George Mason receives $5M donation from Peterson Cos. family

The Peterson Family Foundation, the family behind the Peterson Cos. real estate development firm, donated $5 million to the George Mason University’s Center for the Arts improvement project, the university announced Tuesday.

The gift to the university’s College of Visual and Performing Arts will support modernization of the Concert Hall auditorium, part of George Mason’s Center for the Arts on its Fairfax campus. George Mason will also rename the auditorium. Built in 1990, the 1,935-seat venue has hosted U.S. president and Grammy-, Tony-, Emmy- and Academy Award-winning artists, as well as George Mason students.

Peterson Cos.’ late founder, Milton V. Peterson, and his wife, Carolyn, founded their family foundation in 1997. In April, Inova announced a $20 million donation from the foundation. The family foundation has previously donated to George Mason University, giving $10 million in 2015 for scholarships in the arts and to complete construction of the Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall.

“The Peterson family has stood behind so much of our success in building an exceptional community of artists — students, faculty and distinguished visiting professionals — at George Mason,” George Mason President Gregory Washington said in a statement. “This latest expression of visionary generosity makes possible a much-needed reimagination of our beloved Concert Hall, magnifying George Mason University’s standing as the artistic and cultural hub of Northern Virginia.”

The privately held, Fairfax-based Peterson Cos. was founded in 1965 by Milton Peterson, who died in 2021. It’s now led by his son, Jon Peterson, who became CEO in 2018 and is chairman of the executive committee. The company’s developments include National Harbor in Maryland, home to the MGM National Harbor casino resort, The Capital Wheel and the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center; Fairfax Corner; Fair Lakes; Burke Centre; Tysons McLean Office Park; and numerous other retail, office and residential developments.

Jon, who is also vice rector of George Mason’s board of visitors, and Carolyn Peterson announced the gift at an event they held in Carolyn’s home to support the visual and performing arts college’s upcoming annual benefit.

“Our family’s commitment to this project is a testament to our steadfast support of Mason Arts programs from the earliest days of the Center for the Arts right up to the present,” Carolyn Peterson said in a statement. “This gift is significant because we know it will provide our excellent students, world-class visiting artists and the community of art lovers with a stellar Center for the Arts auditorium in which to share and experience the arts. We are honored to help move this initiative forward.”

The foundation’s donation contributes to Mason Now: Power the Possible, the university’s first $1 billion comprehensive fundraising campaign. George Mason also has a forthcoming capital initiative for the Center for the Arts, although it has not yet shared information about the project costs and timeline. In April 2022, the school announced a $10 million gift from Barry Dewberry and Arlene Evans to rename the Center for the Arts once its future renovation is complete.

George Mason University is Virginia’s largest public research university. As of the fall 2023 semester, the school had 40,184 students enrolled, of which 28,277 were undergraduates.