Fairfax County took a step closer last week to opening up another commercial area in Merrifield to housing.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission voted 11-0 on Sept. 17 to recommend approval of a comprehensive plan amendment that would allow future redevelopment of the 41-acre Prosperity Business Campus.
Originally requested by property owner Link Logistics in 2022, the amendment would create an option to replace most of the office and warehouse buildings near the Dunn Loring Metro station with residential mixed-use development — if all 14 of the parcels that make up the commercial complex can be consolidated.
The proposed intensity would allow up to 2.4 million square feet of development, including 2,173 new residential units, according to a county staff report.
Providence District Commissioner Jeremy Hancock, whose district includes the office park, applauded the vote in support of the proposed development, while promising “a lot more work as this moves forward.”
If the comprehensive plan change is greenlit by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Nov. 18, the county would still need to approve an application to rezone the area from an industrial district to a residential mixed-use one.
Currently under staff review, the rezoning application filed in January by Link Logistics and an affiliate of EYA Development proposes two potential scenarios:
- 1,545 total residential units, with 468 townhouses of up to four stories and 1,077 multifamily units in buildings rising up to 85 feet
- 1,900 units, with 332 townhouses and 1,568 multifamily units
“We’re seeking flexibility to let the market decide,” said Bob Brant, a land use attorney with Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh representing Link Logistics and EYA.
The idea of following the potentially volatile whims of the real estate market drew flak from Braddock District Planning Commissioner Mary Cortina, who voiced concern that the possible development won’t be dense enough, given the proximity to Metro.
“I would really frown on too many townhouses here,” Cortina said. “If it’s just a bunch of townhouses, that’s just a real waste.”
When commission chair Phil Niedzielski-Eichner also raised concerns about the housing mix, Brant responded that the higher-density multifamily units would be located on the north end of the property, nearest the Metro station.
Niedzielski-Eichner asked if the development team would be willing to consider increasing the multifamily buildings to a maximum height of 100 feet. It would be considered as an option, the attorney said.
Other concerns raised at the meeting included the amount and location of parks within the site, construction phasing and the impact on traffic. All of those are likely to be fleshed out in far more detail once the rezoning plan becomes subject to public review.
Hunter Mill District Commissioner John Carter said that, on balance, the redevelopment proposal makes a lot of sense.
“It is an appealing example of community-building,” he said.
At-large commissioner Timothy Sargeant raised concerns about the price of future housing on the site, given that so much of the parcel would be for parks and roads, and the overall development density would be lower than in the nearby Mosaic District.
The ever-spiraling cost of new housing is “something we need to be mindful of” in all new development plans, Sargeant said.
Brant didn’t offer any dollar amounts, but he said the housing would come in at multiple price points and be “attainable” compared to what currently exists in the region.
At a public hearing preceding a vote, Brian Zelley, president of the nearby Dunn Loring Village Homeowners’ Association, raised concerns about traffic flow, construction disruption and preservation of a stream crossing that provides his community access to Metro.
In general, though, Zelley said he’s “cautiously optimistic” that “we can work things out” with the developer as the process moves forward.
The office and warehouse facilities in Prosperity Business Campus were constructed in the 1980s on both sides of Prosperity Avenue, with Hilltop Road to the south and I-66 to the north. The site consists of 10 low-rise buildings and three mid-rise buildings totaling about 1.54 million square feet.
Two parking structures are found on the campus, but most parking is provided in surface lots.
Adjacent to the parcel is the 5-acre Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission fronting Hilltop Road, which is not part of the redevelopment plan. A 5.5-acre open space on the west of the site, separating the business center from the Dunn Loring Village community, will also be left untouched.
