City Rejects Unsolicited Bid for New Mason; Seeks Other Bids
By FALLS CHURCH CITY OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
May 15, 2015
The Falls Church City Council and School Board voted this week to reject a developer’s unsolicited bid to build a new George Mason High School in exchange for the right to build a dense retail and residential complex on the adjacent land.
However, the two panels also voted to immediately begin a Community Visioning process to gather broad input for the construction of a new Mason; expansion of Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School; and commercial redevelopment of up to 10 acres of the site. The firm Cooper Carry has been contracted to handle the Community Visioning project following a competitive proposal process.
The Council and School Board have returned the unsolicited proposal from Edgemoor Infrastructure and Realty, a private developer, concerning a public/private redevelopment of the school campuses, citing difficulty in revising the unsolicited proposal to meet the needs of GMHS and MEHMS under the existing guidelines of the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002. The contents of the unsolicited proposal will not be released.
Community Visioning, which will be completed by mid-July, is among the first of a series of items on a draft timeline (www.fallschurchva.gov/CampusRedevelopment). Following this robust community engagement, a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the project will be issued under the Virginia Public Private Educational Act with responses due in October, and a finalist selected in May 2016. A referendum, if necessary, would be on the November 2016 ballot. The timeline is subject to change.
By Stephen Siegel
May 15, 2015
Falls Church in the News
Reading elsewhere that a public meeting will be held on Saturday, June 6.
Let’s get away from the thinking that this will be a new facility. There first should be a very thorough and independent study of “new” vs. “renovation” of the existing building. There are some complex factors such as development of the adjacent property that will be factors. But for now, knowing what we know at this point, personally I cannot see why anyone would think this should be a new school without a full study that shows a comparison of the costs, all other pros and cons, and a financing plan that includes impact on the tax rate….all of which should be fully transparent to all taxpayers.