Fairfax County supervisors on Tuesday (April 14) unanimously approved the plan to build a new Penn Daw Fire Station, supportive housing and an emergency shelter facility on a 3.5-acre tract just east of Richmond Highway.
The approval marks a significant step forward in a capital project that has been in the works for more than a decade.
“This has been a long process, and one that served all of us, very, very well,” said Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck.
The board’s vote paves the way for construction of a new two-story, five-bay, 24,000-square-foot fire station at 2801 Beacon Hill Road. It will replace the existing Penn Daw Fire Station 11, located about a block north, that has been in operation since 1967.
The parcel also will be home to a three-story building with 50 shelter beds, 20 supportive-housing units for individuals and 10 supportive housing units for families.
The new emergency shelter will replace the Eleanor U. Kennedy Shelter located several miles south at Fort Belvoir.
Located in a building more than a century old, the existing shelter is “woefully inadequate,” housing advocate William Collins told the Board of Supervisors.
Collins also supported the housing component of the plan, which had been approved by voters in a 2016 referendum.
Housing and shelter options with supportive services to be provided will allow individuals to “rejoin the social and economic life in our community,” Collins said.
Questioned by supervisors, county staff said they would set up a community advisory board to keep those living around the facility engaged during construction and following opening of the facilities. The county plans to select a service provider to run the shelter and housing at least six months before opening, slated for 2030.
The Beacon Hill Road site is less than a block from a proposed stop on the future Richmond Highway bus rapid transit line dubbed “The One.”
In 2020, the county spent $3 million to purchase the former site of the Hybla Valley Nursery. Since then, there have been more than two dozen community meetings to refine plans and address concerns.
As the discussions rolled on, the timeline slipped. Initial plans calling for construction to begin in 2024 came and went.
Storck called efforts to work through community concerns a “complex — very complex — process,” expressing particular appreciation for members of a Penn Daw Fire and Supportive Housing Advisory Committee convened to facilitate discussions between his office and the community.
He acknowledged those living around the property still have some issues, including stormwater management and safety.
Despite the concerns, only a handful of speakers turned out for the April 14 public hearing — all to support the proposal’s plans for supportive housing.
While the size of the buildings has drawn some criticism from neighbors, Mary Paden, housing committee chair of the Fairfax County NAACP, said the proposal was the right size given planned future projects expected in that section of the Route 1 corridor.
“This project may seem big now, but it will be dwarfed by future development,” said Paden, who lives about six blocks from the site.
Board Chair Jeff McKay expressed concerns about pedestrian safety around the facility, urging staff to keep an eye on that issue. Like Storck, he said the long gestation period resulted in an improved project.
“It’s been quite a journey to get here, but we’re going to end up with a much better facility,” McKay said immediately before the 10-0 vote in support of the necessary comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning application.
The proposal to vote on both the amendment and rezoning in a single day had raised eyebrows on the Fairfax County Planning Commission, which recommended approval of both after a March 25 public hearing.
There, Braddock District Commissioner Mary Cortina said it would be better if those two steps were considered separately, with some time in between to consider comments raised at the initial meeting. She acknowledged her concern was more general in nature and should not hold up the Penn Daw project.
