Artist rendering of what the new station is planned to look like.
In late February, county officials broke ground on the new and improved Woodlawn Fire Station 24 in Mount Vernon that will take the place of the current fire station at 8701 Lukens Lane in Alexandria, east of Richmond Highway.
When the 15,000 square-foot new station opens in spring 2022, it will have it will be a two-level freestanding building that will be in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week, housing up to 16 Fire and Rescue Department staff. The station will be outfitted with four single drive-through bays for emergency vehicles, and is designed to meet LEED Silver Certification. LEED elements will include:
- Energy efficient systems
- Materials that promote indoor air quality
- High recycled content materials promoting environment stewardship
- Onsite renewable energy infrastructure
The estimated project cost for the new Fire Station is $11,750,000, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department said. The current station will remain operational during construction.
“This new, improved fire and rescue station is designed to improve emergency response services in the Woodlawn community as it grows, and we embark on the 21st century redevelopment of Richmond Highway. The County continues to improve services to our residents and businesses through new facilities like this, in this instance, bringing state-of-the-art emergency readiness and enhanced emergency medical rescue services. I am also pleased that this building is being designed with energy efficient systems to meet LEED Silver Certification,” said Supervisor Dan Storck, (D-Mount Vernon).
The original Woodlawn Station #24 was built in 1970, and was the first station owned and operated by Fairfax County. Previous fire stations had been constructed and operated as volunteer fire stations.
The new building was designed by BKV Group, and the work is being done by Scheibel Construction.