Residents in the Wolf Trap area might need to find a new source of bonsai and other plants in the future.
The owners of Wolf Trap Nursery are seeking to redevelop the nearly 6.5-acre property at 9439 Leesburg Pike where they have sold a variety of home and garden plants for 53 years, according to a rezoning application recently submitted to Fairfax County.
The Cupp Living Trust has enlisted Vienna-based developer Sekas Homes to turn the lot into a “modest, but high quality residential redevelopment” with 13 single-family houses, Sekas Homes acquisitions and development leader Mike Van Atta said in an Aug. 18 statement of justification.
“The proposed homes will be high quality construction consistent with the exceptional standard consistently demonstrated by Sekas Homes,” Van Atta wrote. “All of the homes will be green building certified and will include construction techniques to ensure roadway noise is mitigated to acceptable levels.”
Opened in 1972 by Blair and Dorothy Cupp, Wolf Trap Nursery sells house plants, annual and perennial flowers, trees, shrubs, fruit and vegetable plants, seeds, bulbs, and Christmas trees, according to its website. It specializes on bonsai, offering soil, pots and even workshops in addition to the trees themselves.
FFXnow reached out to the nursery for comment on Friday (Aug. 22) but didn’t hear back by press time.
To allow the proposed Castleton Hills development, Sekas Homes is requesting that Fairfax County rezone the property from the R-1 District, which is limited to low-density housing, to a planned development district that permits up to two dwelling units per acre.
According to the application, the new houses will have an average lot size of 11,915 square feet, which is smaller than some immediately adjacent properties but larger than others.
All lots will have a setback of at least 50 feet from Leesburg Pike, Van Atta says.
Sekas Homes intends to preserve 25,681 square feet of tree canopy, but “robust plantings” will still be needed to meet the county’s canopy requirements.
“A deviation from the tree preservation requirements is being sought due to the poor condition of existing tree canopy and presence of invasive species,” the statement says. “The remainder of canopy to meet the tree preservation requirement will be achieved with new plantings on the Property.”
As a condition of getting its rezoning request approved, the home builder “anticipates” offering to remove invasive species on the site. It will also install a new stormwater management facility to handle runoff.
Other proposed changes include the removal of the easternmost curb cut along Leesburg Pike — one of two existing access points used by Wolf Trap Nursery — and the construction of two new, internal public streets dubbed Castleton Way and Rosewood Lane, per the submitted development plan.
The developer would also provide new sidewalks, an updated shared-use trail along Route 7 and a central community gathering area.
Sekas Homes has built more than 500 homes over four decades of business, according to its website. Currently based on Church Street, the company is planning to move its headquarters to a vacant bank building at 515 Maple Avenue in the Town of Vienna that it will redevelop with condominiums and commercial space.
Image via Google Maps
