A Tysons parking lot that has been slated for development for over a decade now could finally see some activity of the recreational variety instead.
The Arlington-based sports company Epic Padel is proposing to build six temporary padel tennis courts on surface parking for the Greensboro Park offices at 8200 Greensboro Drive, according to a rezoning application submitted to Fairfax County last Friday (April 4).
The approximately 2.5-acre site is expected to eventually be redeveloped with a pair of residential towers to accompany the two existing office buildings. Approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2014, the Greensboro Park Place plan envisions multi-family residential buildings with 483 and 520 units, approximately 3,000 square feet of publicly accessible community space and up to 1,990 square feet of retail.
However, construction on the housing never got underway, and Epic Padel’s proposal suggests that isn’t going to change in the immediate future.
“Given the length and time necessary to achieve the full build out of Greensboro Park Place, the Applicant is proposing an interim use to enhance aesthetics, promote place-making and create an opportunity to activate Tysons,” Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh land use planner Bernard Suchicital wrote in a statement of justification for the application, which was first reported by the Washington Business Journal.
Originally developed in Mexico in the 1960s, padel mixes elements of tennis and squash and has become particularly popular in Spain and Latin America, the application says. In the U.S., where the sport is starting to gain traction, there are fewer than 350 courts.
The opening of Padel Up in Sterling last November gave the D.C. region its first dedicated padel facility.
According to its website, Epic Padel hopes to become the top operator of padel clubs in North America with plans for both indoor facilities and “hybrid” courts in parks and parking lots that could be covered during the winter months.
The company anticipates opening its first facility this summer at the Prosperity Athletic Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, and locations in D.C. and Alexandria are in the works.
According to the WBJ, Epic Padel had planned to add courts in Tysons on the roof of Alarm.com’s headquarters at 8281 Greensboro Drive — across the street from Greensboro Park — but “complications” led it to consider a ground-level club instead.
Expected to be in place for approximately four years, the Greensboro Park courts will be accompanied by on-site restrooms for patrons, bicycle racks, outdoor seating and a “small” building with locker rooms, merchandise and a concession stand, Epic’s application says.
Each court is roughly one-third of the size of a tennis court and surrounded by glass and metal mesh walls. The company says the facilities, which will total approximately 37,706 square feet, will also be screened by existing and new trees.
“The interim use will contribute to the vibrancy of Tysons in the short term and assist with its future development,” the application said.
New development is also being considered to replace the OneLife Fitness building at 8250 Greensboro Drive, adjacent to Greensboro Park. Arlington-based developer Paradigm Companies filed an application with the county in early March that calls for two multi-family residential buildings with up to 651 units.
In its application, which has yet to be formally accepted for review by county planners, Paradigm said its proposal was designed to be compatible with the approved Greensboro Park Place development.
