The Department of the Army moved a step closer to creation of a large distribution center on Fort Belvoir earlier this month.
On July 7, the National Capital Planning Commission approved concept plans for a 525,000-square-foot facility, along with satellite support buildings to achieve distribution efficiencies across the region.
The 26-acre facility, which would have about 600 employees, would be near the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency headquarters on Fort Belvoir’s north campus, just northwest of the Fairfax County Parkway and Interstate 95 interchange.
Concept plans for a 525,000-square-foot distribution center, located in the area designated “F” on this map of Fort Belvoir’s north campus, have been approved by the National Capital Planning Commission.
According to plans filed with the commission, the project would include:
A high-bay warehouse
A three-story administrative building
A truck maintenance and refueling building
Some enclosed storage buildings
Two surface parking lots with 450 spaces
An entry control facility with a gatehouse for vehicle inspections
The broader Fort Belvoir North Area Development Plan for a larger intelligence community campus had been approved by the commission in March. That will include a Defense Intelligence Agency headquarters building, parking garage, a visitor center and utility plant.
With construction at Fort Belvoir North, the Department of Defense is working on consolidating numerous facilities. The Washington Business Journal reported in June that Paul McMahon, with Washington Headquarters Services, told the commission at the March meeting that the goal is to consolidate much of the leased space across the region by 2029, reducing the number of leased spaces in the region, as vacant space is identified.
While the commission supported several of the distribution center project’s components, the staff report noted it deferred support for the two parking lots, entry control facility and perimeter fence until the Army provides additional information.
Staff noted that the perimeter fence appears to be a new element not included in the previously approved Fort Belvoir North Area Development Plan (March 2022) and will probably affect trees, stream valleys and wetlands. They requested more information about why the fence is needed on a secure facility, as well as specifying the number of trees that would be removed, and fence design options that would reduce the number of trees removed and impacts on streams and wetlands.
Commissioners also noted that insufficient information had been received about the site’s stormwater management.
Beth White, planning commission chair, urged the Army to consider the importance of making the site’s “footprint as small as it can be. There is a lot of interesting work going on in the private sector on distribution centers.”
She added that she appreciated the design employing covered parking spaces with solar panels to reduce energy needs.
