Virginia Tech Innovation Campus Breaks Ground On First Building

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Virginia Tech broke ground on the first academic building of the Innovation Campus in Alexandria's Potomac Tuesday.

The Virginia Tech Innovation Campus will be part of a new mixed-use development and innovation district from developer JBG Smith in North Potomac Yard. The first academic building, the focus of Tuesday's groundbreaking on Potomac Avenue, is expected to be open in fall 2024. The 300,000-square-foot building will provide space for instruction, research, office, and support spaces for the Innovation's computer science and computer engineering graduate programs and select other programs.

Lance Collins, vice president and executive director of the Innovation Campus, said the graduate programs will allow students to interact with faculty, businesses and tech leaders and become ready to step into careers in computer science and computer engineering. By 2030, Virginia Tech expects to have 770 students in the four graduate programs offered at the campus.

"Breaking ground on our first academic building represents a major milestone for the Innovation Campus, a campus designed to address a national need, mainly tech talent at the graduate level," said Collins at the groundbreaking. "Our vision for the Innovation Campus is to be both a place and a culture that unlocks the power of diverse people and ideas to solve the world's most pressing problems through technology."

Plans call for two other campus buildings around 150,000 square feet each, while JBG Smith has city approval to develop six buildings south of the campus in its first phase of a North Potomac Yard redevelopment with a mix of office, retail, and residential space. The six buildings will include an Innovation Building adjacent to the Virginia Tech campus, Potomac Yard Park that will be managed by the city, and other plaza and green spaces.

"Together we have created the framework to build something special — a vibrant district, anchored by a new Virginia Tech campus, that will become a magnet for partners who want to work with the university as well as other businesses that want to offer services to the students, faculty and community members, said JBG Smith CEO Matt Kelly in a statement.

Mayor Justin Wilson thanked Virginia Tech for bringing the vision of the Innovation Campus to the city, the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, and city staff for their work to make the project happen. City Council gave approval in 2020 for the first academic building and six buildings for the first phase of JBG Smith's development in North Potomac Yard.

"Ultimately it's not about the buildings — the buildings will be amazing, and we're really excited about that — it's the people that will be in the buildings and the people who will leave those buildings," said Wilson. "And we are so excited to see the embodiment of this vision come to reality in the buildings here in the City of Alexandria."

The Innovation Campus is already operating using temporary space while the permanent campus is built. Graduate classes are being held at Virginia Tech's Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church.

Gov. Ralph Northam joined Virginia Tech officials and other elected officials for the groundbreaking. He recalled the Innovation Campus in Alexandria being announced nearly three years ago with Amazon's HQ2 in Arlington.

"The tech talent investment program was a core part of what brought Amazon here to Virginia," said Northam, citing Virginia's investment to create another 31,000 tech graduates over 20 years.

The Innovation Campus has already received support from its first foundational partner, Boeing, to invest in tech talent. The aerospace company made a $50 million multi-year commitment to fund scholarships, recruitment of top faculty, and funding K-12 programs to provide a path to tech careers for younger students. The K-12 initiatives include a partnership with Alexandria City Public Schools.

"We will excite and encourage and prepare children to have joyful computing in their lives and support their interest and their families, especially in underserved communities, as they begin to explore technology in the classroom and as they begin to learn about the possibilities of pursuing a STEM career," said Collins.

One of the students benefiting from the Boeing support is Tara Laughlin, a Virginia Tech graduate student and Boeing Graduate Scholar. Laughlin originally studied art, but she later decided to pursue computer science, realizing her art degree gave her a unique perspective.

"I care about how people interact with software and how well they understand how to use it," said Laughlin in remarks. "My goal is to create a movement in the software industry that's focused on accessibility and inclusion. Empathy is the backbone of successful software, and creating things with all kinds of people in mind is the direction that I hope this field will go."

Laughlin is one of seven initial Boeing Graduate Scholars. She said the Innovation Campus opens up opportunities to people like her who might not have otherwise gotten them.

"With the campus located in an area filled with diverse communities, we not only receive a world-class education, but we also gain perspective from each other," said Laughlin.

The groundbreaking also drew a protest from a small group of concerned residents across the street. The group called for prevailing wage for workers involved with the campus construction. Prevailing wage refers to the hourly rate typically paid to the majority of workers in an area. Del. Mark Levine, who represents part of Alexandria, told Patch he spoke with the governor and Virginia Tech president Tim Sands about prevailing wage for the construction work and is confident that it will happen.

Levine believes Virginia Tech shows commitment to racial and gender diversity but can show support for economic diversity with the prevailing wage.

"If we pay them a living wage, our workers can afford to live here," said Levine.

More information about the Innovation Campus and renderings of the first academic building and campus are available on Virginia Tech's website.