Redevelopment of vacant commercial parcels in Springfield into housing is one step closer to reality, though there are still contentious issues to be worked through later in the process.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Comprehensive Plan amendments on Tuesday (Nov. 19) to permit up to 732 multifamily units and ground-floor non-residential uses on multiple parcels along Springfield Blvd and Amherst Avenue.
Totaling 5.77 acres, the five blocks consist largely of vacant office, industrial and retail space with surface parking. Planning for a development known as Springfield Gateway was underway prior to the pandemic but was derailed by Covid.
Located at Backlick Road and Old Keene Mill Road, the parcels are close to the I-95/395/495 entrance ramps, which has proved both a blessing and a curse for redevelopment efforts. The county is planning a broader review of the Springfield Transit Station Area to update its vision of mixed-use development, which has been slow to come to fruition.
If done right, the new development will bring “a change that this community so needs,” said Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk, whose district includes the sites in question.
The proposal also drew support from Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, whose district is nearby.
“This has been long overdue,” he said.
The land use changes for Springfield Blvd and Amherst Avenue were requested by developers through the county’s site-specific plan amendment (SSPA) process in 2022. Among other proposals, Inova asked to add residential and continuing-care uses as options for future development at 6699 Springfield Court, and developers Schupp Companies and Vista Residential are seeking to build 560 multifamily units and retail around the Backlick Road and Springfield Blvd intersection.
During the public hearing that preceded the board’s vote on Tuesday, residents raised concerns about issues ranging from transportation to environmental impacts.
“The major concern is the impact of generated traffic,” said Diane Boughton, representing the Springfield Civic Association.
Broughton said moving forward with the proposal was premature without completion of a traffic study for the larger corridor.
Elaine Anderegg, representing the Franconia Forest Homeowners Association, raised concerns about road congestion. She was also worried about the impact of placing housing and a park close to gas stations and other businesses that have greenhouse gas emissions.
“Is this a healthy and quality living space? There needs to be a process for evaluation,” Anderegg said.
Joy Wahler, representing the North Franconia Civic Association, asked supervisors to consider “the effects of dense housing on those of us who already live here.” But she acknowledged that redevelopment of the parcels would be a net plus compared to what currently are located there.
“The derelict buildings are eyesores,” Wahler said.
Board Chair Jeff McKay said the time to fine-tune issues would come during rezoning, which will involve the submission of official development plans. The broader question raised by the Comprehensive Plan amendments is what the future vision for the sites will be.
“Are we okay with just blighted buildings and traffic? That would do nothing to help anyone,” McKay said. “We have to get real about revitalization and the tradeoffs.”
Those tradeoffs likely will take center stage when the plan returns in the next stage of the regulatory process.
“We still have to go through rezoning, all the regulatory reviews,” said Mark Viani, an attorney representing the developer Schupp Companies.
As part of its proposal, the developer would fund an additional traffic lane on a stretch of Backlick Road, and agree to discourage the use of Old Keene Mill Road from the site, attempting to funnel traffic via Backlick.
The additional housing would be a welcome change for the region, Lusk said, noting that Springfield hasn’t added any new multifamily housing in over two decades. Construction began earlier this year on a 439-unit apartment building at Springfield Town Center, which is finally moving forward on redevelopment plans.
Schupp’s development could be a catalyst for others to follow in the corridor, according to Lusk.
“I’m extremely bullish on Springfield,” he said.
