An updated vision for the next phase of Reston Town Center’s expansion is starting to solidify.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission voted 11-0 on Sept. 17 to support developer BXP’s requested revisions to its previously approved plan for the second phase of the project known informally as RTC Next.
The current proposal calls for approximately 930,000 square feet of office space across two new towers — an increase from the prior approval in 2018. BXP’s plan also shows two residential buildings, 22,000 square feet of retail and other ground-floor uses, and a block that will be dedicated to the county for a 60,000-square-foot performing arts center.
At full buildout, RTC Next would total approximately 4 million square feet of development, including a recently completed first phase that included two office buildings, the Skymark apartments and Marriott’s AC Hotel and Residences. New retail space is still being filled out.
Phase 2 will expand the town center to 33 acres of land east of Visionary Way. The site is bounded by the Washington & Old Dominion Trail to the north, Sunset Hills Road to the south and a planned extension of Library Street to east.
There are four existing office buildings in the area, two of which will be demolished. Two located between the future Library Street extension and Reston Parkway would remain.
Hunter Mill District Planning Commissioner John Carter, whose district includes Reston, said the proposed mix of residential and commercial uses is appropriate given its location.
“This plan has at least strived for a fairly close balance,” he said. “It’s a little higher on the commercial [side] because this is the Silver Line corridor, but basically, it’s balanced.”
Carter also praised the interconnectedness of park spaces that will be dotted throughout the parcel and additional access points to the Metro station.
In a key change from the previous plan, BXP has proposed placing one of the office buildings on Block J, which had been designated as the performing arts facility by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
The arts center will now be moved west to the newly created Block G2, adjacent to a linear park that will separate RTC Next’s first and second phases and connect the town center with the Metro station.
That switch won support from Braddock District Commissioner Mary Cortina, who anticipates it would provide more visibility for the facility. An operator and a funding source for the arts center have yet to be identified.
Unchanged from previous iterations of the plan, the developer has agreed to make 16% of the 1,402 proposed residential units available as either affordable or workforce housing, as defined by the county’s guidelines. Also unchanged are the maximum heights allowed for the various buildings.
Several commissioners zeroed in on plans for electric-vehicle charging stations on the site, but seemed to come away supporting the developer’s proposal.
Mark Looney, an attorney with Cooley LLP representing the applicant, said the changes being sought represented “refinements” rather than wholesale changes to previously approved plans.
The required public hearing at the commission’s Sept. 17 meeting drew no speakers. The application is now scheduled to go before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for a hearing and possible vote of approval on Oct. 28.
