Centreville could get a defined town center with more walkable, mixed-use spaces over the next few decades if Fairfax County adopts a proposed amendment to its comprehensive plan.
The amendment lays the groundwork for connecting parts of Centreville that are split by I-66 with pedestrian pathways and potentially an extension of New Braddock Road; expanding the availability of affordable and mixed-use housing; and enhancing public transportation, including a potential location for a hypothetical expansion of Metro’s Orange Line.
Created with extensive input from community residents from 2024 to 2025, including through a convened Centreville Task Force, the draft plan was presented to the Fairfax County Planning Commission for a public hearing at the Fairfax County Government Center on Wednesday (May 20).
“Taken together, these policies are meant to ensure that the Centreville community can not only continue to grow but adapt to changes over time,” Michael Burton, a senior planner with the county’s Department of Planning and Development, told commissioners.
Two county-owned sites were identified as possible locations for affordable housing:
- The Stone Road Park & Ride, where many residents park to commute via the Fairfax County Connector
- The Centreville Regional Library, which was constructed in 1991 and has extensive maintenance issues.
The county has already started assessing the viability of combining housing and the library into one building, detailing the initial concept at a community meeting that about 60 people attended in April.
Existing county operations are expected to continue at both sites, Burton said.
The proposed plan also makes the following recommendations for local roads:
- Remove three interchanges from the Comprehensive Plan: Route 29 and Stringfellow Road, Route 28 and New Braddock Road, and Route 29 and Stone Road.
- Modify New Braddock Road (west of Centrewood Drive and with an extension over I-66 west of Store House Drive to connect with Route 29 at Stone Road) to a 2-lane local/collector with sidewalks/shared use paths and buffers to support street trees.
- Locate a future Metrorail station, or other type of high-quality transit facility, along I-66 and west of Trinity Parkway. A commuter parking lot should be incorporated with the transit facility. Further study of the Metrorail extension and transit facility is recommended.
- Add Pickwick Road south of Leland Road as a planned 2-lane improved local/collector road. The existing road in this area has a half-street section with no pedestrian facilities.
While the planning commissioners’ feedback was largely positive, the proposed amendment did receive some pushback from residents of the Centre Ridge community.
“New Braddock Road extended would cut right through Centre Ridge, right down the middle, have major impacts to our community, [create] community disruption, change the character of our community,” said Jeff Clubb, a resident of the neighborhood for over 30 years, adding that he had provided the commission with a letter from the Centre Ridge Homeowners’ Association opposing the extension.
Clubb argued that overpasses enabling pedestrians and bicyclists to cross over Route 29 and Route 28 should be provided instead.
“It’s more important than extending New Braddock Road,” he said, “and if you have to do something with the right-of-way, just put a trail through there that could connect to the new I-66 trail on the other side to bring the community together, as opposed to completely wiping out the heart of our community.”
County staff told commissioners that the inclusion of the road extension, which has long been a part of the comprehensive plan, was to allow for flexibility in the future, if it was needed.
The project — which is not funded and would require a separate process with community input to proceed — would also make the road a more local, two-lane street, rather than an arterial, four-lane road.
“Really, the goal here is to create a much more local street that is friendly to bikes, friendly to pedestrians, rather than the four lane recommendation that’s in the current comprehensive plan,” said Kyle Kelly, a planner with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.
During the public hearing, some people also expressed concerns that increased housing would lead to strain on area schools.
“While I’m a strong proponent of affordable housing and walkable community spaces, I’m deeply concerned that our current infrastructure cannot support the density of the proposed developments,” said Molly Sullivan, who spoke as the president of the Liberty Middle School Parent-Teachers Association. “One of my main concerns tonight is the number of students that will rise as a result of the mixed-use and new housing being built here in Centreville.”
As someone who moved to Fairfax County when she was a single mother, making a mere $1,000 or so above the poverty line, Sullivan stressed her support for affordable housing. She pointed to the library site as a location where combining affordable units and community services “makes sense,” given the area’s walkability and “already ample parking.”
However, Sullivan added that “as a dedicated FCPS teacher and PTA president, I’m concerned about the impact.”
Hunter Mill District Commissioner John Carter noted that, while Fairfax County Public Schools appears to have capacity in middle and high school based on student projections, planning for a new elementary school seems warranted to accommodate larger numbers of younger students potentially living in the area.
To give staff time to revise the amendment based on feedback from the public hearing, the planning commission deferred a decision on its recommendation to June 10. The Board of Supervisors is then scheduled to consider the matter for a final vote on June 23.
