Extension Needed to Build Cell Phone Tower on Grove Street

Due to construction delays, the Herndon Town Council has to approve a special exemption for plans to move forward on the building of a telecommunications tower on 525 Grove Street.

Originally approved in April 2019, the monopole was to be built by the telecommunications company T-Mobile.

However, both the pandemic and a merger between T-Mobile and Sprint last April, has prevented construction from even beginning.

A condition of the April 2019 agreement was that a final building inspection needed to be completed within 18 months. In September 2020, T-Mobile requested the extension and special exemption.

In October, the company submitted their architecture plans to build a monopole that’s between 120 to 125 feet tall enclosed by a 15 feet by 100 foot long ground equipment facility.

The structure would butt up against the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, be “minimally visible” from Grove Street, and not interfere with residential properties. The site is also already being used by an electrical substation.

This is also a good site for the monopole, according to T-Mobile’s application, because there’s a need for cell service congestion in the area.

Overall, the plans have not changed since the initial April 2019 agreement and the tower will have a similar design to the one likely to be built near Herndon High School.

The Town Council staff supports the approval of the special exemption, which would provide an extension of six months and expire on April 23, 2021.

The exemption was discussed by the Town Council earlier this week at a work session and will be voted on at Tuesday, Jan 26 public session.

Photo via handout/Google Maps