This post was written by Hatchet Reporter Rachel Barker

The University purchased a $16.6 million office building near its Virginia campus on Monday, increasing the campus by nearly 25 percent.

The building, tentatively named “Research II,” is the University’s fourth building on the Ashburn, Va. campus, which is located roughly 25 miles from Foggy Bottom. GW is planning to renovate the building into classrooms, office space and research facilities by next fall.

According to Loudoun County records, the building is roughly 70,000 square feet and was built in 1997. The building previously belonged to Tellabs, a communications company.

Graduate and certificate programs in fields ranging from civil engineering to landscape design are currently located on the campus, in addition to research facilities. But long-term plans for the campus include moving more administrative facilities from Foggy Bottom to Virginia, according to a University press release.

According to Loudoun County records, the University paid $16,593,612 for the building, exceeding the assessed fair market total of $14,559,700. But according to University spokeswoman Tracy Schario, tax assessment numbers do not directly impact the price of a property, and the figures often differ.