ALEXANDRIA, VA – Close your eyes and think back to seven years ago. This stretch of Potomac Yard housed the Regal movie theater. Surrounding it was a sea of parking as far as the eye could see. There was no Virginia Tech, no Metro, no Amazon HQ2.
The movie theater is gone. In its place stands a tall angular gleaming building rising eleven stories, a stark imposing structure that jumps out at you as you pass it on Potomac Avenue. The Virginia Tech Innovation Campus blue and gold design contrasts sharply with the glass obelisk glinting in the morning sunlight, its shadows dancing onto the street below.
The day government and city leaders waited for is finally here. This morning (February 28) Virginia Tech flung open its doors and welcomed top state and city elected officials, community leaders, and those lucky enough to get there early and snare a seat in the giant tent. The overflow crowd was seated in the Boeing Auditorium of Academic Building One, watching the ceremony on an oversized screen. Over a thousand people in all descended on the new campus to witness a historic day, the christening of the high-tech graduate school.
“Wow. I have been waiting nearly five years to say these words. We are open!” Lance Collins greeted the audience to wild cheers and applause. He is vice president and executive director of the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus.
“We are so honored to have all of you here to celebrate this historic achievement.”
Collins took the attendees back in time, before Virginia Tech was even a glimmer in the eyes of city leaders, when Alexandria was one of many cities vying for Amazon to set up its second headquarters in our backyard.
“Fast forward to today, Amazon (HQ2) and the Innovation campus bookend the burgeoning tech district in National Landing,” Collins continued. “The opportunity to build a technology-focused campus here in Alexandria at the doorstep of one of the most powerful places in the world is unprecedented.”
One high-octane speaker was nowhere to be seen. Collins joked that Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin was stuck in traffic, hardly immune to commuting headaches of the average city resident.
Youngkin arrived just in time to take the stage.
“Where we stand today is a moment where technology and innovation are unleashing opportunity. Innovation is vital. Innovation feeds the aspiration to go where no one has gone before. That will happen here.”
As the governor was just beginning to hit his stride, a group of hecklers began loudly chanting and marching up the aisle. The sudden interruption took the crowd by surprise and many wondered if this was part of the act, a choreographed bit in the governor’s presentation. The hecklers formed a line in front of the stage, unfurling a banner, and disrupting the proceedings for about fifteen minutes. The crowd waited patiently. As police escorted the agitators out, the governor joked they were so excited about the campus grand opening, they just had to burst into song.
“I normally don’t get emotional, but this is like my wedding,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands quipped. ” Growing serious, Sands noted he is standing on some prime real estate.
“Virginia Tech is now embedded in the growing concentration of talent, businesses and opportunities located near Amazon HQ2 and National Landing., a place where we could build lasting relationships with partners across government and industry.” Sands stressed that this campus, at this premier location, would alter the face of what he called “the innovation economy” in the Washington, DC region, “a place with an incredible concentration of talent.”
The Zebra caught up with Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins between ribbon cutting and lunch. While she took office as city councilwoman after the plans for Virginia Tech were well underway, she distinctly remembers what this plot of land looked like before all these new projects rose up along Potomac Avenue. Her church stood right where we were standing outside, Academic Building One rising like a phoenix behind us.
“Not only did I come to the movie theater, my church used to meet here. When we first moved to the city, we were members of National Community Church and every Sunday they rented out the movie theater. And that’s where we would worship. I remember being a part of the greeting committee where we’d actually stand in the parking lot and welcome people,” Gaskins reminisced. “Looking out and just seeing what has already begun as the transformation, I think you feel a joy, you feel an excitement because this represents the potential of what this space could always be.”
The keynote address was delivered by Regina Dugan, president and CEO of Wellcome Leap and two-time Virginia Tech alumna.
The 11-story 300,000 square-foot academic building, which opened to students on January 21, is a state-of-the-art hub for computer science and computer engineering. The 3.5-acre campus is a five-minute walk from the new Potomac Yard-VT Metro station and features a cyber-physical lab and 2-story drone testing cage. Future construction of two additional buildings is in the works.
The former sprawling railroad yard has been so thoroughly transformed, it’s hard to remember what this neighborhood looked like a mere seven years ago. Former mayor Justin Wilson presided over the Potomac Yard facelift; the Metro, Virginia Tech and Amazon HQ2 were key initiatives of his leadership.
“Today’s opening is a culmination of planning and visioning work underway for a generation,” Wilson told Zebra. “That work was strategic and intentional at times, but lucky and incidental at other times. The foresight of a generation of Alexandrians has led to the arrival of Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus which will drive Alexandria’s economy for decades to come.”
Post Views: 62