The Fairfax City Council was briefed Tuesday (Feb. 24) on two proposed redevelopments — a revised pitch for the Courthouse Plaza Shopping Center and an office-to-residential conversion.
Council members received pre-application presentations on the multi-phase mixed-use development for the Courthouse Plaza Shopping Center at 10300 Willard Way and 3922 Blenheim Blvd as well as a potential conversion of an office building into a six-story multifamily residential building at 10340 Democracy Lane.
Formal applications for the projects have not yet been submitted.
Courthouse Plaza Shopping Center proposal revised
According to city planner Clara Schweiger, the Courthouse Plaza proposal would rezone the shopping center and two standalone buildings — one currently housing the coffee shop Layered and the other long vacant after the closure of Joe’s Pizza and Pasta — to allow a mix of uses.
Developer Combined Properties previously sought to build an apartment building on part of the shopping center, while retaining the eastern half, but that bid was denied in October after city staff and community members raised concerns about the project’s density and compatibility with city guidelines.
Under the revised plan, the first phase of development would bring a six-story, 315-unit multifamily residential building with 12,500 square feet of ground-floor retail, 743 parking spaces and green space. The western portion of the shopping center would be demolished to make way for the residential building and parking garage.
The remaining shopping center — the existing Safeway and retail to the east — would receive facade improvements in the first phase before getting replaced by a mixed-use building in the next phase.
The second phase proposes 315 residential units with 50,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, an additional 9,000-plus square feet of retail space in the standalone buildings, open space and a new street network. The applicant envisions a grocery store anchor on the ground level of this mixed-use building.
Schweiger said a full buildout would result in a net loss of 18,300 square feet of retail space.
“Combined Properties has also had multiple conversations already with your economic development department to work on relocating and helping the tenants who are in the shopping center today who want to relocate within the city to help them find additional spaces in the city,” Molly Novotny, an urban planner with Curata Partners, told the city council.
City Council members shared mixed reactions to the revised Courthouse Plaza application.
“I know this is a plan that had really very substantial community opposition the first time around, and so I would be interested in knowing whether anything has happened here to shift that,” said Councilmember Thomas Peterson. “I would note the planning commission’s read on this, according to what we’re seeing here, is that it’s much the same as the first application, and that certainly raises some concerns.”
Novotny told the council that the new application seeks a full rezoning, rather than the special exceptions requested under the rejected application. It also incorporates the area with the existing standalone buildings, adds more pedestrian and vehicular connections, increases the amount of open space and offers sidewalk improvements along Blenheim Blvd.
Councilmember Billy Bates, one of two members to vote in favor of the project before, noted the new proposal includes improvements.
“I’ve also heard from several people who have have lived here for many years and were very disappointed to see the previous project voted down,” Bates said. “[They] are very adamant about wanting to see something happen here that is a lot more inviting, and a lot more active and vibrant, and a lot more appropriate as the centerpiece of Old Town North than what’s there now.”
Councilmember Anthony Amos said the application is “heading in the right direction.”
“I do concur with the planning commission on additional open space, but I know that some folks want the vehicular connection, so I understand that I might be in the minority on that,” he said. “But I think it’s heading the right direction.”
Amos also called for more details on the second phase of the development.
Mayor Catherine Read said the first phase would likely not be occupied until at least 2031, allowing future officials to decide on what they want the second phase to look like.
“I think the city wants to see something happening to revitalize this property from the 1970s to something that looks like it belongs there in 2031,” Read said. “I hope that we will continue to move forward in this process and come up with a design that makes the [city council] happy and the planning commission happy and the staff happy.”
Housing proposed to replace office building
A developer also approached the city council this week with a pitch to replace a nearby 60,000-square-foot office building at 10340 Democracy Lane with a 434,000-square-foot multifamily residential building.
According to Schweiger, the applicant proposes 260 to 280 residential units in a six-story building with 458 parking spaces and about 20,000 square feet of open space.
Chris Love, a partner with developer Capital City Real Estate, said the 1980 office building is 50% occupied and “approaching functional obsolescence.”
“Tenants are making plans to vacate,” Love said.
City council members questioned the six-story height for a building across from the garden-style Layton Hall apartments and the lack of commercial uses in the proposal.
Councilmember Stacy Hall shared a concern about “squeezing out” small medical office buildings.
“I’m not saying the building can’t use a refresh, don’t get me wrong,” Hall said. “But some of this, I just think, is concerning if this is the trend that we continue to do here, that we’re taking away the opportunities for these people to have small offices like they have now.”
Peterson added, “I certainly share the view that the buildings are in need of redevelopment, but there certainly would appear to be a lot of potential and good reason to take a hard look at a commercial option here.”
Bates noted that the Flats on University apartments across from Layton Hall are five stories, not far off from the six-story proposal. Six stories are recommended for the site in the city’s small area plan for Old Town, according to the staff presentation.
“I think that it’s certainly heading in the right direction and can really infuse additional significant residential presence into Old Town and help support the businesses there,” Bates said.
The next steps for both proposals would be a formal application submission to the city, followed by work sessions and public hearings with the planning commission, city council, and the Board of Architectural Review.
Office building image via Google Maps
