(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) A redevelopment proposal for nearly 9-acre parcel of land near Lake Fairfax Park is headed for a vote before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this month.
The plan by SEM Fairfax Land Associates calls for eight single-family homes on a cul-de-sac off of Lake Fairfax Drive, along with the preservation of a log house that was built in the 1790s.
At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting on Sept. 26, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn introduced a board matter to set a board date for the application.
“In addition to the aforementioned preservation of the Log House, these Applications will ensure that the currently unmaintained unnamed cemetery #44FX1397 is well maintained in perpetuity and most importantly, that the cemetery remains undisturbed,” Alcorn wrote in the board matter.
The application went before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on July 26 and Sept. 27, when the commission recommended it be approved.
Hunt Club Cluster residents in Reston pushed back against the redevelopment of the property, which includes a possible slave cemetery.
At the commission’s hearing, attorney John McGranahan said that the applicant made several changes to the proposal. The applicant relocated lot six — one of the most significant changes in response to residents’ concerns about the encroachment of the lot on the cemetery.
“It was a lot harder than changing the lines on the drawing,” McGranahan.
Other changes include adding landscaping along Lake Fairfax Drive, added a sign to identify the cemetery as the Johnson Farm Cemetery and increased open space.
A pitch for housing at the Kingstowne site previously occupied by Topgolf and now home to Rudy’s may finally become a reality.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended on Wednesday (Sept. 27) that the Board of Supervisors approve a proposal to allow residential development at 6626 South Van Dorn Street. Most community members who spoke at the preceding public hearing voiced support for the proposal — a change of pace from the vocal opposition that greeted previous redevelopment plans.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors first requested county staff to consider an amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan in 2015. At that time, the proposal would’ve allowed up to roughly 275 residential units and up to 70,000 square feet of retail uses.
However, feedback from the community, including “comments related to the proposed density being too high, too many dwelling units proposed and also opposition to retail uses on the site,” led to a series of changes, according to county planner Aaron Klibaner.
“The first iterations included both residential and retail uses, and then later transitioned to all residential,” Klibaner said. “The proposed density has steadily decreased, beginning at 16 dwelling units per acre in 2015 down to 10 dwelling units per acre.”
The latest concept also includes affordable housing units and allows consideration of “a consolidated open space in the form of a publicly accessible community park,” he added.
The updated proposal also ensures connections for pedestrians and cyclists to Kingstowne and guidelines to protect the preservation of trees.
Resident Kenneth Bailey opposed the plan, saying his son is now on his school’s golf team because of Rudy’s, which opened last year and offers recreational golf and entertainment. However, he said he understood the benefits of the proposal.
“I’m still going to say my position on behalf of my son and…all the other young people that could benefit from a place like Rudy’s,” Bailey said. “I mean, I get it. We need housing. Sure. There’s not enough housing in Northern Virginia.”
Aaron Wilkowitz, vice president of YIMBYs of Northern Virginia’s Fairfax County chapter, said he supports the updates for several reasons,t the most prominent being the development of more affordable housing.
“Every single home matters. Every new unit matters to driving down prices and making Fairfax County affordable for everyone,” Wilkowitz said.
Paul Wagner, a Kingstowne resident, commended staff for incorporating suggested changes since the plan was first introduced.
“What was on the table with 275 units in that property was worrisome to me and my family,” Wagner said. “What we have on the table now seems much more reasonable to me. It’s a plan that has been considerate.”
After the 2015 and 2021 versions of the amendment petered out, Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk revived the redevelopment effort on Dec. 6, 2022, reporting that it had secured resident support, including from the Kingstowne Resident Homeowners Association, “as a result of extensive community outreach and engagement.”
If the Board of Supervisors approves the amendment after its scheduled public hearing on Oct. 24, the project is expected to be undertaken by developer EYA, the Washington Business Journal reported last week.
Over vocal protests from members of the public, the Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended approval of a plan to build a data center in Chantilly.
Following a five-hour public hearing that started on Sept. 20 and ended well past midnight on Sept. 21, the recommendation passed with six votes in favor, including from Evelyn S. Spain, who represents the Sully District where the data center would be built.
Peter Murphy (Springfield), Mary Cortina (Braddock) and John Ulfelder (Dranesville) abstained. Candice Bennett (at-large) and John Carter (Hunter Mill) did not attend the meeting, and Timothy Sargeant (at-large) recused himself.
Pending approval from the Board of Supervisors, the plan would likely lead to a data center up to 110 feet tall on a 12.1-acre plot of land on the south side of Route 50, built by an affiliate of D.C.-based Penzance.
The developer could opt to build a 150,000-square foot warehouse on the site instead, but attorney Evan Pritchard, representing the developer, said a data center was the more likely outcome.
This recommendation comes after months of discord over the project and amidst a broader debate over data centers in the county. Ultimately, county staff concluded that a data center or warehouse was an acceptable use for the land in question.
“Overall, considering the Comprehensive Plan, industrial designation, the adjacent uses, which are industrial, commercial and open space, and the significant setbacks and buffering around the property, as well as other items discussed in the staff report, staff consider this an appropriate area for a data center or a warehouse and either use compatible with the surrounding area,” said Emma Estes with the zoning and evaluation division of the county’s Department of Planning and Development.
Residents of Chantilly’s Pleasant Valley neighborhood raised concerns about topics including noise, potential diesel spills and the character of the area.
“It is just beyond my comprehension that anyone would consider this enormous building within character and harmonious with the surrounding area, yet that is exactly what the county is trying to convince us of,” Cynthia Shang said on behalf of the community organization Save Pleasant Valley.
The data center would house an estimated 27 diesel-powered backup generators that use about 135,000 gallons of diesel fuel, according to a county staff report, sparking concerns about the potential for an accidental spill.
Pritchard said the diesel-fueling areas were designed and graded to drain away from stormwater areas and the resource protection area, and fuel would collect at an oil-water separator in the event of a spill.
“Needless to say, this is a very regulated area,” Pritchard said. “We’ll be subject to the federal [Environmental Protection Agency] regulations, the Virginia [Department of Environmental Quality] regulations as well as the county’s own regulations on fuel tank storage.”
As the committee voted, some members of the public still in attendance shouted their opposition. Commission Chairman Phil A. Niedzielski-Eichner (Providence) voted in favor of recommending approval, but acknowledged the discontent with the developer.
“I’m a strong proponent of engaging people, not being afraid of people,” he said. “That dynamic here does not cloud for me the fact that I believe the criteria that’s important to me relative to the neighborhood has been addressed.”
Spain said it was “very painful” and “a very difficult situation” as she moved for the commission to recommend approval.
Some commissioners asked if the vote could be deferred, but according to county staff, state law requires a planning commission recommendation within 100 days of a rezoning case’s referral. Without a vote, the plan would’ve progressed to the Board of Supervisors with an automatic approval recommendation.
The proposal will now get a public hearing before Board of Supervisors at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 24.
The new signs planned for Chesterbrook Shopping Center in McLean won’t point to their corresponding businesses with big, flashing arrows, but that’s essentially the effect property owner Federal Realty hopes to achieve.
The developer got the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s support on Sept. 14 for a special exception that would allow more signage space at the shopping center on Old Dominion Drive.
Specifically, Federal Realty hopes to add signs on the back of the building at 6242 Old Dominion Drive that’s occupied by the recently opened South Block, Chesterbrook Barber, Chesterbrook Cleaners, Kosmo Nail Bar and Potomac Pilates.
“The application is to create better identification for the tenants of this building and ultimately supporting the enhanced viability of those buildings,” McGuireWoods land use planner Mike Van Atta told the planning commission as the developer’s representative.
Located at the western corner of the shopping center, the building currently only has signage across its front, facing the parking lot. Its rear facade faces Old Dominion Drive, backing up against an elevated drive-thru for the TD Bank in neighboring Chesterbrook Plaza.
That elevation puts tenants in the building at a “disadvantage,” making it difficult for passersby to see their signage, county staff said.
The waiver requested by Federal Realty would double the amount of space permitted for signage from just under 202 square feet to almost 404 square feet.
“There’s limited visibility for the subject building, given that it’s located on the curve of Old Dominion Drive and because the building is oriented with the front of the building facing away from the street and below the grade of the main right-of-way,” Van Atta said. “So, these collective circumstances create a special and unique challenge for the tenants of this building.”
He added that the property owner worked with county staff to ensure the proposed building-mounted signs are “appropriately located, sized and lighted to not have any adverse impacts on adjacent uses.”
The special exception application will go to the Board of Supervisors for a public hearing and vote on Oct. 24.
More tenants on the way?
The sign revisions are part of an $8.5 million renovation of Chesterbrook Shopping Center that has been underway since last fall. Storefront and facade updates are expected to finish this year, and new outdoor amenity spaces will be completed in 2024, according to Federal Realty.
After emptying in the lead-up to the renovation, the shopping center has been gradually filling its tenant roster back up. Recent additions include the clothing store J. McLaughlin, home decor outlet Le Village Marché and a food truck from the popular deli Call Your Mother.
The only confirmed upcoming tenant right now is a Small Door Veterinary clinic, but a merchandising plan on the shopping center’s website suggests a leasing deal is in the works with Bluemercury.
According to the brochure, the cosmetics company has a letter of intent to lease 2,236 square feet in between the Tutoring Club of McLean and a 1,405-square-foot, brick-and-mortar storefront for Call Your Mother. Bluemercury didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The merchandising plan also shows several vacant spaces being designated for restaurants, a salon and an apparel store. The building where Call Your Mother’s truck is currently parked appears to be destined for a bank.
The property owner didn’t comment on the merchandising plan, but it confirmed Starbucks is renovating its coffee shop. Starbucks didn’t return an inquiry from FFXnow by press time.
“Federal Realty is actively transforming Chesterbrook and will have additional new store announcements over the upcoming months,” Senior Vice President of Asset Management Deirdre Johnson said. “The positive response from the community as it frequents our newly opened stores is amazing. Look for Starbucks to complete an in store renovation the first of 2024.”
Hat tip to Mike Whatley
The Capital Beltway’s proximity to 2000 Corporate Ridge is both a boon and a potential obstacle to plans to convert the office building into a live/work development.
The accessibility of Tysons Corner Center and other attractions will make the property enticing to residents and workers, who can now cross I-495 with a pedestrian bridge, McGuireWoods land use lawyer Greg Riegle argued on developer Madison Highland’s behalf at a Fairfax County Planning Commission public hearing on Sept. 14.
However, county staff fear noise from the adjacent highway could deter those same residents and workers from utilizing the park and amenity spaces proposed to replace most of the 8-acre site’s surface parking.
The developer, going under the name McLean Corporate Ridge Property LLC, has committed to some mitigation measures, including window upgrades and evergreen tree plantings to separate the public park areas from an existing sound wall along the Beltway, according to a staff report.
“There still remains outdoor recreation and park space that is encumbered by noise impacts that exceed Policy Plan guidance,” staff said in the report. “Staff continues to recommend creative solutions, like artistic walls, to further mitigate noise impacts to better be in conformance with the Policy Plan or to increase the useability of the space of future residents should be further explored by the applicant.”
Despite those concerns, which Riegle noted could be further addressed at the more detailed site plan phase, county staff and the planning commission recommended that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approve Madison Highland’s rezoning application.
Following up on similar projects in Bailey’s Crossroads and Merrifield, the developer is seeking to convert the 10-story office building northeast of the Beltway and Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) into up to 250 live/work units, which can serve as housing, a workplace or both. Between 10 and 13% of the units will be designated as workforce dwelling units, in accordance with the county’s guidelines for Tysons.
Even after recent renovations, 2000 Corporate Ridge is struggling with vacancies in a slow office market, according to Riegle. Compared to a full replacement, the proposed conversion would be a more efficient and environmentally friendly way to put the building “to productive use,” while keeping the door open for future commercial uses, he told the planning commission.
“The building as it exists doesn’t contribute anything to the fabric or economy of Tysons, and there’s not a good way forward, absent repositioning here,” Riegle said. “The tactical repositioning is good for the site, it’s good for the community, and frankly, it’s good for the remaining office opportunities in Tysons.” Read More
An office building near the Innovation Center Metro station is on its way to becoming 348 apartment units.
Last week, the Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of a plan to replace the ePlus headquarters at 13595 Dulles Technology Drive in McNair with a new residential building.
It would be up to six stories tall with a partial basement and 41 workforce dwelling units. A 418-space parking garage is planned on the site, along with a 4-foot-wide pedestrian pathway next to the apartment building.
At the Sept. 14 public hearing, several residents testified against the development proposal, criticizing its density, impacts on environmentally protected areas, and other neighboring developments.
The area surrounding the proposed apartments has been the focus of increased residential development, including Stanley Martin’s Overlook at Dulles Tech project.
Kathryn Taylor, a lawyer for Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh who represented developer H/F Techpointe, said the project creates a distinct community.
“The proposed development has been thoughtfully designed with high quality architecture, well landscaped public spaces, the preservation and restoration of onsite environmental features, an improved sidewalk and roadway network that enhances connectivity and facilities safe and convenient access to the Innovation Metro Station,” Taylor said.
But several residents said they were unconvinced of the project’s value to the community.
The Dulles Technology Building Association plans to seek a restraining order to stop the project if it moves forward, according to president Carl Strauss. He expressed concern about improper notification of the project, widening of a road that he said would encroach on eminent domain of his office building next door, environmental damages, and other issues.
He called the requested reduction in parking “stunningly disrespectful.”
His testimony was echoed by another resident who lamented the loss of environmental areas — including a runoff lake — caused by neighboring projects and the buildout of housing in the area.
“It’s like Moscow there,” one resident said, referring to the number of new residential units in the area.
Taylor emphasized that the proposal protects environmental areas and preserves as many trees as possible.
“The proposal will not encroach on any environmentally sensitive areas at all,” she said.
The commission approved the application after considering a motion to defer. Staff noted that a deferral would push a decision by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to January.
Braddock District Planning Commissioner Mary Cortina said several of the problems voiced by residents were linked to other surrounding projects.
“The damage has already been done on this other area,” Cortina said.
For its next phase, Tysons Corner Center is keeping its eyes on the ground.
Property owner and developer Macerich secured the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s support last Thursday (Sept. 14) for a proposal that concentrates future development at the D.C. area’s largest mall closer to the Tysons Metro station than previously planned.
By repurposing the building that Lord & Taylor vacated in 2020, Macerich hopes its second phase of development will better integrate the first phase — which was completed in 2015 and centered around an elevated plaza — with the street below, according to DLA Piper land use planner Brian Clifford, who represented the developer at last week’s public hearing.
“Part of the connective tissue we envision here is enhancing this pedestrian ground plane experience,” Clifford said. “Phase 1 and 2 as approved are mostly elevated, and now we have a chance really to fix that.”
Visitors coming to the mall from the Metro station or Route 123 are currently greeted by a blank white wall where Lord & Taylor once stood, Clifford noted, though the building has temporarily hosted a mass COVID-19 vaccination site and a Spirit Halloween store since the retailer closed.
Macerich has proposed revitalizing that portion of the 78-acre property by replacing the retail building with either a 26-story office building or a 34-story, 292-unit office and residential building. Both options would include about 36,000 square feet of retail at the plaza level.
The retail space will likely focus on food and beverage offerings, similar to Barrel & Bushel, Eddie V’s and other tenants that can be found on the Plaza at Tysons Corner Center, Clifford said.
On top of the adjacent four-level parking garage, phase 2B will add a 20-story, 306,600-square-foot office building and 27-story, 320-unit residential building with retail space. This phase also includes a private amenity terrace and a 1.8-acre park connecting International Drive to the Tysons Metro station.
Extending a quarter-mile along Tysons One place, the park will feature a dog park, a 10-foot-wide multi-use trail, a Metro plaza area and active recreation zones, including a children’s play area, according to the application. Read More
(Updated at 7 p.m.) The Fairfax County Planning Commission gave its full support last week to a proposal to allow housing at Merrifield’s Pan Am Shopping Center, a key step toward transforming the strip mall into a mixed-use neighborhood.
The commission voted unanimously on July 27 to recommend that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors amend the county’s comprehensive plan for the approximately 25-acre property southeast of Route 29 and Nutley Street, opening the door for up to 585 multifamily residential units and additional retail space.
Before the vote, county staff shared that they had revised the proposed amendment in response to concerns raised by community members, including at a nearly two-hour public hearing on June 28 that was continued to July 27.
“One of the key outcomes of this process is the recognition that this retail center is a vital and valued community asset that is integral to the lives not just of the adjoining residents, but those of the area and region as well,” Providence District Planning Commissioner Phil Niedzielski-Eichner said. “…In my view, the draft plan language before us this evening effectively represents or reflects the community input we received.”
Under the draft amendment, the shopping center could be redeveloped with up to 609,000 square feet of multifamily residential uses, at least 140,000 square feet of existing retail, and 47,000 square feet of new retail on the ground floor of the residential buildings and standalone commercial buildings.
Based on a rezoning application already filed by property owner Federal Realty, the square footage amounts were mentioned in a staff report released on June 7, but they weren’t initially included in the plan amendment itself, which previously only specified 585 units and a total of 187,000 square feet of retail as the parameters for development.
The amendment also now states that the number of dwelling units includes affordable and workforce units. Residential buildings will be limited to 80 feet in height along Nutley Street and 70 feet along the eastern property line.
Other changes stress the importance of gateway architecture and wayfinding signage as well as safety and connectivity for vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists.
To integrate the existing and new uses, the development must feature publicly accessible urban parks, including at least one “consolidated, common green that can…accommodate a broad spectrum of active recreation and leisure activities,” per the staff report modification.
The amendment recommends maintaining and enhancing an existing link to the Providence Hall Apartments, adding an off-road bicycle and pedestrian facility on the east side of Nutley Street, and evaluating the Nutley and Route 50 intersection, along with Nutley and Route 29. Read More
In its first public hearing last Wednesday (July 26), the Fairfax County Planning Commission heard from the community on its proposed overhaul of parking requirements.
The initiative known as Parking Reimagined puts forth changes to off-street parking, bicycle parking, and loading. Overall rates and regulations have not been comprehensively reviewed since 1988.
The county says the goal is “an evaluation of existing parking rates to determine if adjustments of requirements to meet current parking demand is appropriate, while also examining County administration of parking regulations.”
One of the most notable changes is a tiered system for off-street parking, where rates are based on a development’s gross square footage instead of the number of people served.
In a report released July 12, county staff called the system the “most critical new component” of Parking Reimagined. The proposal also allows the county to approve shared parking reductions and transit-based reductions of up to 30%.
Susan Jollie, president of the Hummer Woods Civic Association in Annandale, called the reduction in the minimum parking requirements “radical.”
“The proposed radical reductions in the minimum parking requirements will create numerous new problems while failing to secure the alleged public benefits,” Jollie said. She added that the proposal is controversial because of a failure to perform relevant research.
Dennis Hays, a representative for the Reston Citizen Association, points to the high number of residents who own a car within the county as a reason for opposition.
“The county’s website says that only 4% of U.S. households do not own a car,” Hays said. “That means 96% of household in Fairfax County have a car — 30% have more than one car possibly subject to that. So it’s not possible to simply say that everybody in this county is going to be able to ride their bike to Whole Foods, or hike out to the Blue Ridge Mountains on any given day.”
Earlier this month, the Reston Citizen Association wrote a letter of opposition to the county, saying proposal doesn’t fully consider the impact on Reston and the county.
The proposal saw some support from people who said it’s good for the county’s future.
Aaron Wilkowitz, vice president of Fairfax County’s chapter of YIMBYs of Northern Virginia, called the proposal a step in the right direction for the county.
“Parking minimums contribute to environmental destruction because parking lots themselves create heat islands retaining warmth from the sun,” Wilkowitz said. “Parking spaces increased car dependency, which leads to more smog and carbon emissions and parking spaces worsen housing scarcity.”
Sonya Breehey, Northern Virginia advocacy manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said the proposal will benefit housing and climate.
“The proposed zoning amendment offers to better balance future parking demand with other communities like equity, affordability, environmental sustainability and effective land use,” she said.
Though the public hearing lasted more than four hours, the planning commission scheduled a second one for Sept. 13. After that, the matter is set to go before the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 26. If approved, the changes would go into effect on Jan 1.
Hunt Club Cluster residents in Reston are pushing back against a potential redevelopment of a 9-acre property just north of Lake Fairfax Park that encompasses a possible slave cemetery and a 1790s-era log cabin.
SEM Fairfax Land Associates has been working to secure approval from Fairfax County to build Fairfax Hunt Estates, a community of eight single-family homes, at 1321 Lake Fairfax Drive and preserve the log cabin known as Fairfax Hunt Club, according to the application submitted on Nov. 22, 2022.
Tonight (Wednesday), the Fairfax County Planning Commission will decide whether to green-light the developer’s ambitious construction plans at a public hearing.
Hunt Club resident and former Associated Press reporter Heather Greenfield has been following the story since she and her next-door neighbor discovered several gravestones in the greenscape behind their townhome complex in 2013.
Greenfield says she and her next-door neighbor worked with the Fairfax Cemetery Preservation Association from 2013-2015 in hopes of preserving the site as the Johnson cemetery, named after its 1860 owner Mildred Johnson. While researching the land’s historic 19th-century roots, she learned that Johnson was a Union abolitionist and mother to 11 who played a large role in “protecting African Americans” by housing at least one freedman named Courtney Honesty.
“Reston was founded on this principle of diversity…so I found it fascinating that [the Johnson family was] sort of living the principles of Reston before Reston was even created,” Greenfield said.
Though the county still refers to the area as unnamed cemetery #FX242, Greenfield feels strongly that the area is a burial site for individuals enslaved by the Johnson family and their descendants. The site includes an engraved marker for Mildred’s husband, Thornton Johnson, and gravestones that Greenfield believes belong to several African American individuals.
“We think the rest of the two acre cemetery were African American graves because even though the [Johnson] family all had headstones, African Americans likely did not,” Greenfield said. “And [what we found] were mostly headstones and footstones that were more crude stones arranged in kind of wheel patterns around some of the cedar trees.”
The developer began scouting out the site in May of last year, sending contractors to landscape the area “in order to facilitate locating the graves during their archaeological survey,” according to a statement from Fairfax County Park Authority Public Information Officer Benjamin Boxer.
Even over a year later, Greenfield vividly recalls the day developers came in “bulldozers blazing and chainsaws going.”
“I woke up at 6:30 in the morning to chainsaws, and they continued for 12 hours that day and then they came back and did the same thing the next day,” Greenfield said.
Though Greenfield suspected that contractors were not authorized to cut down trees in the area, the county says permits from Land Development Services for vegetation removal are only required when the land disturbance exceeds 2,500 square feet.
“It appears vegetation was removed in May 2022 in order to complete the archeological delineation of the cemetery,” a county urban forester wrote. “Urban Forestry’s Forest Conservation Branch was not aware of the vegetation removal at this time and would not have reviewed it.” Read More