Another developer is circling older office buildings in downtown McLean as a prime spot for new housing.
The D.C.-based home builder Highcrest has proposed redeveloping the low-lying offices at 6816 and 6824 Elm Street with a single mixed-use building that could include 115 residential units as well as some retail and office space.
The existing properties, which date back to the 1980s, reflect “aging development patterns” and fail to take advantage of their “prominent location” in the heart of McLean’s Community Business Center (CBC), argues the rezoning application, which is currently under review, but not yet formally accepted, by Fairfax County staff.
“The Property is located within walking distance of numerous community amenities and is ideally situated to support the County’s vision for a more active, pedestrian-oriented downtown environment,” Wire Gill LLP attorney Evan Pritchard wrote in a June 30 statement for the application.
Representing Highcrest, Pritchard noted that “substantial portions” of the approximately 1.17-acre parcels are devoted right now to vehicle parking and circulation. In contrast, the proposed redevelopment would add street trees, landscaping, wider sidewalks, and both ground-level and rooftop amenities.
According to county property records, an affiliate of Highcrest acquired the three-story office building at 6824 Elm Street on Feb. 19 for $4.5 million, a price that reflected “anticipated redevelopment.” Constructed in 1980, the property’s tenants include Ekko Title McLean and an Allergy and Asthma Center.
The building at 6816 Elm is occupied by the real estate firm Keller Williams Realty. Constructed in 1984, the two-story building has been owned since June 2020 by a limited-liability company under the name 6820 Elm LLC, which acquired it in an exchange for over $5.5 million.
The proposed residential building would still include approximately 16,371 square feet of office space. According to Highcrest President Colin Dean, that space will serve as a new office for Keller Williams, which would move out during construction and then return once the building is completed.
“The office component will retain opportunities for employment-generating uses within the CBC while creating a balanced mix of residential and commercial activity,” the application said.
The developer also plans to provide around 4,520 square feet of ground-floor retail space along Elm Street “to accommodate neighborhood-serving commercial uses.”
Dean says the company hasn’t determined yet whether the future housing will be rental apartments or for-sale condominium units. But some will be designated as workforce dwelling units (WDUs) in keeping with the county’s requirements, per the application.
A mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units is proposed, with a den included in some of the one and two-bedroom units.
Instead of the existing surface parking lots, the seven-floor building would be served by a three-floor underground parking garage with 223 spaces, including spots for the retail and office visitors.
The development plan also features 0.3 acres of urban park space, stormwater management upgrades, and an interim restriping of Elm Street to allow an 8-foot-wide parking lane, pending the Virginia Department of Transportation’s approval.
In the application, Pritchard characterizes the proposal as “an important opportunity” to further the county’s vision of a revitalized, more walkable downtown McLean with a mix of residential and commercial uses, as laid out in the comprehensive plan adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2021.
Earlier this year, the county board approved plans for an apartment building to replace an office on the adjacent block at Elm Street and Beverly Road, and efforts to draw more visitors to the CBC got a boost with the opening of the MPA Berlage Arts and Education Center in the spring.
“By replacing an aging office property and surface parking with a thoughtfully designed mixed-use development … the project will enhance the public realm, support local businesses, provide new housing opportunities, and contribute meaningfully to the ongoing revitalization of the McLean Community Business Center,” Pritchard wrote.
