The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Sept. 15) approved the framework for a major future redevelopment of the 46.6-acre Reston Town Center (RTC) North, allowing the county and Inova Health to move forward with long-sought plans for mixed-use and public facilities.
The action paves the way for the eventual construction of about 1,000 units of new housing, retail and office space. The redevelopment will also deliver a central park, a new recreation center, and replacements for Reston’s regional library and Embry Rucker Community Shelter, which would be accompanied by supportive housing.
While each of the individual development blocks will go through future regulatory reviews with public input periods, Tuesday’s vote was a necessary precursor.
“This is a big step,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said as the vote approached. “Let’s don’t lose any momentum.”
The vote also sets the stage for the county government and Inova to execute a series of land exchanges within the site to align ownership of each parcel with the development plan.
The final vote was 8-0 on a series of rezoning and development actions. Board Chair Jeff McKay and Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman recused themselves from the discussion and final vote, since they represent the county on Inova advisory boards.
The RTC North site is bounded by Baron Cameron Avenue to the north, Fountain Drive to the east, New Dominion Parkway to the south and Town Center Parkway to the west. The two southernmost areas of the site are separated by the rest by Bowman Towne Drive.
As recommended by a task force in 2023, the parcels and their intended uses are:
- Block 1: Reserved for Fairfax County Public Schools use
- Block 2: Residential, mixed-use (medical, commercial, institutional)
- Block 3: New Reston Regional Library
- Block 4: Residential, mixed-use (medical, retail, commercial, institutional)
- Block 5: Health and human services building, Embry Rucker shelter and new supportive housing
- Block 6: Residential, mixed use (medical, retail, commercial, institutional)
- Block 7: Athletic field
- Block 8: Recreation center
The existing North County Governmental Center and Reston District Police Station, immediately west of Block 5, would remain.
Timothy Sampson, a land use attorney representing the county and Inova, said the supervisors’ vote would have an impact “for generations to come.”
“This sets the framework” for what will follow, he said.
The RTC North plans approved by the board outline the maximum level of development allowed, the block layout and uses within parcels, and overall open space, tree preservation and stormwater management requirements.
The size and design of individual buildings and their positioning, specific uses and landscaping within the various blocks will come later.
The new Reston Regional Library and replacement for the Embry Rucker Community Shelter are funded and likely will be the first phases to be tackled on the site, along with development of an internal road network and central park space.
The parcel is on the periphery of two transit hubs, with the Reston Town Center Metro station about a mile away and Wiehle-Reston East Metro station approximately two miles away.
The project had the support of county staff and received a positive recommendation in July from the Fairfax County Planning Commission. No community members testified for or against the proposal at the Sept. 15 meeting.
