County to Purchase Building for Homeless Shelter

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- Fairfax County has announced plans to purchase a building for a homeless shelter after controversy erupted when officials announced the location of a "temporary" shelter.

Fairfax County officials announced Monday that they have entered into a contract to purchase land for a permanent location for the new Bailey’s Community Shelter.

The county signed a contract last week to purchase the property at 5914 Seminary Road, Falls Church.

This commercial site, which formerly housed a veterinary clinic, sits south of the intersection of Columbia Pike and Route 7. The property is less than half a mile from the shelter’s current location on Moncure Avenue.

The final purchase price will range from between $1.4 to $1.46 million depending on the transaction’s closing date. As with all land purchases, the county will conduct a thorough inspection of the property before closing the deal, the County said in its announcement of the plan.

The building was assessed at $825,470 last year, according to property records. Zillow estimated the sales price at $463,818.

The future permanent shelter is anticipated to open in late 2020. While still in its early stages, the plans envision the shelter as a 15,000 to 20,000 square foot facility with:

• Approximately 50 beds to include the addition of four medical respite beds
• Permanent supportive housing units, reflecting the county’s Housing First strategy

Although a permanent location has been secured, officials say it is still necessary to temporarily relocate the existing shelter. The temporary location is proposed to be on county-owned property behind the Lincolnia Senior Center, 4710 North Chambliss Street, Alexandria.

The Stonegate at Landmark Homeowners Association filed a lawsuit July 12 against the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in an attempt to halt the county’s plan to temporarily relocate the Bailey’s Crossroads homeless shelter to the backyard of the Lincolnia Senior Center, according to the Annandale Blog.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed temporary relocation site on Wednesday, July 20 at 8:15 p.m. to determine whether the location, character and extent of the proposed site is in substantial accord with the County’s Comprehensive Plan. The location of the meeting was not immediately available.