(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
A new Southeast Asian restaurant will join Scout on the Circle in Fairfax this September, business owner Gary Ngo says.
Located at 9530 Fairfax Blvd next to Peri Peri Original, Southeast Impression is slated to occupy a 4,104-square-foot spot in Building Two of the popular mixed-use strip — the largest commercial space in the building, according to a site plan from property manager H&R Retail.
Ngo expressed that the restaurant will serve a “variety” of Southeast Asian cuisine, including dishes from Thailand, Singapore, Laos and Malaysia. Patrons will also be able to enjoy an in-house craft bar.
Just a few buildings down from Southeast Impression is Genki Izakaya, a Japanese restaurant that Ngo also owns and opened in February 2022. Ngo acquired both properties after receiving a “better deal” to sign a lease on two properties rather than one, he explained.
A seasoned restauranteur who serves as vice president of operations for Idea Restaurant Group, Ngo also operates Urban Hot Pot (2980 District Avenue, Unit 110) and Gyu Shige Japanese BBQ & Bar (2980 District Avenue, Unit 100) in Merrifield’s Mosaic District.
Scout on the Circle first opened in late 2020, currently leasing to 400 apartments and 11 different commercial tenants, including Southeast Impression. The site plan appears to indicate two vacancies in Building One of the strip.
A Hawaiian Islands restaurant is coming soon to Annandale’s EastGate Shopping Center.
L&L Hawai’i plans to open soon at 4363 John Marr Drive, according to the company’s website.
The menu features plate lunches of rice, macaroni salad and a choice of a local catch, chicken entree or alternate option. According to the restaurant, plate lunches are known as “the state food of Hawaii” and stem from compartmentalized meals of leftovers brought to work by wage laborers on 19th century sugar plantations and pineapple fields.
Spam, a canned meat, will also be sold at the location.
Johnson Kam and Eddie Flores Jr. introduced L&L to the mainland U.S. in 1999.The business had been around for more than 50 years prior to that.
The company now has more than 200 locations throughout Hawaii, the mainland and Japan. L&L did not return a request for comment from FFXnow by press time, but Annandale Today reported that work on the building is expected to wrap up in August.
According to Annandale Today, a beer garden and cane sugar juice bar are also planned for the last vacant storefront in the EastGate Shopping Center, which was built a few years ago in place of a vacated Kmart.
Now home to the grocery store K Market International and The Block, a popular food hall, the shopping center could add a mixed-use apartment building if developer Insight Property Group’s rezoning proposal is approved by Fairfax County. The application is currently scheduled for a public hearing before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on Oct. 11.
Image via Google Maps
Annandale diners could soon see more outdoor seating at Izakaya Khan in Seoul Plaza (4231 Markham Street).
To make room for year-round outdoor dining at the Japanese restaurant, the center will lose off-street parking spaces, dropping its total from 210 to 200 spots. In addition to removing nine regular parking spaces, Seoul Plaza will also remove one accessible parking space to make possible a new trash dumpster layout.
The parking reduction was unanimously approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (June 6).
The new outdoor seating area will be 494 square feet and seat up to 32 people, according to materials provided for the board meeting.
Under the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance, the board has the authority to reduce required off-street parking by up to 20% “subject to conditions it deems appropriate” if the applicant demonstrates that the parking reduction contributes to the goals of a commercial revitalization district.
Seoul Plaza is in the Annandale Commercial Revitalization District. Technically, the zoning ordinance required Seoul Plaza to have 250 parking spots, taking into account its gross square footage and the types of tenants in the shopping center. The 20% reduction will bring the required number of spaces to 200.
“Outdoor dining allows the restaurant to better cater to their customers and makes them more (competitive) with other restaurants that have outdoor dining,” county staff said in the meeting materials. “This shopping center already has a number of vacant tenant spaces so the continued viability of its existing tenants is imperative to the shopping center‘s continued economic viability.”
Although the BOS unanimously approved the request, Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross said it will be necessary to follow up “to see if it’s working the way we want it to work.”
In addition to Izakaya Khan, Seoul Plaza features restaurants including Seoul Soondae Restaurant and Release the Craycken.
More broadly, the county is developing new, permanent policies for outdoor dining following pandemic provisions that made it easier for restaurants and other eligible establishments to offer seating outside.
Photo via Google Maps
A home decor store inspired by Parisian flea markets will say bonjour to the Chesterbrook Shopping Center in McLean this week.
Le Village Marché will open a new boutique at 6234 Old Dominion Drive on Friday (June 9), marking the company’s first expansion within Northern Virginia since it began operating in Shirlington in 2007.
Inspired by founder and owner Angela Phelps’ past travels to Paris, the business sells kitchen, garden and bath products, along with candles, jewelry and other accessories, and notebooks.
“Owning a French-inspired gift shop has been a dream of mine since my very first trip to Paris over 20 years ago,” Phelps said in a press release. “McLean is the perfect place to begin expanding the franchise and we are thrilled to be opening our doors to a community with so much warmth and charm. From French tea towels and glassware to beaded chandeliers, we truly have it all!”
The McLean store marks a new chapter for Le Village Marché, as Phelps seeks to expand the company through franchising. She previously had another location in northwest D.C., but it closed permanently in 2020 when its lease ended and the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, according to its website.
Le Village Marché arrives during a period of transition for Chesterbrook Shopping Center, which created intentional vacancies as it began a major renovation last fall.
Property owner Federal Realty has started to refill those empty spaces, welcoming the juice bar South Block, a mobile Call Your Mother deli and the clothing store J.McLaughlin this year.
Next year, the shopping center will add Small Door Veterinary, a primary and urgent care practice for pets, Federal Realty announced earlier this week. Emphasizing its use of modern technology, the clinic will provide services from wellness exams to surgeries through a membership system.
According to Federal Realty, the planned “state-of-the-art facility” in McLean will be the company’s ninth location overall and first in Virginia, though it has four existing and upcoming sites in D.C.
“After establishing successful practices in New York, Boston, and D.C., we are thrilled to introduce our modernized approach to veterinary care in Virginia and extend our services to a wider community of pet owners,” Small Door Veterinary co-founder and CEO Josh Guttman said. “Our forthcoming location in Chesterbrook will provide a nurturing environment staffed with highly skilled veterinarians who will be dedicated to ensuring only the best care for pets and their owners.”
Federal Realty bought Chesterbrook in 2021 after previously serving as property manager for the 90,000-square-foot shopping center for nearly two decades.
The renovation is focused on modernizing the center’s storefronts and façades, a process expected to finish this year. New outdoor amenity spaces are scheduled to be completed in 2024.
“It is exciting to see the transformation of Chesterbrook attracting premier local and national brands,” Deirdre Johnson, Federal Realty’s senior vice president of asset management, said. “The recent openings…[create] the distinguished neighborhood destination envisioned to best serve our community.”
Fairfax County’s vision for a redevelopment of the Pan Am Shopping Center in Merrifield will likely include an emphasis on pedestrian and bicycle connections.
At a virtual community meeting on May 22, the county’s Department of Planning and Development offered a preview of its proposed comprehensive plan amendment to allow multifamily housing at the 25-acre retail center (3089 Nutley Street SW).
Among the draft recommendations, which are being finalized for a staff report expected on June 7, is a provision that the new development blocks be designed to facilitate pedestrian and bicycle access and minimize conflicts between different modes of travel.
In addition to keeping an existing path to the Providence Hall Apartments to the south, county staff have suggested adding a “north-south pedestrian connection” between Route 29 and the three residential buildings proposed by Pan Am owner Federal Realty.
The county is also contemplating recommendations for a shared-use path on the east side of Nutley Street and new or upgraded bus shelters on Nutley and Route 29.
“One of the things that we are trying to do as part of this plan amendment…is to really create a sense of place at the Pan Am Shopping Center, so that you can have the type of environment where people are being encouraged to walk there and bike there, not just drive there,” county plan development chief Graham Owen said.
The shared-use path will likely be separate from the street, he added after a community member raised concerns about bicycle lanes taking away space from cars on Nutley.
The redevelopment’s potential impact on traffic has been at the forefront of many residents’ minds. An analysis by county transportation staff found that the proposed overhaul would generate 803 more vehicle trips per day than the existing shopping center.
That would be 4,271 fewer trips than what’s possible under the current comprehensive plan, but community members in the meeting lamented that Nutley already has congestion and accessibility issues.
“Coming on Nutley from the [I-66] bridge side, the county needs to improve that. With that new crossroads, it is dangerous,” resident Francis Forgione said. “There’s no lights, and cars don’t stop entering and exiting the freeway…The county needs to somehow make it safe so you can approach from all directions, not just one direction.” Read More
As roses, poppies and other May blooms flourish in Fairfax County, kids and adults can craft upcycled flowers at Mount Vernon Plaza in Hybla Valley next Saturday (May 20).
The Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation (SFDC) will facilitate the art project at a free event dubbed “Chalkful of Flowers.” It will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the shopping center’s parklet at 7698 Richmond Highway, located behind Capital Chicken.
Also featuring collaborative chalk murals, “Chalkful of Flowers” will be the first official community event in the parklet, according to a press release. The 3,200-square-foot space opened in October after about five months of construction.
“With the arrival of warmer weather, we are thrilled to start activating the new parklet space as a way to bring the community together,” SFDC Executive Director Evan Kaufman said in the press release.
Attendees will learn how to make the upcycled flowers from local artists, and the crafts will come together to make a flower wall. Materials involved include tissue paper, dog bags and other recyclable items.
Artists on-hand to teach will include Anila Angjeli, CEO of Alexandria-based A-Line Architecture, and local art teacher Jennifer Droblyen. Other local artists mostly from around the Richmond Highway corridor were also invited to participate.
Federal Realty, the owner of Mount Vernon Plaza, partnered with SFDC to create the parklet, which features green space, porch swing benches, cafe seating, lighting, soma stones, landscaping and a trellis. SFDC is a nonprofit that supports economic development in the Richmond Highway corridor.
”When we were first conceptualizing the potential for a parklet space at Mount Vernon Plaza, we imagined events exactly like this one,” Deirdre Johnson, senior vice president at Federal Realty, said in the press release.
The event will feature live electric violin from D.C.-based violinist Charles “Bliss the Violinist” Tolbert. Those in attendance can also take in new murals that span the facades of multiple buildings in the shopping center. Restaurants in the shopping center will be open as usual, and prospective attendees can RSVP on Facebook.
The plan to redevelop Merrifield’s Pan Am Shopping Center has evolved since property owner Federal Realty submitted an initial proposal to Fairfax County last spring.
Perhaps the biggest change is the removal of up to 34 four-story townhomes previously shown on the southwest corner of the 25-acre strip mall at 3089 Nutley Street SW. The attached houses had accompanied three apartment buildings totaling 516 units.
After talking with county staff, Federal Realty agreed to eliminate the townhouses in favor of providing more park space, Director of Development Mark Hendrickson said at a community meeting on the project in the former Pet Valu store on Thursday (March 30).
In an illustrative plan presented at the meeting, the park space appeared as a green patch with trees and a path connecting the shopping center’s parking lot to the neighboring Providence Hall Apartments.
That corner will also be occupied by one of the three multifamily buildings, which will collectively have 585 units — all rental apartments.
“Townhomes are very land-consumptive,” county planner Aaron Klibaner said. “…It made more sense to do a smaller apartment building on that corner.”
Conversations between the county and Federal Realty have also reduced the residential buildings from seven to five stories, making them “more compatible” with Providence Hall, Klibaner said. They could still be up to 90 feet tall, but will “taper down” in height closer to the existing apartments.
The plan for rental units came as a surprise to Troy and Jackie Sponaugle, who have lived less than a mile away on Route 29 for almost 42 years. The couple said they had been told before that the units would be condominiums, though Hendrickson said condos were never considered for this project.
“Rental units are not as stable as owner units. We’re concerned that might impact the stability of the neighborhood,” Troy said.
Housing would support retail, developer says
The county’s Department of Planning and Development organized last week’s meeting to get feedback on whether its comprehensive plan should be amended to allow mixed-use development on the currently all-retail site.
Authorized by the Board of Supervisors in December 2021, the plan amendment study represents “the very, very beginning of the development process,” county staff stressed.
However, the question-and-answer portion of the meeting suggested some residents are already anxious about what the redevelopment could mean for Pan Am and the overall community. Read More
(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) Annandale’s Eastgate Shopping Centre, home to The Block food hall, is slated for a partial redevelopment.
Insight Property Group is seeking Fairfax County’s permission to transform a part of the existing center on John Marr Drive into a mixed-use apartment building with retail and amenities in an effort to “transition the site into a more vibrant, mixed-use, and community-centered asset,” according to the application.
To move forward with the proposal, the county would have to rezone the shopping center from commercial uses to a use that allows residential and mixed-use projects.
“This diversified and more balanced mix of uses will ensure the Eastgate Shopping Center continues to contribute positively to and be a resource for the community,” the application says.
The proposal could transform the largely automobile-centric form of the center, which was built in 1973 and is anchored by K Market International. Although the center has seen new tenants — like The Block — the applicant says significant retail challenges remain.
Insight wants to rezone roughly three acres on the northern portion of the property for the residential component of the site. The building would be six stories tall and include up to 280 residential units. A little over 11,200 square feet of ground-level retail uses are planned.
The developer says the team is excited to put forward a plan that will “serve as an impetus for additional revitalization in the core of Annandale,” according to the application.
“The proposed development has also been designed to facilitate future redevelopment of the remainder of the shopping center,” the application says. “A new street grid, pedestrian corridors, and urban park spaces are being located for potential expansion in the future and to ultimately serve as a central open space amenity with the future build out of the remainder of the Eastgate Shopping Center.”
The proposal is in the early phases of the county’s multi-step approval process. It has not yet been accepted for review.
A proposal to redevelop Rose Hill Plaza (6116 Rose Hill Drive) into a mixed-use project is starting to take more concrete shape.
The pitch by owner Combined Properties — submitted as part of the county’s ongoing Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process — argues that the current shopping center reflects an “outdated, auto-oriented concept that contradicts Fairfax county’s goals and objectives.”
If the proposal is approved, the developer would time the overhaul with the end of several leases in 2027.
“If the Property is not accepted into this cycle’s SSPA process, the Property risks long-term vacancies until 2035 which is detrimental to the health of the Property and the neighborhood,” the application states.
Anchored by Safeway, the shopping center spans a little over 11 acres.
A six-story, mixed-use residential building with 56,000 square feet of retail and green space is planned. A freestanding ‘jewel box’ retail building will front most the property, bordering proposed green space along Rose Hill Drive.
In its application, Combined Properties says it has already “thoughtfully” scaled back the proposed development in response to community engagement this spring.
However, some neighboring groups are already opposing the proposal, forming a Rose Hill Coalition to advocate for an update of the shopping center rather than a full redevelopment and rezoning.
“We hope that Combined Properties sees this an opportunity to improve the shopping center,” Sharada Gilkey, founder of the coalition, said. “We would like to work with CP to support and improve the center to ensure the future success of its local businesses, small and large, and to better serve the local community.”
Concerns flagged by the coalition include the prospect of increased traffic in an already congested area, the incompatibility of the apartment complex with surrounding single-family homes, and the reduction in walkable retail and office space.
Combined Properties has no intention to sell the property after it is redeveloped.
“The Applicant is also committed to ensuring the surrounding residential community has continued access to quality public amenities, including the retention of a grocery store option to anchor the retail program,” the application states.
The proposal was formally accepted for review by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 6. Like the other applications submitted as part of the SSPA process, which allows land use changes to the comprehensive plan for individual sites, the county will evaluate it for further consideration.
