ART Operations and Maintenance Facility

Location

2629-2633 Shirlington Road, Arlington, VA 22206 View Map

Status

Construction

Phase 1 construction on the new Arlington Transit (ART) operations and maintenance facility and parking garage has been substantially completed. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Dec. 10. Beginning in January 2025, ART buses will begin to move into the new facility from the three locations where they are currently stored. This is expected to occur through Q1 2025 to ensure the continuity of ART operations.

Phase 2 of the project — development of the BEB infrastructure, which includes installation of switchgear, transformers, chargers, and associated equipment — is projected to be ready in fall 2025.

Work hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday to Friday, and some weekend work from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

About the Project

In July 2018, the County Board approved the purchase of three parcels on Shirlington Road in Green Valley to construct the facilities needed to consolidate the Arlington Transit service functions. This project is essential for ART's long-term sustainability and addresses the current and future needs for parking, operations and maintenance of the County’s growing ART bus fleet. ART has significantly increased its number of routes and hours of service during the past 10 years and plans to continue growing during the next 20 years, with nearly 80 buses on the road. The facility performs regular preventive bus maintenance, repairs and other unscheduled maintenance work. It also includes administration and operations functions and parking for buses and staff.

The project was approved in the County’s FY 2019-2028 Capital Improvement Plan for $81.2 million, which included the cost of the land purchase, concept planning, design and construction. On Sept. 15, 2020, the County Board approved a $3.9 million contract with Stantec Architecture, Inc. for planning, design and construction administration services for the facility. On April 22, 2023, the County Board approved a contract increase with Stantec Architecture, Inc. to include additional design and construction administrative services for battery electric bus (BEB) charging infrastructure, for a total contract commitment of $4.4 million. The updated design added electrical infrastructure capable of providing charging capacity for up to 47 BEB charging stalls that can accommodate up to 61 BEBs on the site.

On May 14, 2022, the County Board approved a contract with Turner Construction Company for construction services: a maintenance, operations, and administration building and surface parking for the buses (Parcel A) and a three-story parking structure for employee vehicles (Parcel B). The County required a minimum of LEED Building Design + Construction (BD+C) Silver Certification for the project, which was designed to include sustainable materials and systems, including 835 solar panels.

Project Timeline

Activities	Timeline
Design phase	Complete
Permit review and approval	Complete
Bid phase (Selection and Board approval)	Complete
Construction phase 1	Complete
Bus move-in and operations begin	Starting January 2025
Construction phase 2 (installation of battery electric bus chargers)	Spring 2025 - fall 2025

Construction Activity Updates

December 10, 2024: A ribbon cutting ceremony was held to mark the opening of the facility. View photos from the event.

Fall 2024: Construction on phase 1 of the project is substantially complete.

Summer 2024: Construction at both buildings is nearly complete. Crews started installing solar panels over the bus parking canopy to support the above-grade battery electric bus (BEB) charging infrastructure.

Spring 2024: Concrete paving at the parking garage continued, while crews continued work on the interior of the maintenance building. Permanent power was energized at both the maintenance facility and parking garage in mid-June.

Winter 2024: The interior of the Maintenance building is nearing substantial completion with progress made on the final painting, installation of ceiling tiles, light fixtures, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing ceiling trim. Work on the exterior of the maintenance building includes ongoing installations of metal panels on the roof, overhead doors, and work on the stairway. Precast and concrete block installation at the parking garage has finished, while concrete paving is ongoing.

Winter 2023: Ceiling grid and light installation have begun at the Maintenance building, while painting is ongoing. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing rough-in is also continuing. Work on the exterior of the Maintenance building includes the installation of curtain walls. The installation of brick and storefront windows has been completed. Garage precast and the installation of concrete blocks has finished at the parking garage, while the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing rough-in is still ongoing.

Fall 2023: Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing rough-in is continuing at the Maintenance building. Fireproofing is near completion. Work on the exterior of the Maintenance building includes installation of windows. The installation of concrete blocks and air barrier is finishing up soon. The steel roof structure has been installed on the parking garage and installation of concrete block is continuing. Garage precast is close to completion.

August 2023: Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing rough-in and fireproofing continues at the Maintenance building. Site power and ductwork has been completed at the Maintenance building, except for the battery electric bus scope that is nearing 100% design this summer. The structural concrete at both facilities was completed in June.

June 2023: Crews poured concrete in the parking garage and finished pouring concrete on all the floors and roof of the Maintenance building. Installation of the facade and ductwork on the Maintenance building is ongoing.

March 2023: The erection of the steel structure on the Operations and Maintenance building was completed on March 17. Over the next following weeks, crews worked on completing detailing of the steel, placing the metal deck, and completing the roof screening wall.

January 2023: A crawler crane was on-site to erect steel on the maintenance building from the week of January 9 through early March.

June 2022: Arlington County celebrated the start of construction of the Arlington Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility.

May 2022: The County Board approved a contract with Turner Construction Company for construction services for the facility.

Public Process

Groundbreaking Ceremony

Arlington County celebrated the start of construction by hosting a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, at the location of the new facility.

Third Community Meeting

Project Design Update - June 2021

Third meeting

Learn how the project team is working to address prior feedback received on the concept design, including how the site will handle stormwater, flooding issues, solar, results of the traffic study and future electric charging of buses
See how the building will fit in with the community, including massing and site context as well as aesthetics informed by community feedback

Supporting Materials

Second Community Meeting: Concept Design and Feedback

Concept Design Meeting Recording - February 2021

0.00 - Introductions and Background
5:20 - Project Overview
8:30 - Concept Designs
21:00 - Community Comments

Supporting Materials

Concept Design Presentation Slide Deck

First Community Meeting: Project Introduction and Preliminary Concept

Project Introduction Video Presentation - December 2020

Meet the Project Team
1:52 - Get to know Arlington Transit (ART) and the Operations and Maintenance Facility
5:21 - Review the project scope and goals
7:24 - Get to know the project site and considerations
10:16 - Learn about the path to the preliminary concept design
13:41 - View preliminary concept design
15:24 - Check out next steps and share feedback

Supporting Materials

Presentation PDF
Community Questions and Answers - December 2020/February 2021

Public Facilities Review Committee

The project was reviewed by the Public Facilities Review Committee. You can learn more about the committee process and view meeting materials and recordings their site.

May 4, 2022
September 29, 2021
June 16, 2021
February 17, 2021
December 16, 2020

Additional Outreach

The following community engagement activities have also taken place:

September 2024 - Staff presented an AOMF Opening Update presentation to the Green Valley Civic Association.
March 2021 - Staff provided the Transportation Advisory Committee with a project update on the concept design.
December 2020 – The design team consultant and staff presented to the Green Valley Civic Association on the preliminary concept design.
September 2020 – Staff presented to the Green Valley Civic Association and also hosted a small, socially-distanced on-site meeting with civic leaders.
July 2020 – Staff provided the Transportation Advisory Committee with a brief project update.
July 2019 – Staff presented a general overview of the project, including funding, vision and scope to the Transportation Advisory Committee.
July 2019 – Staff presented a general overview of the project, including funding, vision and scope to the Green Valley Civic Association.

Funding

This project is funded with $39 million from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) as well as with funding from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and dedicated local transportation sources.