City Health Department’s 10-year lease for ‘West End City Hall’ at Mark Center to go into effect in March

The Alexandria City Council could be signing a lease tonight for the new ‘West End City Hall‘.

The council is scheduled to review a 10-year lease agreement for the future home of the city’s Department of Community and Human Services at 4850 Mark Center Drive tonight (Tuesday). If approved, the City’s Health Department’s lease for the Redella S. “Del” Pepper Community Resource Center would go into effect on March 1.

DCHS services are spread in eight service locations throughout the city, and the Mark Center property will centralize operations. The deal has been in the works for nearly five years.

That initial agreement was for a 15-year lease, and would go into effect in February. The term has since been reduced to a decade. If approved by City Council, the Health Department would pay the landlord, which is the City, $1.8 million in rent every year, or $158,000 per month.

Council will review the lease agreement at its meeting tonight.

“The facility will include the Department of Community and Human Services, the Alexandria Health Department, Neighborhood Health, and a West End Service Center with a Permit Center, Finance Department transaction functions and limited Clerk of Court services,” according to the city.

The 270,000-square-foot property also includes an adjacent 800-space parking garage.

The new community resource center is named after Del Pepper, the longtime City Council member who retired last year.

The article previously stated that the Institutes for Defense Analyses owns the building. It is, in fact, owned by the city, which bought it from IDA.