In March 2000, Adele Lebowitz gave her Georgetown Pike land to the Fairfax County Park Authority with conditions attached. The land had to stay a park forever. It had to include a large barrier-free playground, a carousel and a picnic pavilion. It could never have athletic fields. It had to carry a name built from her four children's names: Carolyn, Emily, John and Petrina. Construction also had to start within five years.
Twenty-six years later, the county is rethinking the playground she required. On Oct. 1, 2026, the Park Authority announced a full redesign of Clemyjontri Park. It said much of the original equipment had "reached or exceeded" its expected service life. The announcement sounds like a blank slate. It isn't one. Most of the big questions about the park's future were settled in 2000. What's open now is narrower and more personal: what the playground feels like for the next twenty years. The county will collect most of that input over about five weeks this fall.
What the Gift Agreement Already Settled
Everything else in the redesign has to fit around the donation terms in the park's master plan. The 18.55-acre property sits between Georgetown Pike to the north and Dolley Madison Boulevard to the south. The agreement requires a barrier-free playground with a carousel and a pavilion, and it rules out athletic fields. That means no future version of Clemyjontri becomes a sports complex or loses its accessibility mission. Those terms are written into the gift.
The playground opened in 2006. Visit Fairfax describes it as Virginia's first park where all children, including children with disabilities, can share a "parallel playground experience." The current layout follows the gift's requirements closely. The carousel sits at the center, with four themed "rooms" around it:
| Room | What it does now |
|---|---|
| Rainbow | Equipment colors change with the color of the soft surface, and the signs explain colors in Braille, sign language and English |
| Schoolhouse | Alphabet play, counting to 100, and a large maze with moving panels |
| Movin' and Groovin' | A transportation theme, a wheelchair-friendly drag strip and a trivia board |
| Fitness & Fun | An "energy burner" and balance activities for physical development |
The park added Virginia's first Liberty Swing in 2010. It's a wheelchair-accessible swing that locks automatically for safety. The Fairfax County Park Foundation's 2024 donor profile of Lebowitz says the playground draws more than 80,000 visitors a year.
What the Redesign Actually Puts on the Table
The Park Authority describes the project as a reimagining, not just new equipment. It picked the landscape architecture firm Hoerr Schaudt to lead the design under the theme "Where Every Child Can Play." Those choices fit inside the 2000 terms. The topics the county has set up for public input show where the real choices are:
- How to honor Clemyjontri's legacy while shaping its future
- What inclusive play means today and how to expand it for children of all abilities
- Design ideas drawn from Fairfax County's ecology, culture, history and communities
- Preferred types of play experiences and structures
- Look and feel, including landscaping, materials, textures and sensory elements
- Ways to bring together visitors of all ages and abilities
None of these asks whether the carousel stays or whether the park keeps its accessibility mission. All of them shape the experience of a Saturday morning visit: what the ground feels like, what the structures look like, and whether the design reflects Northern Virginia or McLean in particular.
The scope is also tightly limited. Park Authority spokesperson Andy Grabel told FFXnow that the work covers only the playground and won't affect the park master plan last updated in 2022. That 2022 revision made room for a possible arts center as the park's next phase. FFXnow reports that idea isn't expected to move forward any time soon, if ever. McLean Project for the Arts, which had pushed for it, chose to build a new arts and education center in downtown McLean instead. We covered that move in McLean's Arts Scene Just Got A Second Address. For now, the playground is the only part of Clemyjontri being redesigned.
A Countywide Process for a McLean Park
The playground sits in McLean, but the county treats it as a countywide destination, and the schedule reflects that. The first public meeting will be on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. in the ballroom at Twin Lakes Golf Course, 6201 Union Mill Road in Clifton. FFXnow asked why the meeting isn't closer to the park. Grabel said:
"Because Clemyjontri Park is a destination park that attracts visitors from around the county, the Park Authority decided to host the meeting at a more centrally-located space in Fairfax County that can accommodate 200+ people. Twin Lakes provides the capacity and open environment that works well for community engagement."
The funding works the same way. The Park Authority hopes to pay for the main parts of the renovation through the 2026 Park Bond. If voters approve it on Nov. 3, it would provide up to $180 million for capital projects across the park system. A separate $75 million human services question is on the same ballot. The park bond's plain-language statement doesn't name Clemyjontri as a separate project. According to FFXnow, the Park Authority's own figure for the playground's share depends on the public meeting:
"After the public meeting on November 5th, we will have a better understanding of the total cost that is to be earmarked in the 2026 Park Bond."
So the bond vote comes two days before anyone sees the first design, and the playground's share of the money is set after both. The only earlier cost figure is from the county's 2025 design solicitation. It asked teams to plan within a $4 million to $5 million construction budget and targeted spring 2027 for finishing construction-ready design. Those numbers came before the project's current early stage, so treat them as a planning baseline, not a commitment. No construction start date has been announced, and the county hasn't said whether the playground will close during construction.
The Calendar, Start to Finish
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Now through Nov. 3 | Early voting on the 2026 Park Bond is underway |
| Oct. 22 | Deadline to request Nov. 5 meeting materials in a language other than English, through [email protected] |
| Tuesday, Nov. 3 | Election Day; the park bond is on the ballot |
| Thursday, Nov. 5, 6 p.m. | First public look at the design vision, Twin Lakes Golf Course, Clifton |
| Through Monday, Dec. 7, 5 p.m. | Online comments accepted |
| Likely early 2027 | At least one follow-up community meeting |
The online comment period matters most for people who live near the park. The trip to Clifton on a Thursday evening is long for families near Georgetown Pike. The Clemyjontri Park PublicInput page takes comments through Dec. 7, and it's the main place to weigh in without making that trip.
Where Private Money Comes In
The Park Authority says the project is being designed to scale. The bond would pay for the base design, and community contributions could add amenities and extra features on top. The Fairfax County Park Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that raises private money to add to public funding, will soon start accepting donations for Clemyjontri. FFXnow notes the foundation's role assumes the referendum passes.
This setup echoes the park's beginning. Clemyjontri exists because one McLean landowner gave her land with specific conditions. The redesign plans for private gifts again, this time to fund whatever goes beyond the public baseline. Specific design ideas sent in by Dec. 7 are the input most likely to shape what that baseline includes. The Park Authority says it will use the Nov. 5 feedback for the next phase of design.
The county directs questions to its Public Information Office at [email protected].
Long-term projects like this shape what living in McLean feels like, and Maria follows them the same way she follows construction schedules. If you'd like to talk about how changes to places like Clemyjontri fit into your plans here, Maria Park is happy to share what she's tracking. Work With Maria.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
