Construction starts on interim park in Bailey’s Crossroads
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| Illustrations of the interim park are from the Park Authority. |
Work has started on Crossroads Interim Park, the temporary park on the site of the former Landmark office building in Bailey’s Crossroads.
The nearly 3-acre park on county-owned land at 5827 Columbia Pike will be in place for at least five years, as plans for redeveloping that area come together.
Crossroads Interim Park is expected to be completed and open to the public in mid-August, and there will be a formal ribbon cutting in September after school starts, says Suzie Battista, program manager in the Fairfax County Office of Community Revitalization (OCR).
The park is being jointly developed by the OCR, Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, Facilities Management Division, and the Fairfax County Park Authority.
The park will have space for active and passive recreation. The area fronting Columbia Pike will be a plaza with hexagonal concrete paving, native plantings, outdoor seating, and shade sails to provide visual interest. There will also be a grassy open play area, while part of the existing parking lot could be used for flexible and seasonal use, such as food trucks, a mobile farmer’s market, a small outdoor festival, or skate spot.
Community members can reserve the park space for birthday parties, family picnics, craft shows, or other uses by contacting Park Services.
The site has been vacant since the office building was demolished in December 2018. The park project is a component of OCR’s vision to transform the Bailey’s Crossroads Commercial Revitalization District into a walkable, mixed-use center. The park will serve as an amenity space and focal point for the surrounding community.
10 responses to “Construction starts on interim park in Bailey’s Crossroads”
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If only this park looks this good. Five Years and then we will have another recession and it will end up as a deteriorating lot for the homeless to hangout.
This is VERY BAD IDEA. And what about the road extension, is that on hold too? Good lord this area has been a terrible mess for as long as I can remember. This site had great hopes for numerous developers to develop and thanks to the placement of a homeless shelter the possibilities for private multi-use development have all but evaporated. Thank you Penny Gross.
Sort of a bummer though they would do a bunch of plantings to then rip them out later.
Complain, bitch, kvetch, bla, bla, bla. What would you people do if you couldn't complain about something? We can have a park there for at least five years or an empty asphalt covered ugly site. Gee lemme think about this for a while . . .
On the 'pro' side, maybe this will draw good attention to this spot.
But…what is the price to build this, would be good to know.
On the 'con' side, shows no commitment to this area. Will people move here for this nice park? No, because it's temporary. Sad to think of putting it there but saying 'not any more,' later.
Meanwhile, what about 6 acre Hogge Park right up the street, paid for by taxpayers for millions of dollars? Why is nothing happening there? You could make something nice there that would stay. The ring, not just a date.
MK
Very good points. While I applaud the county for trying to create "green spaces", they do have a disturbing trend of spending lots of money to create parks that they don't maintain. They should invest in the parks that already exist.
I think when the county plants flowers they should offer county residents the opportunity to "adopt" them before they are bulldozed into oblivion.
I know the homeless who currently move their folding chairs around to find some shade will appreciate. Please include portapotties though,
cause you got to go when you are trying to stay hydrated.
Maybe an ice cream truck could get a permit to give it the feel of a "real" park.
Could this incorporate a community garden?
This is only a temporary park. Whether there is another recession in five years doesn't matter in this regard because after that period of time, the park will give way to a commercial development combined with the plot of land adjacent to the west of it.
And what proof do you have of that? Mixed-use development has been promised for the last 10 years and all we have are vacant lots and a Penny Park.