Clearing another hurdle before next month's planned groundbreaking, the latest design for the Southgate Recreation Center unanimously passed the three-member Design and Review Board (DRB) Panel meeting on Tuesday night.
The vote came just three days after Fairfax County assumed control of the property from Reston Association (RA) as part of the deal that the two sides brokered last year. Under terms of the agreement, which was passed by 96 percent of voters in a RA-sponsored referendum in 2002, RA handed over rights to the 2.4 acre property, including the pool, tennis court and basketball courts, and leased the land back to the county. In return, the county agreed to fully fund the redevelopment of the Southgate site along Pinecrest Road in the Glade-section of South Reston and it will pay the estimated $5 to $6 million operating expenses over the course of the 99-year-lease.
Work at the site, including demolition of the existing facility, is scheduled to begin in mid to late September, possibly early October, Karen Monaghan, an RA spokesperson said. Once completed, the new nearly 8,000-square-foot multi-use Southgate Center will have community meeting rooms and an expansive multipurpose room, among other amenities.
Gerald Volloy, the RA executive vice president, called the latest renderings of the center, "magnificent." Volloy met with Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) three weeks ago to discuss the latest design, and Volloy said Hudgins seemed pleased with the final product. "It embodies all the aspects of the center that we all worked so hard to make a reality," he said. "The architect has done an outstanding job utilizing all the work that had gone before and the new plan, I think, fits even better into the surrounding neighborhood."
Mike Miller, the architect in charge of the Southgate design and a former DRB member, has worked closely with the board to satisfy any concerns members might have. Tuesday's presentation marked Miller's third time to come before the board. "It's a darn nice building, that's all I know," he said before Tuesday's vote.
Just hours before the panel's vote, Hudgins expressed optimism that the independent board would be satisfied with the latest drawings. "I sure hope it is approved because, while I am not an architect, I love this building," she said. "It feels good to me. I am really excited because it really reflects what the community has been talking about for so long and it fits well into the existing foot print."
First built in 1974, the original Southgate site was one the first recreational multi-purpose facilities in Reston. Seven years ago, the then-1,200 square foot center and its centerpiece community swimming pool were closed. In a survey conducted in 1995, RA found that the Southgate pool was the most underutilized community pool in Reston. Two years later, it was closed.