House next to Huntington Metro likely to be demolished before year’s end

This house on North Kings Highway next to the South entrance to the Huntington Metro Station will soon be torn down.

Back in July, we reported that the house next to the Huntington Metro that used to serve as a Metro Transit Police substation was expected to be torn down by the end of the summer.

Because of some permit issues, the demolition hasn’t happened yet. But the it’s coming soon, said Neel Teague of Stout & Teague, the developer who owns the land.

“We are getting close,” Teague said in an email to Covering the Corridor on Monday. “It will be a few more weeks before we are ready to take it down. Should be prior to year’s end.”

Before a permit for demolition could be issued, Fairfax County required an environmental survey of the property be done, and some asbestos was found. That will need to be removed before the demolition permit can be issued, Teague said, and workers are at the building this week to perform that task.

The nearly 70-year-old brick colonial-revival style house was originally a residence and was also the original location of the Crossroads drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. From 2001-2015 it was used by the Metro Transit Police. The building has been vacant since the police moved out early last year.

After the house is torn down, a new development will be built on the site. The development will actually be the third phase of a project that began last decade when Stout & Teague purchased roughly 60 acres of land adjacent to the Metro station. The first two phases saw the completion of 50 townhouses and the Courts at Huntington Station apartments, as well as Mount Eagle Park.

The third phase was originally supposed to see the construction of a high-rise apartment and office building, but Teague said that idea is on hold for the moment. His company is studying other possibilities, and also keeping an eye on the progress of Embark Richmond Highway, which envisions a major overhaul for transportation options and density in the Richmond Highway corridor.

“We’ve been waiting to review what really makes sense for that spot,” Teague said in July.