The Arlington County Board has approved a $4 million land purchase to build a new Columbia Pike fire station.
Fire Station 7 is slated to be built on two parcels of land next to Serrano Apartments at 5519 Columbia Pike — near Bailey’s Crossroads and about two miles away from the former Fire Station 7 in Fairlington that shuttered in 2019.
“A new fire station in this area on Columbia Pike is needed to address an increase in emergency response requests,” a county report says. “A new west end fire station will also reduce the travel times for emergency medical, fire, and rescue incidents and balance the demand among surrounding fire stations.”
AHC Inc. granted the county an option to purchase the 0.99-acre site for $4 million as a condition of a $3.5 million Affordable Housing Investment Fund loan, used to partially finance AHC’s acquisition of Serrano Apartments in 2014. Funding to buy the site was included in the county’s 2023-2032 Capital Improvement Plan.
“To ensure the most effective emergency response, the design priority is fire apparatus turning space required for a drive-thru fire station,” the county report says. “The site will also require a 40-foot retaining wall, given the adjacent topography.”
The former Fire Station 7 closed after months of debate about capacity and safety issues. The county ultimately decided against renovating the station because it was only big enough to house one emergency vehicle, which goes against current design standards.
The County Board unanimously approved the Columbia Pike purchase in a Monday vote, but the new fire station probably won’t be coming for several years.
The Fiscal Year 2025-2034 CIP calls for $3.35 million in design funding for the station in Fiscal Year 2030, and $33.35 million for construction funding in Fiscal Year 2031.
Photo via Google Maps
