Article Text
A long-planned fire station and redesigned transit facility for the growing Tysons area received final approval Tuesday, March 18, following a unanimous vote by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
“This is really an incredible facility. It’s beautiful,” Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said after the 9-0 vote.
The board amended zoning proffers and approved design changes for the project, which received a favorable recommendation from the Fairfax County Planning Commission in February. Palchik said the development had been several years in the making.
Fire Station 29 will move to the 4.05-acre property occupied by the Tysons West*Park Transit Station. The site is bordered by Jones Branch Drive, Spring Hill Road and the Dulles Toll Road.
A redesigned transit facility with five bus bays will share the property. The project also includes stormwater improvements, geothermal wells and rooftop solar panels intended to eliminate the facility’s need for outside energy.
The planned two-story fire station will span 19,530 square feet, making it twice the size of the station it will replace. It will feature individual firefighter bunkrooms and bathrooms along with other modern amenities missing from the current building.
The existing station at 1560 Spring Hill Drive dates to the late 1970s. It will continue operating until the replacement is finished. Fairfax County currently has 39 fire stations.
Voters approved construction funding through a 2024 public safety bond.
No one addressed the proposal during the public hearing before the vote. Every supervisor present supported the application. Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity was absent while recovering from health issues.
The county is also considering a new entrance from the property to the Dulles Toll Road, although it will not be delivered as part of the fire station project. The proposed access point would serve firefighters, transit buses and the public.
“That’s good news,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said, adding that he hoped the ramp would become the first of several new toll-road access points in the coming years.