George Mason, local partners pitch 'Innovation District' plan and Go Virginia grant

Amy Adams of George Mason University presented the council with a concept plan for a new Innovation District anchored by Mason’s SciTech campus and neighboring business parks and the Manassas Airport. The plan envisions a roughly 3,800‑acre area spanning city and county parcels, with a focus on life sciences, aerospace and defense, semiconductors/electronics and data infrastructure.

Why it matters: the team described the district as Northern Virginia’s first research/innovation district (distinct from a standard business park) and said it aims to strengthen ties between industry, the university and workforce pipelines — with programming to accelerate startups, an industry‑university capstone program, and certificate/boot camp workforce training to reskill residents quickly.

Key points from the presentation - Scope and funding: Adams said the implementation strategy includes a $2.6 million Go Virginia implementation grant (with $1.3 million local match). George Mason reported it already raised roughly $1.1 million in commitments and said Prince William County is expected to vote on a $250,000 cash match; the planning phase had earlier been funded by a Go Virginia planning grant. - Outcomes and programs: the grant would create governance and financing structures (a steering committee and a governance/finance task force), a workforce accelerator with certificate courses and boot camps (including life‑sciences training), a capstone course engagement model to connect student projects with industry, and an early‑stage company accelerator to make the district “sticky” for startups and international companies. - Geographic focus: the district map put George Mason’s SciTech campus, Innovation Park, Godwin Drive industry clusters (including Micron) and the Manassas Airport in the core. Adams emphasized the region’s strengths — proximity to community colleges, a veteran workforce, and existing companies — as reasons the district could gain traction. - Ask of local leaders: Adams requested local engagement and mentioned outstanding match fundraising needs for the implementation grant (the presentation named an outstanding $180,000 for the planning match and noted additional philanthropic and industry commitments). She invited council engagement on governance and said the project team submitted the implementation grant and would begin activities if the state award is granted.

Council response and next steps Council members asked about timeline, governance and how city residents and smaller employers would access workforce programs. Adams said the grant review timeline includes a local regional board review in April and a state decision in June with a possible start date of July 1 if funded. She said programming will be open to non‑Mason individuals, partner colleges and local businesses and that the team will prioritize broad community access and equity in implementation.

Ending: Adams invited council members to a George Mason event and the Life Sciences and Engineering Building grand opening later in the week and said staff would follow up on detailed questions about match commitments and how the city could participate in the steering committee.