Lorton Arts Foundation

The Lorton Arts Foundation, Inc. (LAF) is a 501(c)(3) Virginia non-profit founded in Date established::2001 with the purpose of transforming the former Occoquan Workhouse Prison into an arts center.

The Foundation's mission is "to enrich the lives of all within its reach by creating a vibrant cultural community that fosters a diverse offering of arts, education, social and entertainment experiences for people of all ages."

The Foundation administers the project of transforming the former prison into the Workhouse Arts Center. It also promotes the arts in Lorton, Fairfax, and other neighboring counties.

On August 16, 2002, the LAF submitted its proposal for converting the 40-acre workhouse site to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. The goal was for the project to be self-sufficient by 2006. The group's proposal was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors on May 5, 2003, which allowed the foundation to negotiate a long-term rental agreement for the site with the county. The rental agreement negotiated by the foundation and approved by the Board was for 56 acres of the site for 99 years at $1.

In 2006, $26.2 million in bonds was issued by the foundation in partnership with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority to fund the project. The bond issue earned the Economic Development Authority an award from Bond Buyer, an industry newspaper.

The Workhouse Arts Center opened in 2008.

In 2010, the foundation floated an additional $27.5 million dollar bond issue, increasing its indebtedness to over $53 million.

On April 12, 2011, former Fairfax mayor John Mason was appointed as interim president & CEO of the Lorton Foundation. Mason declared in 2012 that making the LAF self-sufficient by July 2013 was one of his major goals.

However, in an August 2, 2013 meeting, Mason declared "There is no scenario, never has been and never will be a scenario in which the current activities on this campus would generate sufficient money to pay $2.8 million per year in bond debt, in addition to the normal expenses for operating the place.”

The Board of Supervisors voted on January 14, 2014 to purchase all the Lorton Arts Foundation's leasehold interests in the Lorton Workhouse site and pay Wells Fargo bank $30 million, or about 60 cents on the dollar, to cancel the LAF's remaining debt of about $52 million.

The current board of the LAF was also abolished and the organization restructured, with the county intending to take a much more active role in the oversight of the Lorton Workhouse.