Office plans scrubbed in place of more proposed housing at Fair Lakes

Offices may no longer accompany an existing 10-story office building at Fair Lakes Circle.

Developer Grubb Properties Inc. wants Fairfax County’s permission to build a 400-unit apartment building at 12701 Fair Lakes Circle, currently the site of an office building known as Argon Plaza. The proposal replaces plans calling for a second office building on the parking lot that date back to 2005, according to the Washington Business Journal.

A shared parking garage with 580 spaces is also planned. The site was previously approved for two new office buildings, each up to 10 stories in height.

If the change is approved, the developer plans to break ground in 2025 and complete the project in 2026.

“Office space in the post-pandemic time period has been severely challenged, and this approved but unbuilt square footage is likely to remain unbuilt for some time,” the application says. “By converting approved but unbuilt office square footage to residential, this application adds new market-affordable and workforce housing to Fairfax County’s housing inventory and helps address the region and the County’s challenging housing shortage.”

The application also argues that the development would support restaurants and retailers in the vicinity.

Although the development would be exempt from the county’s Affordable Dwelling Units program, at least 30 units will be designated as Workforce Dwelling Units for individuals and families within 60 to 80% of the area median income.

The application was recently flagged for some deficiencies and is in the early stages of the review process.