The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted today (Tuesday) to authorize consideration of an amended interim land swap agreement with Inova Health System for the redevelopment of Reston Town Center North.
Under the agreement, the county will acquire the land under the North County Governmental Center, which is currently owned by Inova, in exchange for a wooded area that has hosted the county’s largest homeless encampment — until today.
As of 9:30 a.m., the camp’s last occupants have left the area known in the community as The Hill, concluding a clearing process that officially began in August, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn announced during today’s board meeting.
The county’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness opened temporary overnight shelter inside the North County Human Services Center at the end of July. A fence will go up on the property, though no signs were visible of it this morning.
“Obviously this is not the end of homelessness in Reston by any means, but really, it can be, I think, a model for county and community collaboration,” Alcorn said. “…It really has addressed in a meaningful way this truly vexing problem in our community, so I want to thank everybody who’s been a part of that.”
Board chairman Jeff McKay also emphasized that the encampment was cleared gradually with “compassion” as the leading principle.
“All of these individuals were provided resources, opportunities, time to transition and access to support services and nonprofits,” McKay said. “Quite a contrast to what we’ve seen happen in other parts of the country and I think this is a statement not only to the ingenuity of a lot of our staff and partners, but also just the heart and soul of our community.”
The Reston Town Center North redevelopment will include a new Embry Rucker Community Shelter, along with a new public library, recreational facilities, housing and more on a 47-acre site between Baron Cameron Avenue, Fountain Drive, New Dominion Parkway and Town Center Parkway.
Preliminary design work on the expanded shelter has begun, but the land swap needs to be completed before construction begins. An initial agreement was approved in September 2015 but has been deferred since 2018 due to “development challenges,” according to a county staff summary.
The project was revived when the developer Foulger-Pratt filed an unexpected and unsolicited proposal for a new library and a 350-unit apartment building to replace the current Bowman Towne Court townhouses and Reston Regional Library. But the company backed out in early 2023 due to market constraints.
With its vote today, the Board of Supervisors accepted the terms of a revised real estate exchange agreement, allowing both the county and Inova to pursue land use approvals while negotiations for a final contract continue.
Alcorn emphasized that moving forward on the agreement will help address the county’s homelessness problem.
“This is absolutely critical to getting a new homeless shelter that’s badly needed and a new regional library, amongst other public facilities,” Alcorn said.
While the new agreement isn’t substantially different from the original one, the revisions allowed the county and Inova to update the budget and schedule for the redevelopment, which was on hold during an overhaul of the Reston Comprehensive Plan, according to Sharon North, a spokesperson for the county’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services.
North says Inova’s plans for its three blocks in the development remain unchanged.
Under the revised agreement, the Board of Supervisors will contribute an additional $1 million towards the cost of the revised submission. The county and Inova will split the costs of the project. The county is responsible for 55% with a $1 million cap, plus a contingency of $75,000 that it can use at its discretion.
To date, the county has appropriated $1.6 million for preliminary planning. An additional $1 million was approved in April as part of the county’s third quarter review for fiscal year 2024. The total project estimate is roughly $2.6 million.
The interim agreement anticipates that a formal zoning application for the overall project will be submitted to the county in February, potentially getting the board’s approval by Dec. 31, 2025, though either Inova or the county can extend that date.
In the meantime, the county and Inova are working to cement a concept for a 3.5-acre central green by December.
