A plan to build 24 cottage-style independent living units on The Virginian compound along Arlington Blvd in Mantua have taken a key step forward.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission voted unanimously on Dec. 11 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve the new facilities at 9229 Arlington Blvd on the south side of Route 50 between Blake Lane and Nutley Street, just east of Fairfax City.
The measure is likely to heard by supervisors in January.
Planning commissioners said concerns about accessibility, parking, stormwater management and other issues raised at an earlier hearing had been addressed sufficiently approve a final development plan and recommend approval of zoning changes to allow two dozen cottage-style units on the 35.6-acre parcel.
However, issues brought up by residents already living at The Virginian at the Dec. 4 public hearing, including food service challenges and reportedly inadequate communication about the proposed development, remain problematic, commissioners said.
Those operational matters were “beyond the scope” of the planning commission’s authority, chair Phil Niedzielski-Eichner (At-Large) said, but the Board of Supervisors likely will want the property owner to demonstrate that it’s making an effort to address residents’ concerns.
“Outreach to its own residents has been inadequate,” Niedzielski-Eichner said of property owner Focus Healthcare Partners’ efforts so far. “I’m disappointed.”
Jennifer Garcia, who represented The Virginian, said a meeting with residents on Dec. 10 attracted 70 participants, and another will be held prior to the Board of Supervisors hearing, which is scheduled for Jan. 14.
In addition to independent living facilities, The Virginian offers assisted-living and memory-care housing options, along with nursing/rehabilitation services and a program for those living with Parkinson’s disease.
The Virginian is managed by Life Care Services, which provides similar management services across more than 30 states. The existing five-story facility, built in 1980, has 330 one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 284 to 1,322 square feet.
The rear sides of 16 of the duplex-style cottages would front Arlington Blvd, with the remaining eight units set back from the roadway. Each unit would have about 2,000 square feet of interior space with a porch and one-car garage.
Among other components of the agreement that is headed to supervisors:
- Two of the 24 units will be rented or sold at 50% of the other cottages’ average rent or sales price.
- The property owner will contribute $3 per square foot (a total of approximately $144,000) to the county’s affordable housing trust fund.
- The property owner is offering to turn over 10.2 acres of the site within a resource protection area to the Fairfax County Park Authority, and provide $30,000 to remove and manage invasive species there.
- The county government will get $893 per new resident in support of recreation programming
