A Lorton police station and Fairfax County’s second animal shelter, both under construction since 2021, are expected to open this fall.
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A Lorton police station and Fairfax County’s second animal shelter, both under construction since 2021, are expected to open this fall.
The $33.7 million campus on Lorton Road will consist of 31,000 square feet for the police station; 23,000 square feet for the animal shelter; 20,000 square feet of outdoor space for a canine area and feline condos; a fuel island to support fleet vehicles; and associated parking.
The facility, built between Lorton Road’s intersections with Workhouse and Hooes roads on a parcel known as the “Triangle,” was scheduled to open in either spring or summer but was delayed due to supply-chain issues, which included the delivery of the emergency generator for the building that was held up for several months.
Southern Fairfax has a growing need for the services the government campus will provide, according to the locality’s website. The Franconia, West Springfield and Sully district police stations serve the central and southern areas of the jurisdiction now, but an additional station will allow the department to organize smaller patrol areas and decrease response times countywide. Officers will have a shorter distance to travel when responding to calls, and they no longer will be pulled away from other districts to go to Lorton.
Meanwhile, the new animal shelter will offer services such as rabies clinics, pet adoptions, spay and neuter services, animal training, wildlife education and a volunteer program. The county’s other shelter is on West Ox Road.
Funding for the Lorton station and shelter was included in a $151 million public safety bond referendum approved in 2015.
Police 2nd Lt. Anthony Stancampiano said in an email that workers for general contractor Forrester Construction Co. are proceeding through a punch list of items as they wrap up loose ends on the project, including putting up signs for the building.
“In the coming weeks, we hope to get furniture and audio/visual equipment installed,” said Stancampiano, who is leading the project. “Once temporary occupancy is granted, we won’t yet be able to open to the public, but we will begin internal testing of all our systems and equipment.”
The Lorton station was designed for 70 sworn officers and 10 professional staff, Stancampiano said. “We currently have an A and a B schedule which means when fully staffed, roughly 20 to 30 officers working throughout each day.”
The police department has appointed Capt. Richard Morvillo as the first station commander in Lorton. He is charged with beginning to develop community relationships with existing advisory committees and homeowners’ associations, Stancampiano said.
Morvillo will work with consultant Shirley Ginwright, who is leading community-relationship and civic-engagement efforts for the station. She plans to establish a community advisory committee for Lorton just like the police force’s other stations have, and she would like to create a panel of HOA presidents and vice presidents to foster communication between the police and the neighborhoods that will be served by the station.
The idea is to build trust between the police and the people they serve, and to educate residents about the job of law enforcement.
“It’s just so important to me that the community understands the work of the police department,” Ginwright said.
Those who wear badges aren’t there just to write tickets, she said. They’re fellow human beings tackling the difficult task of maintaining safety in a given jurisdiction.
“The police officers are not your enemies,” she said.
County Supervisor Dan Storck, whose Mount Vernon District includes Lorton, said the area has seen a lot of growth and development over the past two decades and that he was proud to have led major investments in a co-located community center, library and park; several new schools and fire stations; the Workhouse Arts Center, and other amenities.
“The Lorton police station and animal shelter is the next to come on line and will provide faster response times and a stronger public safety presence for all in the South County area, by adding a police district and shrinking the coverage of the surrounding police districts,” the Democrat said in an emailed statement.
