Plans for a $35 million visitor education center near the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial are expected to take a major step forward later this year.
“We are committed to a Sept. 10 groundbreaking, with overall construction moving forward shortly thereafter,” said Joseph Kornhoff, executive director of the Pentagon Memorial Fund, which is spearheading the initiative.
The groundbreaking would come one day before the 25th anniversary of terrorist attacks on targets including the Pentagon, where 184 people — in the building and on a hijacked American Airlines jet — were killed.
The new facility would be located about 200 yards southwest and across Washington Blvd from the Pentagon’s memorial, which opened in 2008 and draws more than a million visitors each year. The space became available due to a reconfiguration of land and roadways as part of the Arlington National Cemetery expansion project.
The facility would provide permanent exhibit space to tell the story of 9/11 and those involved, including first-responders from across Arlington and the region who converged on the Pentagon after hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into it.
Kornhoff said that a team has been planning programming and a dozen exhibit areas at the center for some time.
“Working with the victims, families, survivors, and individuals from the first-responders community, we have mapped out an educational experience that will not only be informative, but impactful,” he told ARLnow. “As with any historical learning center, we have also worked with consultants to ensure that our exhibits provide what visitors want to see.”
Thus far, plans to start construction have been delayed several times. Kornhoff said the current plan is for completion by mid-2029, acknowledging that “it depends on a lot of things.”
The project has received approvals from the National Capital Planning Commission, Department of Defense and Arlington National Cemetery.
As designed, the facility will provide dedicated parking and drop-off areas, pedestrian improvements connecting the education center to the memorial itself, a staging area to learn more about the memorial and a break room for docents. It will also include an event space intended to help cover operating expenses and keep the center free of charge.
The plan has the Arlington County Board’s support, and a $12 million appropriation request is still working its way through Congress.
“Sens. Warner and Kaine, along with Congressman Don Beyer, have been stalwart advocates for this project,” Kornhoff said.
Funding from the state government is anticipated, as well.
“Del. Patrick Hope has committed to pursuing an appropriation during the upcoming General Assembly session, along with our Senate champion,” Kornhoff said. “This support follows a long trend of advocacy efforts by other (local) lawmakers, such as Sen. Barbara Favola, Del. Rip Sullivan and County Board member Matt de Ferranti, for example.”
In the private sector, the project has received $5 million in support from the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, along with contributions from Amazon, Accenture and Transurban.
By the time of the center’s expected opening in 2029, more than a quarter of the U.S. population will have been born after the 9/11 attacks. The planned education center aims to bring the story to them as well as those who were alive during the national tragedy.
“While the exhibits may periodically change, and include traveling exhibits from other 9/11 sites, what won’t change is finally etching into the granite of time the legacy of those lost by providing a long overdue permanent home,” Kornhoff said.
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This story was originally published by ARLnow and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
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