Tim Reiser: 'The campus is getting alive' as Workhouse Art Center evolves in Lorton

County Executive Brian Hill interviewed Tim Reiser about the Workhouse Art Center's recent progress, with Reiser saying, "The campus is getting alive." The two discussed challenges converting a former penitentiary into a working arts campus and the role the board has played in guiding that change.

Reiser described the site as a 55-acre campus of separated historic buildings originally designed as prison cells, which makes meeting architectural review board (ARB) guidelines and reusing structures more complicated. "You have a 55 acre campus with lots of buildings, not all of them engaged and operating," he said, and added that the site's quirks are also strengths that can be transformed into something "special and unique." Hill noted that the site had federal origins as a penitentiary and said recent years have seen "major changes" on the campus.

Reiser credited board leadership for keeping the campus alive during the COVID period and for recent momentum: "The board itself basically ran the entire operations during that period of time." He and Hill discussed ideas to activate underused buildings with venues, restaurants and other uses that could draw residents to South County while honoring the site's historic constraints.

Looking ahead, Reiser emphasized the need to connect arts programming with economic activity in Lorton and to create gathering places that keep Fairfax County residents in the county. The interview framed the Workhouse as an evolving cultural asset rather than a finished project, with follow-up efforts focused on rehabbing specific buildings and expanding public programming.