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Planning a community center in Fairfax City
A 40-year-old idea to construct a dedicated community center in Fairfax City may have inched a little closer to reality on Tuesday night when Brian Knapp, chairman of the city's parks and recreation advisory board, presented of summary of requirements for the center to the city council.
Long stalled for decades for various reasons, among them cost, recent planning for a new center began in earnest after longtime Fairfax City resident Geraldine Sherwood offered a $5 million gift to the city for the construction of a community center.
Sherwood is the widow of the late Stacy Sherwood, a banker and a member of the Fairfax Town Council from 1956-60, before the jurisdiction was incorporated into a city in 1960. He also served on the Fairfax City Council from 1960-64.
Among the conditions set forth in an agreement between the Sherwood family and the city in January is that the community center be located in or adjacent to Van Dyck Park, 3730 Old Lee Highway. Other conditions include that certain space within the future building be set aside for the rehearsal and performance of music, singing and drama activities and that the Sherwood family retain naming rights for the new community center.
Under the agreement, the Sherwood gift would be revoked if construction of the center does not begin within about 21 months.
"The the clock is ticking," Knapp said.
The report he presented, which was based on prior feasibility studies and prepared in collaboration with the Fairfax City Commission on the Arts, the Senior Center Committee and the Fairfax Police Youth League, concluded that 32,000 square feet of space was needed.
"It's not enough to build a center. We have to outfit it, and that is going to cost money," Knapp said. "We know this is an expensive and daunting proposition."
The city had previously calculated price estimates for three size options for a community center. A 14,000-square-foot building would cost about $5.4 million, a 20,000-square-foot center would amount to about $7.1 million and a 32,000-square-foot structure, as recommended in the report presented on March 11, would cost about $11 million.
At prior council meetings, some council members had publicly stated that, in light of a a floundering economy that will most likely result in a very tight budget this year, their preference is that a smaller center be constructed initially with an option to add on to it later.
As part of the 32,000-square-foot option recommended in the report, the largest among the rooms identified are a 6,000-square-foot activity room; a 4,000-square-foot performance space; a 2,200 square-foot senior center; dance and exercise rooms, both 2,000 square feet; and rehearsal space and a teen center, both at 1,000 square feet.
The report also recommended that the new building be compliant with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) environmental requirements for environmentally sustainable construction.
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