The last undeveloped parcel in the Woodland Park East development near the Herndon Metro station will move forward with multifamily residential units and a self-storage facility, rather than the previously proposed twin office buildings.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday (Oct. 14) to support developer Trammell Crow Residential’s request for zoning changes on “Block E,” a 3.3-acre parcel on the northeast portion of the 32-acre Woodland Park property. It is located between the Dulles Access Road to the north and Woodland Park Drive to the south and Monroe Street to the east and Corporate Park Drive to the west.
Previously approved for two eight-story office buildings, the revised plan calls for a seven-story apartment building with 314 units connected to a 117,000-square-foot self-storage building.
The newly adopted plan will result in “an innovative mix of uses” to complement other portions of the Woodland Park East development, said land-use attorney Amanda Williams of Cooley LLP. It earlier received support from the Fairfax County Planning Commission and the Hunter Mill Land Use Committee.
The developer plans to build the project, which will front on Woodland View Drive, in two phases:
- The first phase will include the residential units and ground-floor retail, plus a temporary park where the self-storage facility ultimately will be located.
- The second phase will attach the self-storage facility to the residential structure, with the retail spaces potentially being repurposed to serve as the storage facility’s storefront.
The buildings would rise to a maximum height of 85 feet, with 414 parking spaces and open space on just under 25% of the parcel. A total of 38 workforce dwelling units will be part of the residential component.
While the approved plan doesn’t specify whether the housing will for rent or sale, renderings suggest it will be part of Trammell Crow’s Alexan apartment brand.
Block E is located to the west of the Metro station, separated by Monroe Street. The developer has committed to future pedestrian improvements to allow easier access to the pathway leading from Monroe Street to the transit station.
Immediately west of Block E is the Woodland Community Sports Park.
No speakers turned up for the public hearing that preceded the vote. The only supervisor to speak on the project was Board Chair Jeff McKay, who noted this was the first proposal he’d seen to combine residential units and a self-storage facility in a seamless structure.
McKay said the design team did a “really good job” in managing to maintain design integrity between the two separate uses, which is “not as easy as it looked.”
Texas-based Trammell Crow acquired the parcel last year. Attorney Williams said the desire to change zoning from office to residential was based on market conditions.
Though close to a Metro station, the site is not close enough to draw some commercial tenants and was better suited for residential use, she told the supervisors.
