Disability InfoLaurel Hill Park Planning News
Planning for the Laurel Hill Park is continuing in several different directions. Significant progress is being made toward development of new features at Laurel Hill Park. The Fairfax County Park Authority and the Fairfax County Park Foundation signed an agreement to cooperate with the non-profit group Fairfax 4 Horses (F4H) to develop plans for a new Equestrian Center at the former Dairy Farm site. F4H is currently conducting a fund raising campaign and providing their expertise in the facility planning efforts.
In another public-private venture, the non-profit Laurel Hill Sports Foundation has proposed a major Sportsplex at the former Youth Center site. The first phase of development would include a large indoor sports center and rectangular outdoor fields with lighting and artificial turf.
Additional information on Sportsplex development:
- Laurel Hill Sportsplex Concept Plan and Feasibility Report - Final DRAFT, June 2008
- Sportsplex Planning Update, 4/23/08
At the former Nike Launch site at the corner of Hooes and Furnace Roads, the non-profit Cold War Museum has proposed a world-class museum. The Cold War Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, plans to use existing buildings on the site for displays, artifact restoration, storage, administration and visitor support activities. The first stage of development would be an interim museum.
This interim Museum will give visitors a preview of the museum's expected development stages, provide opportunities for visitors to influence the eventual design and subject matter of exhibits, allow the museum to begin collecting oral histories from visitors, and provide opportunities to begin viewing exhibits summarizing Cold War history, including films and artifacts.
A Project Update¹ with key topics on the Cold War Museum, Equestrian Center, and Sportsplex was presented in March, 2007.
Work on the Greenway Trail is still underway with the staff trails team working in the field to lay out the course of the trail. While Cross County Trail signs have been installed along the Greenway Trail it is not fully passable and portions of the trail have been temporarily rerouted around the Maximum Security Area and the Lorton Arts Foundation due to ongoing construction.
Laurel Hill Golf Club opened on October 15, 2005 and construction on the clubhouse is progressing with an anticipated opening in 2007.
On December 6, 2004. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to accept the Recommendations for the Adaptive Reuse Areas within Laurel Hill as presented by The Laurel Hill Adaptive Reuse Citizens Advisory Committee.
Planning Commission Approves Laurel Hill Park Plan
The Laurel Hill Project Advisory Citizens Oversight Committee is sponsoring a periodic, electronic newsletter to help keep citizens informed about the ongoing process to reuse former prison buildings at Laurel Hill.
If you would like to receive this newsletter, please subscribe by going to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/email/lists and look under Planning and Zoning for subscription information.
Visit the Lorton/Laurel Hill Property website for complete details, including site history, maps, and photographs.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission approved the 2232 application for the Laurel Hill Park General Management and Conceptual Development Plan at their October 19, 2005 meeting. The approval represents the final step in planning approvals for the long-term development and reuse of the park lands and facilities at the former D.C. Correctional Facility at Lorton.
Before any public uses can be instituted on the transferred property, a 2232 application had to be submitted and approved by the Planning Commission (pursuant the Code of Virginia, section 15.2-2232) that identifies the nature, character and extent of the proposed public use. The application is submitted to the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning, who reviews the application to make sure it is in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan, and acted upon by the Planning Commission, which includes a public hearing.
The property is known as Laurel Hill Park in commemoration of the 18th century structure, which served as a home to William Lindsay, a revolutionary war patriot and as the residence of the Superintendent of the reformatory.
The approval brings to closure more than five years of planning initiatives which included dozens of meetings with citizens and stakeholders, public hearings, and workshops. Thousands of public comments and e-mails were received during this time frame which featured an interactive web-bulletin board, hands-on planning workshops and site tours. This property transfer was made possible through the Lorton Technical Corrections Act which was passed by Congress in October 1998, which required the county to develop a reuse plan that would maximize use of the land for open space, parkland or recreation.
Incorporated into the plan are the principals of providing opportunities for active and passive recreation, environmental conservation and celebration of the historic and cultural resources on site. With approximately 1,200 acres, this parcel of parkland is notable and is one of the last large tracts in Fairfax County available for recreational use. There are also significant cultural and natural resources that will be preserved with the plan. Of the 1,200 acres only approximately 360 acres can be used for recreational activities with the remaining 840 acres consisting of the golf course and areas which will be protected as Resource Management Areas.
¹These files are available for download in Adobe Acrobat portable document format.
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