Fairfax County officials have supported another proposal to boost the housing portfolio of Kingstowne Towne Center.
At its Sept. 15 meeting, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved developer BXP’s application to convert an existing office building into a 280-unit housing complex.
The 2.26-acre parcel is at 5971 Kingstowne Village Parkway on the western corner of the town center south of Alexandria. It’s currently home to a nine-story office building.
BXP sought to revise previous conditions on the zoning and development plan for the property so it can build more residential units on the property than are currently allowed.
Brian Clifford, a senior land-use planner with DLA Piper, said the tenants in the targeted office building are being relocated to another one within the town center.
“Instead of two office buildings doing OK, we’re going to infuse some residential in the town center where none currently exists and we’re going to bolster leasing of the other office building so it’ll be more robustly filled,” he said.
In the two-phase development, the office building would first be converted to 120 residential units. In phase two, a five-story addition would be placed on top of the existing three-story parking garage next to that building for an additional 160 units. The development includes several amenities such as a fitness center, pet spa and a private outdoor courtyard.
The rezoning proposal was originally scheduled for consideration at the board’s Aug. 25 meeting, but was deferred without explanation. Neither supervisors nor the applicant mentioned what might have caused the delay. No one spoke at a public hearing prior to the board’s vote.
The Board of Supervisors seems to be trying to fulfill the original vision for the Kingstowne Towne Center by luring residential development. Approved as a mixed-use complex in 1985, the property has been mostly developed as retail and office space.
BXP’s application is the second one approved in recent months. In May, the board approved plans from Halle Companies for 646 residential units on a vacant lot in the development just east of BXP’s block.
Supervisor Rodney Lusk, whose Franconia District includes the property, said the increased residential development will bring more people to the community amenities.
“This one’s pretty straightforward,” he said. “I appreciate the opportunity to take … an under-performing office building and convert it to residential, which I think is going to be great for the Kingstowne area.”
