A $500,000 anonymous donation will fund the first round of upgrades at Oakton Community Park. The figure, first reported by FFXnow, anchors a two-phase plan the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) is presenting to residents at a public meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19.

The meeting takes place at the historic Oakton Schoolhouse, 2841 Hunter Mill Road. Attendees can ask questions and speak directly with the project team, according to the county's project page.

Phase 1, paid for entirely by the anonymous community donor, includes a new picnic pavilion with furnishings, walkway improvements for accessibility and a hose bib (an outdoor water spigot) for utility access. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2027 and wrap up by the end of summer 2027, according to the FCPA.

Phase 2 has no construction date. It calls for a restroom facility with a kitchenette, a renovated playground, expanded parking, a community trail loop and new interpretive signage. That work hinges on future donations, the park authority said in a press release. A separate public comment period will open once Phase 2 funding is secured.

The park, which the FCPA acquired in 2001, currently has a playground, natural-surface trails and a parking area. A 2005 master plan shaped by residents and community groups originally envisioned many of the amenities now on the table, according to the county's project page.

The Greater Oakton Community Association (GOCA), an all-volunteer group, has partnered with the park authority to expand use of both the park and the schoolhouse for meetings, classes and community events. In a July update, GOCA credited Dranesville District Supervisor Dalia Palchik, FCPA Deputy Director for Planning and Development Nigel Fields and Fairfax County Park Foundation Executive Director Bobby Longworth for helping advance the project.

The schoolhouse itself dates to about 1897. It served as a school until 1912, then cycled through life as a private home, a hardware shop and a camping store before being relocated to the park and restored in 2007.

The county will accept public comments on Phase 1 through 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20. Feedback can be submitted online at the county's PublicInput page, and questions can be directed to the park authority at [email protected].