McLean Community Center moves forward with $100K roof repairs

The McLean Community Center has a water problem, and it will take about $100,000 in repairs to fix it.

The MCC governing board unanimously approved that funding on March 10 for a roof repair project deemed “urgent” by the board’s Capital Facilities Committee.

A pre-construction meeting with Function Enterprises, the Springfield-based company enlisted as the vendor, is scheduled for the end of April, MCC Director of Marketing and Communications Sabrina Anwah told FFXnow.

The bulk of the project focuses replacing a section of roof that mirrors the hallway to the facility’s Susan B. DuVal Studio. The replacement will cost $82,500, according to a vendor quote.

“This is where we have most of our recurring issues with water getting inside the building,” MCC staff said in an explanation of the quote.

According to staff, the remaining $16,580 will be used for repairs “that can improve our overall roof quality without the need to do a full replacement.” Identified issues include hallway leaks and a clogged roof drain that needs to be cleaned out.

The roofing challenges come a little over three years after MCC unveiled its $8 million renovation of the facility at 1234 Ingleside Avenue.

According to MCC, the existing roof was not a part of the renovation, but “several roofing deficiencies” were found near the end of that project.

“Those items couldn’t be addressed due to scope, budget and timeline issues,” MCC Facilities Manager Joe McGovern told FFXnow by email. “To begin addressing these issues, only a very small portion of the roof is being replaced.”

MCC chose Function Enterprises as the vendor for the repairs at Fairfax County’s recommendation, since the contractor was brought on to finish the renovation in 2018, staff said at a Capital Facilities Committee meeting on March 10.

“[Function Enterprises] recognized issues then and stated that they should take more time to complete due diligence, but the county instructed them to only address the contracted scope,”  McGovern said, according to the meeting minutes. “And thus, this is part of the reason we are now experiencing/realizing issues.”