More homes could replace Reston office buildings on Sunset Hills Road

Pulte Homes wants to replace three office buildings built in the early 1980s on Sunset Hills Road with a new residential development.

The Georgia-based company submitted an application to Fairfax County on March 16 to build 100 multi-family residential units and 90 stacked for-sale townhouses at 1111 Sunset Hills Road.

The proposal asks the county to approve rezone the property for planned residential mixed-use development.

The developer says the proposal is in line with draft changes to Reston’s Comprehensive Plan, which are currently under consideration by staff as part of a comprehensive review kickstarted months ago. Those draft recommendations contemplate redeveloping the property.

“This project presents an opportunity to create additional, for-sale attainably priced housing in accordance with Reston’s planning principles, and to do so with development that is compatible with the comfortable, pedestrian-scaled urban neighborhood in the vicinity of the Property,” the application says.

Pulte’s plan comes forward months before updates to the plan would go into effect, possibly by the end of the year.

All three low-rise office buildings would be demolished if the plan moves forward. Two apartment buildings will be located along Sunset Hills on the northwestern part of the property, while a third building will be located on the southwestern corner of the road.

As part of the project, Reston Station Boulevard may be extended to Sunset Hills Road. Pulte says a complete sidewalk, on-street parking, landscaping, and other streetscape elements along that street cannot be completed without the redevelopment of the property.

On-street parking and a bicycle lane are also planned on the north side of Reston Station Boulevard.

The connection of Reston Station Boulevard to Sunset Hills Road would also be realigned, functionally relocating the intersect along a future South Lakes Drive connector, which is planned to cross the Dulles Toll Road. Pulte plans to dedicate the right-of-way within the property to facilitate this crossing.

The plan describes a proposed one-acre park fronting Reston Station Boulevard as a “perfect area for small to mid-size gatherings for the community” and an “open space retreat within the urban downtown feeling of the surrounding Reston area.”

The developer plans to create two other open areas within the site, including a playground and a gaming pocket park.

The development site is next to the Lofts at Reston Station.