Campus Improvements (Construction)

Campus Notice for Mason Square: Noise Impacts and Traffic Advisory

Lauren Reuscher — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 20:26:40 +0000

Campus Notice for Mason Square: Noise Impacts and Traffic Advisory Lauren Reuscher Tue, 04/02/2024 - 16:26

Noise from Construction at Van Metre and Vernon Smith Halls

Contractors will complete concrete drilling on the basement level of the Van Metre Garage on Wednesday, April 3, 7 a.m. to noon. Building occupants may experience loud noise during this work. For questions, contact arlops@gmu.edu.

Contractors will complete work on the rear façade of Vernon Smith Hall during the weeks of April 8 and April 15. Work will take place between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. There will be intermittent drilling noise and vibration throughout the building. For questions, contact Lincoln Properties at 703-351-0000.

Traffic Advisory: Lane and Sidewalk Closures on Fairfax Drive

Lane closures will be in effect on Fairfax Drive between Kenmore and Kansas streets starting Friday, April 5, at 10 p.m. Two-way traffic will be diverted to the westbound lanes, with one lane open in each direction. The bike lane will be closed, and pedestrians will need to use the sidewalk on the south side of Fairfax Drive. These closures are expected to be in effect for approximately two weeks. For questions, contact arlops@gmu.edu. For questions related to accessibility, contact the ADA office at ada@gmu.edu.

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Campus Notice for Mason Square

University update on pending temporary baseball/cricket stadium

Melanie Balog — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 13:14:03 +0000

University update on pending temporary baseball/cricket stadium Melanie Balog Thu, 03/28/2024 - 09:14

The university has decided not to move forward with the Washington Freedom on negotiations to build a temporary baseball and cricket stadium on the West Campus.

After hard work and due diligence from the team at Mason, we have concluded that this opportunity does not meet the strategic objectives and interests of our campus and community and the Washington Freedom.

We appreciate the continued feedback and dialogue with leaders across the Commonwealth and with the local community. Moving forward, the university will maintain a dialogue with all stakeholders and improve opportunities for feedback. We remain committed to working together to grow the university and build a strong and sustainable infrastructure, including our athletics facilities, for everyone who participates with Mason.

I want to thank the Board of Visitors, our state and local elected officials, and our community partners for their support as we engaged in this complex process for consideration, leading to the right decision for Mason at this time.

Thank you.

Gregory Washington

President

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Statement: Office of the President

West Campus

Fairfax Campus Notice: Elevator out of service in Aquatic and Fitness Center

Lauren Reuscher — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 17:18:53 +0000

Fairfax Campus Notice: Elevator out of service in Aquatic and Fitness Center Lauren Reuscher Fri, 03/22/2024 - 13:18

The elevator in the Aquatic and Fitness Center (AFC) is currently out of service for repairs. These repairs are expected to continue for at least 30 days.

While the elevator is out of service, the accessible parking spots in front of the AFC will only provide accessible entrance to the main floor. In order to access the lower level of the AFC, which includes the pool, patrons will need to park in the accessible parking spots located around the back of the building, in the Potomac Heights Parking Lot on Presidents Park Drive. From there, patrons may enter the lower level of the AFC via door B17. This door is not automated, and a staff member will need to be present to check in all patrons entering through B17. Please ask the front desk staff for assistance when locating the parking lot and entering the lower-level entrance upon arrival.

For questions, concerns, or assistance, contact the AFC front desk at 703-993-3939. For questions related to accessibility, contact the ADA office at ada@gmu.edu.

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Fairfax Campus Notice: Parking and Traffic Advisory

Lauren Reuscher — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 17:57:09 +0000

Fairfax Campus Notice: Parking and Traffic Advisory Lauren Reuscher Tue, 03/12/2024 - 13:57

On the evenings of Wednesday, March 13, and Thursday, March 14, there will be an increased volume in traffic on and around the Fairfax Campus, as well as an increase in on-campus parking, due to events at EagleBank Arena, with 5,000 attendees expected.

The events are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m. Levels 4 and 5 of the Shenandoah Parking Deck will be open to General area parking permits and event parking starting at 4 p.m. Vehicles should enter the Shenandoah Deck at the Level 3 permit entrance. The events are scheduled to end at 10:30 p.m. All General area permit parkers as well as event parkers should exit the Shenandoah Deck by 11 p.m.

Drivers should allow additional travel time to and from campus and avoid the southern end of campus near EagleBank Arena and Braddock Road. Extra time should be allowed if using Mason Shuttles.

Those wishing to avoid arena parking and traffic impacts on the Fairfax Campus should consider parking in the Rappahannock Parking Deck on the north end of campus and use University Drive and Roberts Road for access.

For more information about events at EagleBank Arena, go to eaglebankarena.com.

For parking and traffic updates, follow @MasonParking on X. For questions, contact parking@gmu.edu.

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Campus Notice for Mason Square: Noise Impacts from Concrete Work

Lauren Reuscher — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 15:21:18 +0000

Campus Notice for Mason Square: Noise Impacts from Concrete Work Lauren Reuscher Mon, 03/11/2024 - 11:21

Contractors will complete concrete chipping on the basement level of the Van Metre Garage on Monday, March 11, and Tuesday, March 12. Building occupants may experience loud noise throughout the building during this work. Contact arlops@gmu.edu with questions.

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Campus Notice for Mason Square

Fairfax Campus Notice: Road/Sidewalk Closures and Building Maintenance

Lauren Reuscher — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 18:15:56 +0000

Fairfax Campus Notice: Road/Sidewalk Closures and Building Maintenance Lauren Reuscher Tue, 03/05/2024 - 13:15

Road and Sidewalk Closures: Rivanna River Way and Patriot Circle

Rivanna River Way is temporarily closed near The Hub for repairs. Sections of sidewalk at the main entrance to The Hub are currently closed, including the ADA ramp at that location. The ADA ramp located at The Hub's lower-level entrance is available. The sidewalk on the opposite side of Rivanna River Way, near Southside, is open.

Vehicular traffic on Rivanna River Way between Southside and David King Hall parking lot will be redirected to Sandy Creek Way. Please follow detour signage. The closures will remain in effect through Friday, March 8.

A section of sidewalk on Patriot Circle just north of the intersection with Shenandoah River Lane will be closed for repairs on Thursday, March 7, from 6 a.m. to noon. The sidewalk on the west side of Patriot Circle will remain open.

Scheduled Air Conditioning Outage in the Johnson Center
The air conditioning in the Johnson Center will be shut down for maintenance on Thursday, March 7, from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.

View the Fairfax Campus map for location details. For questions, contact the Facilities Customer Service Center at 703-993-2525. For questions related to accessibility, contact the ADA office at ada@gmu.edu.

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Fairfax Campus Notice: Sidewalk Closure on Patriot Circle

Lauren Reuscher — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 21:31:17 +0000

Fairfax Campus Notice: Sidewalk Closure on Patriot Circle Lauren Reuscher Tue, 02/27/2024 - 16:31

A section of sidewalk on Patriot Circle just north of the intersection with Shenandoah River Lane will be closed for repairs on Wednesday, Feb. 28, from 6 a.m. to noon. The sidewalk on the west side of Patriot Circle will remain open.

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President Washington has shared an open letter to George Mason University neighbors regarding the pending West Campus (Fairfax) temporary cricket and baseball stadium

Kristin Heydt — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 13:26:26 +0000

President Washington has shared an open letter to George Mason University neighbors regarding the pending West Campus (Fairfax) temporary cricket and baseball stadium Kristin Heydt Wed, 02/14/2024 - 08:26

An open letter to George Mason University’s neighbors:

In recent weeks, news has spread of a process to develop the west campus of George Mason University in Fairfax that is envisioned to transform the university’s support facilities for students, faculty, and staff. Understandably, nearby residents also have raised concerns that this project will bring unwelcome changes that we are addressing but need to communicate more directly about. This letter is the start of what we intend to be a robust, sustained, and fruitful dialogue with stakeholders about this exciting process. It is a long letter because we have heard that community members first and foremost are eager to learn specifics about this process. Future communications will be briefer, but I am addressing the biggest call first: for transparency.

Context

The west campus of George Mason University is a long-underleveraged part of our Fairfax presence, and the university’s long-term master plan has for years envisioned development that will benefit our students and the greater university community, which is the reason that land was originally granted to the university decades ago.

We continue to grow as a university, and our infrastructure continues to age, particularly our athletics facilities. For instance, the Field House is now 42 years old and beginning to fail. Our baseball field is not up to standard for intercollegiate play. Our students and their fans deserve better.

Since November 2022, the university has engaged Brailsford & Dunlavey to explore all of the possible ways we could develop the west campus. The work has been purely exploratory. To be clear, nothing has been approved by the George Mason University Board of Visitors except for pursuit of a temporary stadium to be used jointly by George Mason’s baseball team and Washington’s new professional cricket team, The Washington Freedom.

We are working with the City of Fairfax and Fairfax County to assess how a temporary stadium will impact infrastructure and the surrounding community.

The sudden emergence of this short-term opportunity to develop a temporary ball field has caused alarm and frustration in surrounding communities, which are understandable, regrettable, and not our intention.

Overview

As many now know from the January 29, 2024 online town hall we offered on this topic, George Mason was first approached in 2022 by the owners of The Washington Freedom with the proposal to serve as a temporary home for this new professional cricket team. Given that a significant portion of our student body has direct or indirect ties with countries where cricket is very popular, this proposal made good sense to pursue, especially given that benefits of a temporary facility will also improve our athletics program. While currently obscure in the United States, cricket is the world’s second most-viewed sport behind soccer. Its introduction in six American cities in 2023, including the greater Washington, DC area, signals the arrival of this region on a world stage that over time can bring prestige and opportunities previously not available.

With all of that said, I want to be clear that the only structure that has been considered and approved by the Board of Visitors is a temporary stadium, which is a smaller, simpler version of what a permanent stadium would be. Nothing else is being proposed at this time.

Concerns

Since we held our January 29, 2024 town hall, nearby residents have expressed a very clear set of concerns that we hear, that we have been working on, and that we wish to work directly with you on. Those concerns in summary are threefold:

Increased traffic on streets surrounding neighborhoods, as well as neighborhood through-traffic and neighborhood street parking
Noise and light pollution
Environmental concerns of increased litter, loss of green space, and disruption of storm water ways and wetlands

Due diligence

We continue to consider the impact development of the west campus will have on surrounding traffic, environment, and quality of life, including the many substantial benefits it would bring. We look forward to sitting down with stakeholder groups to work through the expressed concerns together as we consider any development of the west campus.

Next step: Connecting

We are planning a series of community engagements to continue the dialogue and have more of a two-way conversation, as we share more about our activities on the west campus. We also look forward to introducing you more extensively to the Washington Freedom and the sport of cricket.

Digital resources

We are establishing a more robust website with comprehensive information, FAQs and information on upcoming engagements that we look forward to sharing with you very soon. And we will continue to communicate via email to anyone who wishes to receive news and updates on this project – so by all means, please forward this message to anyone you think would wish to receive it.

Our commitment

George Mason University exists to serve the Northern Virginia community. As a national Top 50 public research university, just 52 years old in a state where higher education began more than 330 years ago, we have become Virginia’s largest, most inclusive, and highest-ranked university for innovation and upward mobility by being All Together Different. The first two words of that rally cry are All Together. Our hope with this project is to improve the community along with our university. How we get there is a matter of great discussion and debate, but we wish to do that with you – all together.

So, let’s work together.

Sincerely,

Gregory Washington

President

Campus Notice: Temporary Signage in David King Hall, Exploratory Hall, and Colgan Hall

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 15:10:36 +0000

Campus Notice: Temporary Signage in David King Hall, Exploratory Hall, and Colgan Hall Lauren Reuscher Wed, 01/31/2024 - 10:10

The internal directional signage is under repair in David King Hall and Exploratory Hall on the Fairfax Campus, and in Colgan Hall on the SciTech Campus. The temporary signage in those buildings does not contain Braille and is not tactile. For assistance related to this temporary signage, please contact the ADA Office at ada@gmu.edu.

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SciTech Campus Notice