Plans for affordable housing at Fairfax County Government Center unveiled

A proposal to convert parking lots at the Fairfax County Government Center into affordable housing is officially taking shape.

The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority and Lincoln Avenue Capital have formally submitted a conceptual plan to the county for what is known as Residences at Government Center II, according to materials filed July 8.

Through the public-private partnership, the county would redevelop mostly lots G and H into two apartment buildings with 293 affordable units and 15,000 square feet of supportive secondary uses. Both buildings would sit on a podium over a consolidated underground parking garage, according to the application.

The applicants say the proposal is intended to “activate the government center as part of a long-term initiative to begin the government center’s transition into a community-oriented center of activity.”

The overall vision calls for situating the buildings to create a street front along Government Center Parkway, with a pedestrian pathway through the center of the site. Amenities will include spaces for community activities and a daycare center.

A central pedestrian promenade is planned as well, while residents will be able to take advantage of outdoor amenity space with semi-private courtyards, according to the application. The site will also include a community hall called Fairfax One.

So far, the project is in the preliminary phases of the county’s approval process. Once it’s formally accepted for review, it will head for scheduling before the county’s various land use and zoning entities.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a transfer of the 1,300-space parking lot to the housing authority in late January last year. The site is within walking distance of a planned future extension of Metro’s Orange Line from Vienna to Centreville.