Fairfax County has bumped up the amount of money developers must contribute toward public facilities in Tysons if they’re unable to deliver the goods themselves.
As of Dec. 16, the county is charging developers who submit rezoning applications for Tysons sites $2.22 per square foot of their project’s gross floor area to support the construction of roads, parks and other public spaces and infrastructure, Department of Planning and Development (DPD) staff said in a recent report to the Board of Supervisors.
When reviewing development applications, county staff negotiate conditions, or proffers, to address the project’s impact on the community. Applicants could be required to provide affordable housing units and park space, or build a sidewalk, for example.
If they can’t meet a particular requirement, the developer or property owner can offer a cash contribution instead to fund county-led projects, including public transportation, housing, parks and schools.
In Tysons, the proffer system has helped deliver the Scotts Run Fire Station, Capital One Hall and, as of June 1, 41 acres of public park space, according to the county’s Tysons Tracker.
“The provision of developer contributions towards public facilities is a key component to realize the vision for Tysons described in the Comprehensive Plan,” county staff said in an update for the board’s Dec. 3 meeting. “… While most redevelopments in Tysons commit to construct or provide public facility space as part of their entitlement, there are cases where a monetary contribution is appropriate to address Plan goals.”
The DPD says it periodically evaluates the formula used to calculate developers’ monetary contributions, leading to annual adjustments.
The Tysons Comprehensive Plan, originally adopted in 2010, started with a base rate of $1.50 per square foot of the gross floor area based on the cost of building a fire station as part of the Spring Hill Demonstration Project, which became the first redevelopment approved under the plan in 2011. Like most of that planned development, the proffered fire station, which will replace the existing Fire Station 29, still hasn’t been built.
Over the years, the county has revised the proffer rate for public facilities to reflect inflation, and in 2015, it was reset to match the rates used to calculate contributions to a newly established Tysons-wide Transportation Fund. Prior to the current update, the rate was last adjusted in 2023 with an increase from $2 to $2.15.
“Adoption of the revised rates will increase developer contributions that support the development of public facilities needed in the Tysons Urban Center,” DPD said.
County lands state funding for road projects
At its Dec. 3 meeting, the Board of Supervisors also authorized the Fairfax County Department of Transportation to accept state funding for the design and construction of Lincoln Street — a planned connection between Old Meadow Road and Magarity Road in eastern Tysons — and an extension of Shirley Gate Road from Braddock Road to Fairfax County Parkway near Fairfax Station.
The Virginia Department of Transportation awarded $1.9 million for the Lincoln Street project from its Revenue Sharing Program, resulting in an additional $3.8 million with the county matching the state funds. The project previously got $16 million from the same program, including the local match, getting it closer to halfway toward its estimated cost of $47.9 million.
FCDOT staff presented an update on its planned Lincoln Street design to the public in November, but construction isn’t expected to begin until summer 2028.
The $5.4 million awarded for the Shirley Gate Road extension, which will add about a mile to the two-lane road, is the first funding the project has gotten from VDOT’s Revenue Sharing Program. Currently expected to cost $31 million, the project design was fully funded, but the board voted in July 2023 to redirect $5 million toward improvements on Lee Chapel Road after two teens were killed in a crash there.
If it can get the remaining $25 million needed for construction, the county anticipates starting site work on the Shirley Gate extension in 2026.
