County shares more details on plans for Tysons fire station and bus facility project

Just a few months after starting operations at the new Scotts Run Fire Station 44, Fairfax County is turning its attention to another project intended to boost emergency services in Tysons.

Supervisors John Foust and Dalia Palchik, who represent the Dranesville and Providence districts, respectively, hosted a virtual public meeting on Tuesday (Nov. 16) to discuss the Fire and Rescue Department’s Station 29 and bus transit facility project.

The goal of the meeting was to gather community feedback so it can be integrated into the project design, Jun Li, a project manager with the public works department’s building design branch, said.

The effort to replace Fire Station 29 has now stretched on for a full decade after an initial plan from 2011 to put the new station in the bottom floor of a mixed-use high-rise fell through.

With a total estimated cost of $20 million, the project will include an approximately $16 million fire station and a $4 million bus transit center for the Tysons West Park Transit Station at 8300 Jones Branch Drive in McLean.

According to the county, Station 29’s current site at 1560 Spring Hill Road has no room to expand the 9,500 square-foot building, which was built in 1978 and has just one story and three bays. It will remain in operation, however, during the course of the project.

The 4.2-acre site on Jones Branch Drive will allow for an approximately 20,000 square-foot station with five bays and two stories.

The first floor will include separate areas for “hot zone” working area and administrative living areas, as well as decontamination and gear storage. It will also have a battalion chief suite, offices, an open kitchen, dining and day room, and a training tower.

The second floor will include an open locker area, 20 single bunk rooms, gender-neutral locker rooms and individual bathrooms, and an exercise room.

Replacing Fairfax Connector’s existing 2,700 square-foot Tysons West building from 1997, the new bus transit facility will be approximately 2,100 square feet in size with a multi-function commuter waiting area, a commuter store, and offices.

From an architectural view, the current proposal uses red and gray metal panels, along with gray brick.

The project is designed to achieve at least LEED Gold for sustainability and includes a proposal for enhanced stormwater management. It will also have renewable on-site energy with solar panels on the roof, electric vehicle charging stations.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Dec. 1, 2020 to begin the procurement process for a contractor to build the new station. Officials said on Tuesday that they hope to have a construction manager in place for the beginning of the new year.

The project is also going through the zoning application process, and public works staff are coordinating with Fairfax County Department of Transportation on a ramp that will eventually connect Jones Branch Drive with the Dulles Toll Road through the site.

Construction will be phased so the bus transit center can remain open and operational while work is ongoing.

Currently, the project is set to be completed by summer 2025.