A new condominium complex is under construction at MetroWest.
Crews have spent the past couple of weeks digging up a vacant lot in the middle of the Oakton development. Fencing and road blocks have been erected around the nearly 7.5-acre site, closing Royal Victoria Drive to traffic from Vaden Drive as well as footpaths used by residents to get to the Vienna Metro station to the north.
Pulte Group confirmed that it “recently commenced” construction on 236 condo units for the next phase of its portion of MetroWest. The new housing will come with long-awaited amenities but only a limited amount of commercial space.
“We encourage prospective residents to reach out next summer for an update regarding sales opening,” Pulte Group said in a statement to FFXnow. “In the meantime, we look forward to working with the community and being a respected neighbor throughout the process.”
MetroWest was once at the forefront of Fairfax County’s pivot toward transit-oriented, mixed-use development. Approved by local leaders in 2006, the original plan from Pulte and fellow developer CRC Companies would’ve transformed 56 acres between Saintsbury Road and Route 29 with 2,248 housing units, 300,000 square feet of office, and at least 100,000 square feet of other commercial and institutional uses, including retail and government facilities.
While several components have been delivered, including the Providence Community Center, 500 townhomes and condos, senior housing and an assisted-living community, the development stalled over the core area closest to the Metro station, where the commercial space and amenities were concentrated.
To break the stasis, Pulte eventually proposed dropping a requirement capping the development at 1,100 residential units until CRC starts construction on its portion of the project — a town center with four buildings that would include multi-family housing, office space and retail, along with a plaza to connect the community to the Metro station.
The condos now under construction constitute about half of the up to 480 residential units promised by Pulte and approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in January 2022, including 23 of 52 affordable dwelling units.
Ranging in height from 64 to nearly 70 feet, the four buildings will be six stories tall over two levels of underground parking and surround a central, publicly accessible courtyard with a swimming pool, playground, outdoor seating and a walking path from Sprague Avenue to Bastille Street, according to a site plan that’s still under county review.
The buildings will also contain 7,660 square feet of retail and a 2,008-square-foot community room. Another 200 residential units and 13,939 square feet of commercial space, including a day care center, are planned in a future building on the west side of Royal Victoria Drive.
A Pulte spokesperson didn’t respond by press time to follow-up questions about when construction is expected to finish and whether it has a possible timeline for its final MetroWest building.
CRC’s plan for the town center is also up in the air. The county approved new development conditions in November 2022 that were supposed to clear the way for construction, but a site plan for two apartment buildings with 553 units and retail is still marked as “pending developer” in the county’s planning and land use database.
According to the county’s Land Development Services (LDS), the status means the site plan has received technical approval from its Site Development & Inspections Division, but staff are still waiting for the development conditions to be finalized.
“Typically, the developer works with our Bonds and Addressing Center to meet those conditions,” the LDS Site Application Center said.
CRC didn’t return FFXnow’s request for comment by press time.
