On the long road to prevent and end homelessness, I appreciate the help from Reston Strong to bring renewed public attention to the needs of Reston’s unhoused – and to bring a renewed sense of urgency.  Using federal pandemic funds, and in response to direction from me and my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors, Fairfax County was able to house nearly 2,000 residents needing safe shelter in hotels over the past 24 months. While the initial focus was to protect the health of this community during the pandemic, the county and nonprofit partners provided extensive support services, including assisting with placement of 745 residents from hotel rooms into permanent housing with family and friends, subsidized housing, and other resources. It should be noted that even before the pandemic, the ending of the winter hypothermia shelter program during the past decade has been a challenge for our unhoused needing overnight shelter. The end of the two-year hoteling program last month made this year much more difficult. While I pushed to extend the hoteling program later into the spring, the lack of trained staff to manage this program caused the program to end.  While the hoteling and other “band aid” solutions are important, it is imperative for all to understand that the underlying challenge is a severe lack of affordable housing, not just for the chronically homeless and other residents sheltering in tents but also for our essential workers.  Reston is not alone in this challenge – it is countywide, regionwide, and nationwide. I have asked our Office to Prevent and End Homelessness to ramp up efforts to find housing options for all who have asked for help, as well as to those sleeping outside who have not asked for housing.  As for Reston Strong’s request to place port-a-johns on site, I have also confirmed that bathroom facilities in the Embry Rucker shelter by my office are available 24/7. While I enthusiastically embrace the political message and support Reston Strong’s right to direct political action, I do not support allowing the creation of a new tent city with the biohazards and assaults experienced by the community several years ago. With the passage of time, this has proved counterproductive in our collective efforts to fund, site, and build permanent affordable housing.  We need to move forward with a badly needed new homeless shelter, permanent supportive housing, and affordable housing for working families.  

 Statement From Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn: The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) has received an unsolicited proposal and advertised for competing proposals to develop affordable housing and a regional library at the intersection of Bowman Towne Drive and Towne Center Parkway. The unsolicited proposal aims to redevelop an existing 2.89-acre property owned by FCRHA with new affordable multifamily units for working families, a new Reston Regional Library, and free parking for residents, visitors, and library users. It will also include additional affordable housing located on the surface parking lot used currently by Reston Police District Station officers and staff, as well as a new multilevel garage for police use.  All told as many as 400 new affordable units could be built under this project. Once FCRHA completes their procurement under the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 (PPEA), the proposal will be reviewed under necessary zoning and land use approvals. Partial funding for a new regional library was approved by voters in a bond referendum in 2012. This project would help finance the necessary additional funds for constructing a new library while keeping the existing one open for the community.  This announcement is an exciting step forward for a much-needed new Reston Regional Library and the sustainable and socially responsible redevelopment of Reston Town Center North.   ###