One of the first office buildings built in Fair Lakes could flip into housing

One of Fair Lakes’ first office buildings — Parkway Woods — could flip into a residential development.

TPC Hornbaker LC is seeking the county’s permission to redevelop the three-story office building and parking lot spread across nearly 4.4 acres into an apartment building.

The development application, which targets 12801 Fair Lakes Parkway, argues that higher office vacancies and lower office and retail demand justify the need for redevelopment.

The existing office building was first built in 1987 and is roughly 64,000 square feet in size.

“Many of Fair Lakes’ first generation office buildings, including Parkway Woods, must now compete with newer buildings in transit-served mixed-use submarkets in Northern Virginia which have a strong brand identity, modern infrastructure, floor plates, and amenities, and closer proximity to Metrorail,” the March 17 application says.

The plan lays out two options for redevelopment.

The first option would include two phases with two residential buildings totaling 317 units. The first phase would include a nine-story, 204-unit building, including 16 workforce dwelling units (WDU), and the second phase would include 113 units with nine WDUs across seven stories.

The proposed building heights are around 110 feet and 80 feet, respectively.

The second option stipulates a single 289-unit residential building with 23 WDUs. That building would be roughly 75 feet tall.

Both options will include a fitness center, meeting rooms, outdoor recreation areas and seating areas.

“The proposed residential development has been designed to be cohesive with adjacent parcels and does not increase the overall intensity of Fair Lakes as a whole,” the application says.

Approval of the project would require rezoning. The application is in the early stages of the county’s redevelopment process and has not yet been accepted for review.