City of Fairfax officials are developing plans to construct a new primary fire station.
Though the project’s timing and final price tag still need to be pinned down, progress is being made and details will soon emerge, a representative of the architect told the Fairfax City Council at an April 22 meeting.
“We’ve got a pretty good pace,” Mark Manetti, a partner at BKV Group, said.
The city has already spent $5.7 million to acquire property at 4085-4087 University Drive to house the potentially three-story-tall station, plus about $139,000 on the feasibility study and other initial plans, according to Fairfax City Fire Chief John O’Neal.
The project was estimated several years ago to cost a total of $41 million. At the meeting, several council members questioned city leaders about whether that figure is still viable.
“That was based probably on data from two years ago,” said O’Neal, who noted that the city looked at costs for similar projects in Fairfax, Loudoun and Henrico counties to come up with the figure.
City staff plan to bring a number of concept proposals to the council at an upcoming meeting. After receiving feedback, work toward a final concept design will begin.
After one is approved, Manetti estimates another eight to 10 weeks of further design development awaits. By then, the city should have a better understanding of the expected cost and know “if we need to make any course corrections,” he said.
Councilmember Thomas Peterson pressed for a feel for what the costs will be, both for completion of the project and borrowing funds necessary to make it happen.
At this stage, City Manager Bryan Foster conceded that he “can’t answer” that question. He pointed to the uncertainty of construction costs — tariffs may play a major role — and the city also has to consider the interest-rate environment when it goes to borrow cash.
Depending on circumstances, Foster suggested the city “may issue part of the debt to get started and pay for construction. Then a year or two years later, we may issue the remainder.”
The new station would be constructed just south of the existing Fire Station #3 at 4081 University Blvd. That facility currently is staffed by 12 city personnel, plus volunteers, and includes offices and meeting facilities for the City of Fairfax Fire Department.
The land where construction will take place was formerly owned by George Mason University. Foster estimated construction will take at least 18 months.
Contract awarded to improve unusual intersection
Also at its April 22 meeting, the Fairfax City Council awarded a $4.12 million contract to Sagres Construction Corporation for long-awaited improvements at the intersection where Fairfax Blvd, Farr Avenue and McLean Avenue come together.
“This is taking a very complicated intersection, simplifying it and adding pedestrian accommodations,” said Wendy Block Sanford, the city’s transportation director.
Creating a more conventional four-way intersection, the project will remove the approaches from McLean Ave to the north of Fairfax Blvd and from Warwick Ave to the south of Fairfax Blvd.
“This improvement will reduce pedestrian crossing distances and reduce the number of intersection conflict points, thus making the intersection safer for both motorists and pedestrians,” the city’s project page says.
The project will also provide a traffic light at the intersection of Farr and nearby Arlington Blvd, and support a planned extension of Farr Avenue north of Arlington Blvd.
“This is a big and complex project,” Peterson said, asking for the contract award to be pulled from the council’s consent agenda so staff could provide a public update.
Planning for improvements began in mid-2018, and the initial timeline called for construction to begin in August 2023 and be wrapped up by July 2024. That schedule has obviously slipped, but with the construction contract awarded, work can now move forward.
The city’s project page now lists a potential time frame of spring 2025 through summer 2026 for construction.
The project’s total cost of $8.75 million is 100% federally funded, city officials say.
