Residential housing could replace vacant offices on Worldgate Drive in Herndon

Hundreds of residential units are on the horizon for two linked, vacant office buildings on Worldgate Drive in Herndon.

According to preliminary plans before the town’s Architectural Review Board, the applicant wants to build a combination of townhouses and apartment units on a 10.4-acre property at the intersection of Worldgate Drive and Elden Street.

If approved, the project would include a 360-unit apartment building, 52 units of four-floor, stacked flats and 49 townhouses.

A 487-space parking garage is planned, along with 39 surface parking spots. Stacked private garages will have 104 dedicated spaces while townhouses will have 98 spaces, according to a preliminary site plan from developer Boston Properties.

The proposal to redevelop the buildings at 13100 and 13150 Worldgate Drive first came before the architectural review board over the summer.

“After studying several options, the team opted for a concept which bisects the site to proportion the multi-family and single-family components, partially demolishes the garage, and improves the area connectivity by adding a new street grid,” a presentation on the potential application says.

The apartment building will use half of the garage structure and wrap around it to create internal courtyards and a “urban edge” towards Elden Street and Worldgate Drive. The townhouses are proposed as a series of blocks with townhouses and stacked flats.

The development would add a road from the south to “announce the multi-family amenity from Worldgate Drive” and create a public plaza. A new internal road will connect the townhouses to the apartment building’s entrance, according to the presentation.

The pre-application heads to the ARB today (Wednesday) for remarks. It will then go before the town’s planning commission.