Construction work is underway on a new athletics and activity facility for George Mason University’s Fairfax campus.
Contractor Hoar Construction announced last Thursday (June 20) that it has broken ground on a 25,000-square-foot Activities Community Wellness Building, which will give GMU’s acclaimed Green Machine pep band its first dedicated home, among other functions.
Marking Hoar’s first collaboration with Mason, the building is expected to open to students in spring 2025 west of the university’s existing Recreation and Athletic Complex. The site is bounded by Ox Road, Campus Drive, Global Lane and Mason Pond Drive.
“This endeavor will provide a much-needed, dedicated space for George Mason’s intramural athletic clubs, pep band and student wellness, celebrating the university’s rebrand and new era of growth,” Hoar project executive Tom Amos said in a press release. “We are proud to add this facility to our track record of higher education initiatives across the country and will remain dedicated to quality and safety for students, faculty and staff throughout the construction process.”
In addition to providing practice space for the Green Machine, which was named the country’s top pep band by the NCAA in 2015, the $11 million building will feature basketball and volleyball courts for recreational and intramural games, studios for yoga and exercise classes, and office, storage and meeting space.
Designed by Powers Brown Architecture with IMEG Corp. as the civil engineer, the building is intended to serve all 350-plus student groups at Mason, according to a university press release.
At the ceremonial groundbreaking on June 3, GMU officials said the project was developed in response to students “consistently” asking for more space where they can gather and “engage with each other.”
According to Hoar, the Activities Community Wellness Building will be GMU’s first building to sport its new logo, an interlocking “G” and “M” unveiled in April as part of a rebranding effort.
The university’s other capital projects include plans to renovate its Center for the Arts concert hall, though a proposed joint baseball and cricket stadium was scrapped in March after residents in the Fairfax area around the campus expressed concerns about traffic, light pollution and other potential impacts.
Here’s more on how the activities building will be constructed from Hoar:
The project encompasses the construction of a concrete tilt-up building flanked by two tent structures made from steel support systems and fabric coverings. This design will give George Mason the flexibility to remove the tents later and build a more permanent facility, while saving the school money and shortening the overall construction timeline.
Hoar will oversee the pouring of the concrete slab for the entire site and the construction of twelve 50-foot panels for the central building, which will be lifted into place by crane. Hoar will then manage the construction of the tent structures, complete with mezzanines, which will be placed over the basketball courts and part of the central building. To ensure proper drainage of the new facility, which will sit on an open grass area next to existing basketball courts and modular classroom buildings, Hoar will also spearhead the construction of a stormwater retention system. These efforts reflect Hoar’s commitment to navigating complex construction projects while enhancing the ability of the university to serve its student population better with functional and flexible infrastructure.
