Fairfax County is moving forward with a $7.5 million project to add a child care center and an athletic field to the Hybla Valley Community Center.
At its Oct. 7 meeting, the Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously signed off on the proposal to revamp the facility at 7952 Audubon Avenue.
Constructed in 1972, the 50,000-square-foot facility used to be home to the Mount Vernon Athletic Club. The 5.3-acre property was purchased by the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority in 2020 for $3 million.
The property was upgraded after the purchase and now has two indoor basketball courts, two indoor tennis courts, two ping pong tables, exercise equipment and the Workforce, Innovation, Skills Hub (WISH) Career Center.
The child care center would be 11,000 square feet and replace the tennis courts, ping pong tables and exercise equipment. It will have the capacity for up to 86 children and provide affordable services for kids from birth to 5 years of age. It includes three pre-kindergarten classrooms, four infant and toddler classrooms, a central indoor play area, kitchen, staff offices, conference rooms and a breakroom.
County staff said the surrounding neighborhoods behind the Costco and Mount Vernon Crossroads shopping center on Route 1 (Richmond Highway) have few options for affordable child care.
“There are hundreds of children and hundreds of families that would benefit from being able to walk to this kind of facility and have access, and there has been a clamor for ball fields for years,” said At-Large Commissioner Candice Bennett. “This is a tremendous opportunity to provide a huge benefit for hundreds, thousands of families right there.”
Outside the building, Fairfax County’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) is planning improvements to the parking lot to improve school bus access. Two exterior playgrounds for the child care center are proposed — one for toddlers and another for preschool-aged children — as well as a new turf field with sports lighting.
Braddock District Commissioner Mary Cortina called the new amenities a “wonderful” addition, while Sully District Commissioner Evelyn Spain said it “will bring so much value to the families” in the area.
According to a pre-solicitation for construction proposals, the county anticipates seeking bids in November and starting construction in early 2027. Work is expected to take 18 months and is estimated at $7.5 million.
The planning commission was conducting a state-required 2232 review of the proposal. The moniker refers to a section of state law that mandates the compatibility of proposed public facilities with a locality’s comprehensive plan that helps guide land-use decisions.
The proposal will need future approval by the Board of Supervisors under a different application to allow the lighting on the athletic fields.
