If you’ve recently passed by the intersection of Fort Hunt and Belle View, the main thing that sticks out is the great progress that’s being made on the Mount Vernon Rec Center. It’s been closed since January of last year, but it’s clear that the construction crew has been making good time.
In a recent status report from the Fairfax County Park Authority, the renovation is “on schedule” to be done by Spring 2025.
Mr. Ben Boxer, the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Public Information Officer, revealed that the renovations have been in the works for a while, with the first meeting covering the topic being held ten years ago in February of 2014. The county had one or more public meetings on the topic every year until May 2022, with the one in 2016 providing overwhelming voter approval for the renovation, and the 2019 ones making sure it complied with accessibility laws. On top of these meetings, Boxer made it known that Park Authority is always taking in feedback from the community through phone and email, which is likely what led to Mount Vernon’s renovation.
Boxer clarified that the construction you can see right now is what’s called the “building envelope,” or the Rec Center’s walls and roof. Once they’re done securing the envelope, they will move on to focusing on internal spaces.
Once the rec center opens back up next spring, you can expect the stairs that lead down from the parking lot to the main entrance to be replaced with a larger, more accessible main entrance that lets in a lot more natural light. There’s also going to be a “two-level dedicated fitness area,” something the rec center didn’t have before, and will likely be similar to Franconia Rec Center’s gym. Finally, the updated rec center will feature two NHL-sized ice rinks, an elevated indoor track, and a climbing wall.
