A freestanding PNC Bank in the McNair area south of Herndon is now slated to get some company.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning last week to allow 48 stacked townhouses on the northern end of the 4.7-acre site at the intersection of Centreville and Coppermine roads, right across the street from the Village Center at Dulles shopping center.
Though the parcel was zoned for commercial use in 2003, it has stayed vacant except for the drive-thru bank, which was built after getting the county’s approval in 2007.
“We are very happy to be here today to bring a proposal that’s consistent with the comprehensive plan,” Sara Mariska, a land-use attorney representing the developer Dulles Center LLC, said at the board’s June 25 public hearing.
Last updated in 2019, the county’s comprehensive plan for the Dulles Suburban Center recommends residential development on the site at a density of eight to 12 units per acre in line with the townhomes already built to the south and west.
The proposed Towns at Dulles townhomes will meet that guidance with 11.3 dwelling units per acre, county planner Tabitha Cole told the board, noting that development on the northern end of the site has been limited by a resource protection area (RPA), floodplain and overhead power lines.
Since submitting its rezoning application to the county in 2022, Dulles Center has revised its proposal with commitments to maintain and preserve the RPA, designate 12% of the townhouses as workforce dwelling units (WDUs), and build an 8-foot-wide asphalt path from the Merrybrook Run Stream Valley Trail to an existing sidewalk along Centreville Road.
Other planned transportation improvements include a crosswalk and median striping that will “better direct the flow of traffic” at the Centreville Road intersection, according to Cole.
The changes will bring “significant benefits” to the future residents and surrounding community, Mariska said.
The developer will also exceed county requirements with 1.84 acres of open space, or 40% of the site. That will include the RPA and two recreational areas with various amenities, such as a gazebo, fitness equipment, open lawns and a bocce ball or corn hole court.
Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman commended the applicant for surpassing the county’s 30% requirement for open space, agreeing to obtain green building certification and offering initial buyers the option of installing electric vehicle charging panels.
“You guys know I like that stuff, and it’s a good use considering the surrounding development and delivering much-needed housing in the area,” Bierman said before the unanimous vote.
All of the townhomes will have garages, though only 38 of them will have driveways. The development will also have 27 surface parking spaces, bringing it up to a total of 115 spots.
Bierman also thanked Dulles Center for working with Beacon Hill Missionary Church to relocate two trailers that the church uses for a food bank and administrative purposes.
A representative for the church confirmed to the Fairfax County Planning Commission in February that it’s supportive of the new townhouses after the developer committed to helping find a long-term solution that would enable it to keep the trailers.
