and associate dean of the Volgenau School of Engineering.

GMU’s goal is to add 15,000 more computer science and engineering graduates during the next two decades, she notes.

Led by a team of developers named Mason Innovation Partners, construction of the building set to house GMU’s Institute for Digital InnovAtion (IDIA) and School of Computing is expected to begin in spring 2022 following demolition this fall of an existing building on the site. Bethesda, Maryland-based Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate will be the lead developer and investor, the university announced in late February.

The futuristic workplace/laboratory/business incubator, which will include ground-floor retail and underground parking, is targeted to open in summer 2025, dovetailing with Amazon’s expected completion of HQ2, including The Helix, its corkscrew-shaped, tree-lined centerpiece.

“You have to give credit to Amazon for pushing the envelope,” says Arlington Economic Development Director Telly Tucker, a member of Mason’s innovation advisory council. “Amazon is shaping Arlington’s economic future.”

GMU’s building may not be as flashy as The Helix, but it will incorporate more than a modern design and a goal of LEED platinum certification, the highest energy-efficiency rating. 

Interior spaces will be flexible to suit the emergence and development of ideas, Durant says. The project will inspire “serendipitous engagement as we collide together in sparking innovation and new companies.”

Subscribe to Virginia Business. Get our daily e-newsletter.

Related Stories

Former Olympic skater to open arena in Loudoun County

Virginia Business logo

ePlus acquires data storage company AdviStor

Virginia Business logo

Fairfax-based ICF International launches marketing firm

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Advertisement

Advertisement

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Get Virginia Business directly on your tablet or in your mailbox!

Subscribe to Virginia Business

Advertisement

Advertisement

Footer Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Footer Secondary Menu

  • Industries
  • Regions
  • Reports
  • Company News
  • Events

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Sign Up

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy

Footer Utility Menu

Copyright © 2023 Virginia Business. All rights reserved.

Site Maintained by TechArk