Fairfax City Council approves land‑use permits for joint Willard Sherwood health and community center

Mayor Catherine S. Reid and the Fairfax City Council on Oct. 14 approved a series of land‑use permits allowing construction of a joint Willard Sherwood Health and Community Center on two adjoining parcels at 3740 and 3750 Blenheim Boulevard.

City planning staff described the votes as regulatory approvals for land use only; they do not authorize construction or address project financing. The approvals clear the way for demolition of the existing Joseph Willard Health Center (built in 1954) and replacement with a proposed roughly 102,000‑square‑foot, joint city‑county facility that would link to the existing Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center via a covered bridge and may include an optional addition to the Sherwood building.

The project will colocate Fairfax County health‑department services (clinical programs, pharmacy, dentistry, a women and infant center, early childhood programs and related offices) with city recreation and community programs (gym, track, fitness center, senior center, multipurpose classrooms, preschool and youth programs). Project designers said the site would include rooftop amenities, two fenced playgrounds, landscape enhancements and two levels of underground parking. The applicant estimated a total parking supply of 347 spaces through a combination of underground parking, existing surface parking and shared parking agreements with the nearby Joe Jorgensen laboratory.

Anna McClintock, city planner, told council: “These applications are a step in the…