A Seven Corners apartment building owner has been granted the option to more than double the number of residential units on the site while also adding retail space.
Voting unanimously and without comment, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a site-specific plan amendment (SSPA) on Tuesday (May 5) that lets the Cavalier Club accommodate up to 300 new multifamily units, along with up to 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail uses.
The approval sets the stage for county officials to consider a rezoning request from property owner Southern Management Companies and its developer partner EYA, which are proposing to expand on the existing apartment complex at 6200 Wilson Blvd with a new 250-unit multifamily residential building supported by 5,000 square feet of retail space.
County staff noted in a report on the SSPA that the planned development would have 50 fewer units and only a quarter of the retail space allowed under the newly approved amendment.
Many of the design details are expected to be be fleshed out by the time the rezoning application reaches the Fairfax County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors for a second round of public hearings. Those hearings are currently scheduled for June 24 and July 14, respectively.
Currently home to a 12-story, 220-unit apartment building, the Cavalier Club parcel is bisected by the Fairfax/Arlington county line, just east of the city of Falls Church.
The existing building will be retained. New development would largely occur on land currently used for surface parking; a garage would be built to accommodate tenants of the new construction.
“We have been working for a long time to bring this to fruition,” said Sara Mariska, a land use attorney representing the developers. She said the parkland and retail spaces proposed as part of the project would “really bring folks in” to the site.
In addition to adding an apartment building on the 5.64 acres of the parcel located in Fairfax County, the development team has proposed building townhouses on the Arlington portion of the site, but has not started to move through that county’s review process.
The SSPA had the support of Fairfax County staff and the planning commission, which recommended its approval after a public hearing that featured a single speaker.
At the March 11 hearing, a current resident of Cavalier Club expressed concern about impacts related to traffic, sunlight and rents for those living there.
An online survey conducted by the county last year found mixed opinions on the project. Skeptics raised concerns about traffic congestion, the area’s urbanization and the need for more green space, while proponents praised the inclusion of income-restricted units, new retail and planned upgrades to the existing building.
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation has proposed reducing the number of westbound Wilson Blvd travel lanes from two to one in the vicinity of the Cavalier Club parcel. It is one option being considered to improve what all sides acknowledge is a challenging corridor for pedestrians.
Trimming a travel lane would require approval of the Virginia Department of Transportation and, at least tacitly, the Arlington County government.
