HYLTON PERFORMING ARTS CENTER TOPS OUT
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
For February 10, 2009 Release
Contact: Jean Kellogg
703-993-9657
Jkellog3@gmu.edu
Prince William, VA, February 10, 2009 – The Campaign for the Hylton Performing Arts Center announced today that the project had “topped out” with the last steel beam put in place.
At an on site ceremony, Prince William County Brentsville Supervisor, Wally Covington, Manassas Mayor Harry (Hal) Parrish II and Hylton Center Executive Director, Jean Kellogg, along with other county, city, and George Mason officials, signed the last beam and watched as it was lifted into place.
Construction on the $44 million 86,000 sq. ft. structure on George Mason’s Prince William Campus began in May 2007 and is on budget and on schedule to open in the late spring of 2010. The project is a partnership of Prince William County, the City of Manassas, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and George Mason University, along with major support from private donors. The Hylton Center will serve not only local and regional performing and visual arts groups and school programs, but also provide a state-of-the-art facility to bring world-class touring artists to the Prince William region.
Jean Kellogg, Executive Director of the Hylton Center noted, “We are thrilled to reach this milestone in the construction process. Whiting Turner Construction is doing an outstanding job on this unique and complex structure. I have been giving many hard hat tours of the building and people are just awe struck by what they see.”
A Facility Like No Other in the Region
“The project architects, Holzman Moss Architecture of New York and Hughes Group Architects of Sterling Virginia have given us an performance and entertainment environment that excites the imagination and reflects the values and traditions of the region through the use of natural materials and open space”, said Bill Reeder, Dean of Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts which will staff and operate the facility.
The Hylton Center contains two performance venues. The 1,166-seat Merchant Hall
and the 300-seat Gregory Family Theater. In addition, the Didlake Grand Foyer will provide a multi-use setting for private, civic, corporate or social events, seating up to 300 for dinner and 600 for receptions.
For information regarding supporting the Campaign for the Hylton Performing Arts Center of using the facility, please contact, Jean Kellogg at 703-993-9657 or jkellog3@gmu.edu.