The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors earlier this month allocated nearly a million dollars to continue planning for a Chantilly arts hub.
The funding came from dollars left over at the end of the county’s fiscal year 2026 budget and was requested by Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith.
The $900,000 appropriation will support design, permitting and bid-administration efforts over the next two years.
“We want to be able to keep it moving. We don’t want to lose momentum,” Smith said of the project at the board’s public hearing on Sept. 15.
Last December, supervisors approved development plans allowing Timber Ridge Management to construct a new 67-unit residential community in Westfields. As a condition of securing the approval, the property owner agreed to contribute funds to support construction of a 15,000-square-foot arts center on the site.
The building would be located at the northeast corner of Westfields Blvd and Newbrook Drive, and would be owned and programmed by the county government.
Facilities will include a performance hall, studio spaces and classroom space, Board Chair Jeff McKay said.
At the Sept. 15 meeting, Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity said he was uncomfortable with allocating the planning funds without more specifics about the project’s long-term costs.
“If we’re going to spend $900,000 now, what’s the total amount?” he asked. “Funds are scarce right now. If this $900,000 is committing us to another $3 million or whatever it is down the road, I’d like to know.”
Herrity’s motion to move the proposed funding into a reserve fund, rather than allocate it immediately, drew no support from his colleagues. Like the other supervisors, he still voted for the overall FY 2026 carryover package because it included funding to restore crossing guards at public high schools.
In a statement to FFXnow, Smith described the county’s contribution to the Chantilly arts hub as part of “a strong partnership” with Timber Ridge Management, which is contributing $1.3 million. The combined funding will advance the project ahead of a planned site transfer in 2029.
“Through proffers, the developer is providing the land, site grading, utilities, shared infrastructure, parking, and $1.3 million in monetary contributions — delivering a pad‑ready site at no cost to the County,” Smith said.
The possibility of an arts center in the area was first discussed in 2022 after Fairfax County identified a shortage of Sully District facilities while crafting a Countywide Arts Master Plan. Adopted in July 2023, the final plan noted that discussions were underway with the developer for a “community-serving” black box theater designed for dance and musical performances.
After Timber Ridge Management’s rezoning application was approved, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services added the Chantilly arts hub to its list of planned capital projects in June. Planning for the facility’s programming and conceptual design work were completed this past spring, Smith says.
“With the developer expected to finish the residential community and transfer the site by 2029, completing design, permitting, and bidding over the next two years is essential,” Smith said in her statement. “Advancing this work now ensures the County can begin construction as soon as the site is available and prevents newly built infrastructure from sitting unused and deteriorating.”
As part of the carryover package approved on Sept. 15, supervisors also allocated $45,000 to add 24/7 voting drop boxes at the North County and Mount Vernon governmental centers and $20,000 to continue covering costs of an intern in the office of the county auditor.
Funding totaling $1 million to purchase new library materials was also part of the carryover package adopted at the meeting.
“I’m not saying it’s enough, but it’s a good start,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said of the library funding.
