Planning Commission approves Seven Corners water tank
Fairfax Water promises to assist the families displaced by a new water tank in Seven Corners.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission on Oct. 7 approved a 2232 application and recommended approval of a zoning special exception for a new water tank within the Seven Corners Apartments, a few blocks from the existing water tank.
Fairfax Water plans to demolish the 75-year-old, 200,000-gallon existing water tank and construct a new one that holds 1 million gallons on a 5-acre property adjacent to Upton Hill Regional Park.
To accommodate the new water tank, a three-story 12-unit apartment building at 2933 and 2935 Patrick Henry Drive will be torn down.
Nine units are currently occupied. Fairfax Water agreed to a relocation plan calling for the utility to provide financial assistance for moving expenses and security deposits for those tenants, land use attorney John McGranahan told the Planning Commission.
The affected tenants will have to vacate their homes by June 2027. Fairfax Water met with them in May and plans to meet with them again in early November.
Meghan Van Dam of the Fairfax County Housing Division said she will help the families find other housing, preferably in the same complex, but noted there is limited vacancy at the Seven Corners Apartments. Otherwise, she will try to find affordable housing near their jobs or their children’s schools.
Planning Commissioner Mary Cortina (Braddock) urged Fairfax Water to be generous in providing assistance to displaced families who have trouble finding new housing.
Construction of the new tank is expected to start in late 2027 and be completed in late 2029.
Related story: Planning underway for a new water tank in Seven Corners
The existing tank, acquired from the City of Falls Church in 2014, needs to be demolished because it’s reached the end of its useful life and has multiple deficiencies, resulting in low water pressure, inadequate fire flow reserves, and insufficient water storage volume that hasn’t kept pace with development growth.
Both the old and new tanks serve Seven Corners, and parts of Bailey’s Crossroads, Falls Church, and Arlington.
The new location was selected, McGranahan said, because it can use the existing water transmission infrastructure and there are no available commercial sites available nearby.
Fairfax Water plans to construct an evergreen buffer around the new site and a pedestrian trail to Upton Hill Regional Park.
After the new tank is up, Fairfax Water will take down the old tank and restore the land where it was located.
A boundary stone and historic marker next to the existing tank will remain. The stone, encased in a fence, marks the original boundary of the District of Columbia following a survey initiated by President George Washington.