Supervisors approve expansion of Defense Health Agency on Rt. 50

The Defense Health Agency headquarters. [Golden Wolf]

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on July 16 unanimously approved an expansion of the office complex at 7700 Arlington Blvd. occupied by the federal Defense Health Agency (DHA) headquarters.

The project includes a new 196,142-square-foot L-shaped office building north of the existing building and an 815-space parking garage near the northeast corner of the site. Both structures would be built on what is now surface parking.

DHA oversees the military’s hospitals and clinics. The expansion is necessary as the Department of Defense is consolidating DHA’s operations in Fairfax County. The project is expected to result in several hundred additional employees.

The 43.6-acre property, owned by GBA Associates, was occupied by Raytheon from 1970 to 2012.

During the Board of Supervisors hearing, a representative of the Pine Spring Community Association said neighbors had been concerned about traffic, safety, conservation easements, and lighting on the parking deck, but now believe those issues have been resolved by GBA.

GBA promised to remove invasive plants and plant about 100 new trees in the buffer area between the site and the Pine Spring neighborhood.