George Mason University Breaks Ground on New Recreation Center

George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., recently announced the groundbreaking of the new Activities Community Wellness Building for its campus. The facility will measure in at 25,000 square feet and is scheduled to open in spring 2025. It will play home to student programs, events, and the school’s pep band, according to a news release.

Amenities will include a full-size NCAA basketball court, additional courts for basketball and volleyball, dedicated space for exercise and yoga classes, storage space, conference rooms, and office space. The university partnered with Hoar Construction for the project’s design and Powers Brown Architecture as architect, the news release reports.

“We are looking forward to beginning our first project with George Mason and kicking off construction on this exciting, innovative project,” said Hoar Project Executive Tom Amos. “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. 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.”

The construction process involves building a concrete tilt-up building with two tent structures on either side. The flexibility to remove the tents later and build a more permanent facility will shorten the overall construction timeline and reduce project costs, the news release reports.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Photo courtesy of Kraus-Anderson

    Minnesota District Completes $49.7M Addition, Renovation Project

    St. Paul Public Schools in St. Paul, Minn., recently announced the completion of a $49.7-million addition and remodeling project at two district schools, according to a news release.

  • Doerr School of Sustainability Accelerator

    From Concrete Warehouse to Innovation Hub: Accelerating Sustainability at Stanford

    The transformation of a once windowless, concrete publishing warehouse into a sun-drenched center for global innovation began with a single, fundamental challenge: how to turn an industrial storage shell into a space built for human connection.

  • New Arizona Fine Arts School Reaches Construction Milestone

    Construction of the new Hilltop School for the Arts and Theater in Litchfield Park, Ariz., recently hit a significant milestone, according to a news release. The Agua Fria High School District held a beam-signing ceremony to celebrate the building’s topping out, or the placement of its last structural beam.

  • Academy of Classical Education Breaks Ground in Louisiana

    Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) recently announced the groundbreaking of a new public charter school in Covington, La., according to a news release. The Academy of Classical Education at Covington will enroll students in grades K–8 and is scheduled for completion in August 2026, just in time for the new school year.