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Fairfax County Public Schools can now pursue a four-story elementary school for nearly 1,000 students at the Dunn Loring Administrative Center, though the project still faces community resistance and requires final approval from the Fairfax County School Board.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the necessary zoning changes Tuesday. The vote permits construction at 2334 Gallows Road, near Idylwood Drive, but does not guarantee the school will be built.
Several supervisors said lingering concerns about traffic, parking, pedestrian safety and historic preservation made the decision difficult.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said FCPS had improved its community engagement after inadequate outreach early in the process. She urged school officials to remain involved with surrounding neighborhoods and “be a good neighbor.”
The existing administrative center opened as an elementary school in 1939. Students were transferred to Stenwood Elementary School in 1978, and FCPS has used the building for administrative purposes since then. The structure is expected to be demolished if the project proceeds.
Neighbors question need and scale
At a Feb. 4 public hearing, nearby residents challenged both the need for the school and the size of the proposed building. They pointed to updated projections showing enrollment declining across FCPS for at least the next several years.
Shari Blackburn, president of the Wheystone Court Association, said there was insufficient evidence that the school must be built. Wheystone Court sits immediately north of the property.
Blackburn also argued that the building would be too large for the parcel. Nearby resident Tina Doyle raised similar objections, describing the proposal as an expensive, oversized school and warning about traffic and safety conditions around the site.
The project traces back to a 2019 school bond that provided $40 million for a new elementary school in Oakton. After residents opposed using Blake Lane Park, the school board voted in 2021 to redirect the money toward a Dunn Loring school intended to serve growth in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield and the county’s Falls Church area.
The estimated cost has since climbed to slightly more than $80 million.
The McLean Citizens Association asked supervisors to delay the rezoning and direct potential savings toward more urgent school facility needs elsewhere in Fairfax County. Some supervisors responded that decisions about where schools are needed belong to the school board.
“That is entirely in their purview,” Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman said.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said the zoning approval gives the county greater flexibility as enrollment patterns change. He noted that schools in Tysons and the Vienna area are already overcrowded.
Historic building will be demolished
The planned removal of the 1939 building also drew criticism over FCPS’s handling of historic preservation.
The property is one of roughly 350 parcels listed in the county’s Inventory of Historic Sites, although that designation does not ensure preservation.
Tammy Mannarion, speaking for the Fairfax County History Commission, accused school leaders of taking a cavalier approach to preservation and failing to respect the historic inventory.
Land-use attorney John McGranahan, representing FCPS, acknowledged that detailed discussions about historic preservation had not happened early enough. He said substantial work was later completed to address concerns.
Although the building itself would be demolished, its entrance and pediment would be saved, moved indoors and incorporated into an area of the new school dedicated to the former building’s history.
Added conditions address neighborhood concerns
The Fairfax County Planning Commission held its initial public hearing on the proposal in October 2023, then postponed a final decision twice while FCPS met with neighboring communities, the Architectural Review Board and other interested groups.
School officials ultimately added several legally binding conditions to the proposal, including:
- Fencing intended to stop cut-through pedestrian traffic in Wheystone Court
- Limits on construction noise and lighting
- A $50,000 contribution toward missing sidewalk connections
- A community meeting before construction begins
- Advance communication with neighbors about special events
- Efforts to stagger events such as back-to-school nights to reduce traffic congestion
The planning commission eventually voted 9-0 to recommend approval, while acknowledging concerns similar to those later raised by supervisors.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay welcomed the decision to build vertically, saying a four-story design would preserve more usable land on the property.
“The future of schools needs to be looking up, not out,” McKay said, noting the difficulty of finding land and athletic-field space.
Still, McKay said the way the proposal moved through its multi-year review left him “a little uncomfortable.”
The school board will now decide whether the rezoned site ultimately becomes the new Dunn Loring Elementary School.