Fairfax County Breaks Ground on New Public Safety Headquarters

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova and Supervisor John Cook broke ground Tuesday morning on the new Fairfax County Public Safety Headquarters.

They were joined by Deputy County Executive Dave Rohrer, Fire Chief Richard Bowers, Police Chief Ed Roessler and other members of the Board of Supervisors. This new facility will provide a new and improved operational headquarters for the Police and Fire Departments in Fairfax County.

“I look forward to having the Police and Fire Department staff move into a new, quality facility on the Government Center campus. This new headquarters offers many improvements and efficiencies that will meet the growing needs of our community and our public safety family,” Bulova said.

“After years in a building with a leaking roof and asbestos, this new public safety headquarters will give our police officers and firefighters the tools they need to continue to lead their fields,” Cook said.

Currently, the Fairfax County Police and Fire Department Headquarters is located in the old Massey building, which is in poor condition and located miles away from the Government Center. The 1960s-era building served the County well for decades, and was the official Fairfax County Government building before the current Government Center Complex was constructed in 1991.

The location of the new building will be next to the Herrity Building along Monument Drive and Government Center Parkway, just down the street from 12000 Government Center Parkway. The Facility is a green project designed to meet LEED Silver certification, and will be the first County building to use energy-efficient LED lighting throughout the entire building. Construction of the 274,000 square-foot building will end in 2016, but won’t be occupied by Police and Fire Departments until 2017.

The project will be eight stories tall with a five-level secure parking garage for public safety vehicles. Other offices set to occupy the building include the Fire Marshal’s Occupational health and Fire Prevention Offices, the Police Department’s Central Records Division, the False Alarm Reduction Unit, along with multi-purpose and training rooms.

The estimated total cost for the new headquarters is $142 million, which largely will be paid for by revenue bonds from the Economic Development Authority.

PHOTO: Fairfax County officials take part in a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday morning for the new public safety building. Photo courtesy of the county.