McLean’s housing supply will expand in the coming years as a result of two very different development proposals approved last week by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
The board voted unanimously on March 17 to rezone the McLean Office Center at 1368 Beverly Road from a commercial district to a planned residential mixed-use district, paving the way for a 56-unit apartment building to replace the existing pair of two-story office buildings.
Located on a tight, 0.56-acre parcel in the center of downtown McLean, the seven-story apartment complex will include at least seven designated workforce dwelling units (WDUs) and 2,120 square feet of ground-floor retail, complemented by a public plaza with landscaping and artwork.
“That wasn’t originally in the plan,” Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman said of the inclusion of retail space. “But you came back and were accommodating on that so that we could have street activation, so people in McLean could also benefit from having this new building there.”
By providing a needed gathering spot, the plaza’s prominent position at the corner of Beverly and Elm Street could also boost traffic to nearby restaurants and businesses, such as Aracosia and Dolce Vita Salon and Spa, Bierman added.
According to Evan Pritchard, a land use attorney representing developer Cypress Real Estate Company, the existing office buildings are “underutilized” despite the site’s location “at the center of the center” of the McLean Community Business Center (CBC).
“We want to bring it forward and make it worthy of the vision that was adopted in the comprehensive plan through a lot of hard work just a few years ago,” he said.
As conditions of the rezoning application’s approval, the developer has agreed to contribute funds for the county to develop urban park amenities elsewhere, compensating for its ability to provide only 0.09 acres on the site.
The developer will also conduct an architectural survey and give $5,000 to the Fairfax County History Commission so it can install a historic marker or interpretative signage to commemorate the “Corner House,” which was built at 6830 Elm Street in 1934 and belonged to Charlotte Troughton Corner, one of the first teachers at McLean’s Franklin Sherman School. Later rented out as an office building, it will be demolished as part of the redevelopment.
Transportation improvements will include interim striping on Beverly and Elm to create 6-foot-wide bike lanes, a new ADA-compliant bus pad and bench for the existing Fairfax Connector bus stop on Beverly Road, and new striped crosswalks across both Beverly and Elm, pending the Virginia Department of Transportation’s approval.
The one hitch in the plan was Cypress’ struggle to convince neighboring property owners to consolidate with its site to allow a larger development, but Bierman and Pritchard both expressed hope that the project will spur a revitalization of other older buildings in the downtown area.
“I hope to see this as a catalyst [that will] bring us more projects for downtown McLean as well, and I’m very happy to support this application,” Bierman said.
Single-family homes approved on Spring Hill Road
The Board of Supervisors also gave its support on March 17 to a rezoning application from Wormwald Companies that will allow 14 single-family houses on a nearly 5-acre lot on Spring Hill Road at the edge of McLean.
Located just north of the Dulles Toll Road across the street from Sunrise of McLean, the four parcels at 1336, 1340, 1344 and 1348 Spring Hill Road are currently occupied by individual houses that take up only a portion of the otherwise vacant land.
Property owners Shanker and Nayan Patel had previously proposed redeveloping the site with townhomes but enlisted Wormwald to build single-family houses instead after nearby residents argued that townhouses would be incompatible with the surrounding neighborhoods.
Named the Spring Hill Reserve, the planned subdivision will include approximately 2 acres of open space, including some passive recreational amenities, landscaping and preserved tree areas, Fairfax County planner Tabitha Cole told the Board of Supervisors.
Access to the subdivision will be provided by a new private street that will also serve the Baptist Charity Church to the north.
“The development would include 5-foot-wide sidewalks and on-street guest parking,” Cole said. “Off-site improvements include a left-turn lane on northbound Spring Hill Road, a southbound bicycle lane, striped crosswalks and a bus shelter.”
Bierman thanked the developer for working with county staff on the application, including on the inclusion of sidewalks and bicycle lanes and the tree preservation and planting commitments. In addition to their environmental benefits, the trees will provide a buffer for residents from the toll road.
“What they’re going to do on this plot is very much in line with what’s right across the street,” Bierman said. “There’s another residential development across the street. It fits with the neighborhood.”
