A local developer is seeking to install a drive-thru option for a new bank in Springfield.
Property owner Federal Realty has applied for a special exception from Fairfax County to construct an “ATM only drive through” at 6331 Backlick Road, the site of a forthcoming Chase Bank in the Tower Shopping Center.
The single drive-thru lane would wrap around the east side of the bank, collecting users from the shopping center’s Bland Street entrance and depositing them elsewhere in the parking lot.
“Enhanced landscaping” would also be installed, according to materials submitted to county officials.
“The drive-through facility will offer convenient, efficient service to local patrons, enhance the viability of an older commercial property, and contribute to the revitalization goals of the Springfield area, all while ensuring compatibility with the surrounding community and infrastructure,” a Federal Realty representative wrote in a statement of justification.
The proposed drive-thru lane would accommodate up to six stacked vehicles, which Federal Realty asserts is “sufficient to avoid any spillover into the shopping center’s drive aisles or public streets.”
The ATM would operate around the clock, supporting an estimated 150 visits per day “based on comparable bank branches,” the application says.
The bank itself will have about six workers present during regular business hours and is expected to generate approximately 334 daily trips on average.
A timeline for the project’s approval is not currently known. The special exception application was submitted on Nov. 21 but hasn’t yet been accepted by county staff for review, as of press time.
The application must be approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors following a public hearing.
Construction of the bank building appears to be mostly complete, though a targeted opening date has not yet been publicly announced. The new building is approximately 3,333 square feet in size and located on the northwest side of the shopping center, whose anchor retailers include Talbot’s and L.A. Mart.
When it opens, the bank will be Chase’s sixth branch in Fairfax County, joining locations in Fairfax City, Fair Lakes, Greenbriar and Merrifield. All of them offer ATM uses.
