The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors joined the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA), the Department of Community and Recreation Services (DCRS), the Town of Herndon and the residents of Herndon Harbor House in celebrating a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Herndon Harbor House Senior Center on Thursday, May 12 at 2:30 p.m. 

 

Dranesville Supervisor Joan DuBois served as master of ceremonies at the event. Other featured speakers included: Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly; Herndon Mayor Michael L. O’Reilly; FCRHA Dranesville Commissioner Martin Dunn and Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development Director Paula C. Sampson. During the ceremony, three community leaders were honored for their support of the Herndon Harbor House project—former mayors Tom Rust and Richard Thoesen and Vi Carmona Bateman, President, Herndon Harbor House, Inc., and long time supporter of the Herndon Harbor House community. 

 

The Herndon Senior Center is the third and final phase of the Herndon Harbor House development.  To date, 120 units of housing for the elderly and an adult day care center have been completed. The new two-story masonry structure, comprising the Herndon Senior Center, provides approximately 23,000 square feet of floor space.  Based upon a program developed by the DCRS, the facility contains several multipurpose rooms, meeting rooms, lounges, games rooms, a computer room, library, arts and crafts room, commercial kitchen and dining room. Additional parking, landscaping and a courtyard are some of the site improvements that were included.

 

The Department of Housing and Community Development was responsible for overseeing construction of the facility.  The DCRS operates the senior center, which is open for use by all Fairfax County and Town of Herndon seniors.  The architect for the senior center was Cunningham + Quill, and the general contractor was Meridian Construction Company, Incorporated.

 

The Herndon Harbor House project was a joint venture between the Town of Herndon and Fairfax County to address the need for affordable housing for its growing senior population. The Town leased the land formerly used for its maintenance shop to the FCRHA partnership for the construction of Herndon Harbor House I. The FCRHA purchased the adjoining site, known as the Taco Factory, for the construction of Phases II and III of the project. The Fairfax County Health Department operates the adult day care facility constructed during Phase II of Herndon Harbor House.