The Falls Church City community has always been told that there would be ample opportunities for input into the design of the new school and that the design process would be transparent.  The recent community discussion about the auditorium, the changing size of the stage and the news that there will be no full fly rigging system has brought these promises into serious question. Many in the community would really like to understand the decision making process associated with the development of not only the footprint for the Performing Arts Space but details about the space itself. By reviewing the proposal documents it looks likeRead More →

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On Sunday October 21, 2018, City Manager Wyatt Shields and Superintendent Peter Noonan hosted a town hall to update the community about the development of the George Mason High School site. If you watch the video, at timestamp 5:40, Superintendent Peter Noonan describes where we are in the timeline and talks about the phases of the project.   The Schematic Design Phase is an extremely critical phase for the community stakeholders as it is in this phase that the program specifications of each department or space are defined, finalized and ultimately contractually incorporated into the design plans.  The timeline below shows that this phase is nowRead More →

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According to a GMHS Campus Project Update circulated earlier today, this evening the Falls Church School Board will reach another “milestone in the GMHS Campus Project with the selection of Gilbane Construction with Stantec and Quinn Evans Architects as contractors and architects for the new George Mason High School.” During this evening’s meeting, the Gilbane team will present an overview of their design. The session will be streamed live at www.fccps.org/live beginning at 7:00 p.m. The project plan is available on the Campus Project website: www.fccps.org/campusproject. The winning design is Net-Zero Ready and LEED Gold Certified. Gilbane’s proposal also expresses the potential of the constructionRead More →

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The strategic roadmap by Alvarez & Marsal. suggested that the GMHS campus land has an estimated value of $43 million to $45 million.  The $45 million was used as a data point to determine how much revenue would be received to help offset the bond costs for the new $120 million GMHS. There has been some interesting developments since the road map was published last September: 1.  Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) submitted a rezoning proposal to the Fairfax County Planning Commission with plans to develop the land adjacent to the GMHS tract. 2.  Fairfax County had a public meeting to consider allowing suburbanRead More →

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On December 5, 2017 the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) submitted a proposal to the Fairfax County Planning Commission to amend the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan that encompasses the land adjacent to the GMHS tract.  The rezoning proposal is to include office and retail space and residential units. The residential units include townhouses and mid-rise multi-family units. According to various news sources the Falls Church City Council and Community was not aware of this proposal. Click Here for the complete document.    Read More →

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