Public Works and Environmental Services Alert:
The existing Patrick Henry Shelter provides emergency, short-term accommodations to homeless families with children. The shelter has a capacity to serve nine families. Improvements are needed throughout the facility due to high utilization, age of the facility, and wear and tear from everyday use of the building. The new facility will provide permanent supportive housing for families on-site.
The existing building was built in 1952 as part of 249-unit complex. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors purchased the building in 1985 and converted it to an emergency shelter. It was expanded in 1996 and 2006 to provide space for a community room and administrative functions.
In 2016 Fairfax County voters supported a referendum to approve that the Board of Supervisors issue a bond for Human Services and Community Development facilities, which included the renovation or replacement of four of the county’s homeless shelters, of which Patrick Henry Shelter was one of the four identified.
This program is in conformance with the county’s One Fairfax and Diversion First goals.
The new “Patrick Henry Place” program for families will provide 16 permanent supportive housing units for families experiencing homelessness in a new approximately 24,000 square-foot facility along with improvements to the 0.66-acre site. The new facility is designed to meet the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program’s Silver Certification and will replace the antiquated three-level, approx. 9,500 square-foot existing facility. This project was approved as part of the 2016 Human Services/Community Development Bond Referendum and continues to be supported by Fairfax County’s Capital Improvement Program. Staff are monitoring the demand for emergency shelter as the community enters the third year of the pandemic, when many community members experienced serious health crises or lost their jobs. Alternative shelter options are being considered to meet the demand following the conversion of Patrick Henry.
The existing Patrick Henry Family Shelter is located at 3080 Patrick Henry Drive in Falls Church, Va., in the Mason Supervisory District. The shelter is part of the Hollybrooke II Condominium complex. With final approvals and purchase, the separation and ownership of the 0.66 acres will transfer to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.