The developer that owns a cluster of retail and office properties on the corner of Church Street and Lawyers Road in Vienna wants to turn them into a single building with retail and apartments.
The Vienna Town Council heard a proposal from Bognet Construction and architectural firm MGMA during its conference session on Monday (June 14) that would redevelop 139-145 Church Street into a three-story mixed-use building with a basement.
Owned by Bognet Construction President and CEO Jim Bognet, the two parcels under consideration consist of 26,993 square feet, or 0.62 acres, of land, and each parcel is currently occupied by a two-story commercial building.
Under Bognet’s proposal, the existing buildings would be replaced by a 35-foot-tall building with 18 apartment units and six ground-floor commercial tenants.
The 39,969 gross square footage includes 9,448 square feet per residential floor, 9,378 square feet for ground-floor retail, an 804 square-foot rooftop area, and a 10,891 square-foot basement with retail, according to plans that the developer and architect presented to the town council.
Bognet says he purchased the properties approximately three years ago with the goal of studying the site for redevelopment.
“We’re looking at making it mixed-use, because it’s our understanding that there’s a demand in Vienna for different types of residential use,” Bognet told Tysons Reporter. “…We seem to have a large amount of single-family homes and townhouses coming to the market, but I felt there was a need for some apartment living, new apartments, so we’re going to try and fit that in with the Church Street Vision.”
The Church Street Vision is a zoning ordinance that the Vienna Town Council adopted in July 1999 to “enhance the appearance and economic vitality of businesses in the historic Church Street commercial corridor,” according to a town staff presentation.
The ordinance encourages property owners in the town’s C-1B Pedestrian Commercial Zone to mimic a late 19th-century, small-town architectural style in exchange for more square footage, parking requirement reductions, and a faster review process.
So far, Vienna has approved four projects under the Church Street Vision: 101 Church Street NW (home to Sushi Yoshi and Vienna Pet Spaw), 111-113 Church Street NW (Bazin’s and Blend 111), 114 Church Street NW (Red Galanga), and most recently in 2014, a building with ground-floor retail and second-floor apartments at 120 Church Street NW, whose tenants include Bard’s Alley and Rita’s.
Bognet says his team is currently working with the town to determine the appropriate amount of parking that should be provided by the new building and develop the design so that it fits the street’s overall aesthetic.
The conceptual plan proposes a total of 72 parking spaces, with 38 spaces on ground level and 34 spaces above that. The garage would be located behind the building, backing up against a 15-foot alley owned by the town.
Bognet says that, while the lot will be occupied by a single building, it will be “broken up every 20 to 25 feet” to look like different buildings from the street. Read More
(Updated 6/11) A plan to overhaul one of the Metro system’s least-used stations is headed to the Fairfax County Planning Commission next week, but surrounding the new project is a complex network of advocates, issues, and jurisdictional questions that’s built Katamari Damacy-style over the last two years of public engagement.
As the project to transform the area around the West Falls Church Metro station starts to move forward, advocates and opponents alike are already starting to look at the next stage of transportation questions down the road.
The proposed comprehensive plan amendment aims to turn the area near the West Falls Church Metro station into a mixed-use district with office, retail, and residential uses more typical of areas near Metro stations.
With the withdrawal of Virginia Tech taking the filling out of the development sandwich, the two pieces of the plan are the City of Falls Church parcel, with mixed-use developments around a central stretch of park and open space, and the area adjacent to the Metro station.
The first phase of the project is scheduled for a planning commission public hearing on Wednesday (June 16) before going to the Board of Supervisors on July 13, after which the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s development team will still need to get specific plans approved.
So far, most of the public discussion about the project has involved transportation.
Evan Goldman, executive vice president of acquisitions for site developer EYA, says an expanded roadway parallel to the crowded Haycock Road should help relieve some of the local traffic, along with a new exit off I-66 running directly to the West Falls Church Metro station.
“There’s no question that what is being built here is 100% better than what is there today,” Goldman said. “This will have dedicated bike lanes on almost all the streets.”
Goldman says the concerns raised so far have mainly focused on the single-family residential neighborhoods near the development, where there are insufficient sidewalks in some places.
“It’s specifically because of the location, surrounded by single-family neighborhoods in an area where there are existing traffic issues,” Goldman said. “The density is sized for the capacity of what the traffic can handle to make sure we’re trying to be respectful of neighbors in terms of height and density.”
Goldman says lower density requirements will also allow more of the buildings to be delivered together, so the project can be brought online all at once.
The reaction from surrounding neighbors to the project has been mixed.
Paul Rothstein, one of the representatives from nearby residential development The Villages on a task force to review the project, has argued that the increased density will pose a hazard to nearby residents, who will feel the ripple effect of traffic from the site on streets not built to handle it.
“Even though I view pedestrian infrastructure remediation as mostly Fairfax County’s responsibility and not [EYA’s], your development will increase traffic in the surrounding areas and increase the risk to pedestrians,” Rothstein wrote in a letter to the developer.
Rothstein has been pushing for EYA to endorse a McLean Citizens Association resolution on the project, which notes that the traffic issues at the site remain unresolved.
“To quote the father of the injured child, ‘I also hope that the developers, who emphasize building walkable communities, will support the MCA resolution and thus make sure that walkability in existing communities does not deteriorate as a result of new communities,'” Rothstein wrote. “Adoption of the MCA resolution still will permit substantial development at the same time as promoting the safety of your neighbors, including their children.”
Goldman says current plans for the development include dedicated crossings on Haycock and Leesburg Pike, but Rothstein’s concern is for neighborhood children walking to Haycock Elementary along more crowded streets.
Goldman says EYA’s obligations for traffic improvement are primarily at the development site and not the broader region around the station.
Cheryl Sim, another nearby resident, agreed that, by and large, EYA is not responsible for the entire area, but it still has some obligations.
“The County and VDOT have long ignored this area and its needs,” Sim said. “However, EYA fronts for WMATA in this exercise. And, WMATA, based upon its Joint Development Guidelines and Principles from May 2020 place the onus on the developer.” Read More
The Fairfax County Planning Commission gave the green light yesterday (Wednesday) to a once-more revised version of a plan to revitalize downtown McLean.
“This amended plan is an important and hopefully major change for the future revitalization of the aging and somewhat dated downtown McLean business and shopping area,” Dranesville District Commissioner John Ulfelder said.
Their unanimous vote came after commissioners made some last-minute changes to the plan in response to nearly two dozen people who aired their criticisms, both general and targeted, during a public hearing last month.
The changes incorporate some of that feedback, specifically on parking and building heights. One change responds to commissioners, who had some concerns regarding a mechanism to review the plan’s progress in 10 years or when 1,660 residential units have been built — whichever comes first.
Commissioners struck a section recommending changes to parking as well as a proposal to close the intersection of Center Street and Old Dominion Drive, which will remain open until a rezoning application is filed and reviewed.
They also clarified a section on building heights surrounding Franklin Sherman Elementary School and McLean Baptist Church such that the buildings abutting them cannot be more than 40 feet tall.
Finally, they recommend only triggering the review once 1,660 residential units have been developed, rather than after 10 years, which Ulfelder described as “an arbitrary time limit.” The revised McLean Community Business Center plan goes into greater detail about what the review could look like and the opportunities for community input ahead of any decision about adding more residences.
Will it be enough to attract developers?
“The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” Ulfelder said.
The commission unanimously supported a follow-on motion directing the county to run a pilot project aimed at making McLean more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly with streets designed to slow down traffic.
“The pilot could include techniques like narrower vehicle lanes, the addition of on-street parking, time-of-day parking, and interim changes to road configurations,” Ulfelder said.
He suggested that the pilot’s scope encompass the area along Old Dominion Drive from Beverley Road to Corner Lane and along Chain Bridge Road from Old Chain Bridge Road to the Tennyson Drive and Ingleside intersections.
His recommendations include some ideas that were struck from the CBC plan’s parking management section.
Ultimately, Ulfelder said the current comprehensive plan has “proved to be too inflexible and unwieldy for landowners and potential developers,” while the proposed plan takes a “new approach that supports change and development while maintaining aspects of the CBC that the residents of McLean love and value.”
He thanked county staff for their work on weekends and after business hours to talk with residents, attend meetings, and continuously revise the plan.
“I think people don’t understand the commitment and sacrifice staff makes on these efforts,” he said.
Drivers traveling down Maple Avenue may have noticed a chain-link fence around the Vienna Wolf Trap Hotel and the vacated Tequila Grande. The properties have long been idling, but the fence, which was erected earlier this year, suggests that demolition day could be within sight.
Business and town officials are still working on the four-story shopping and residential center at 444 Maple Avenue W. that the Vienna Town Council initially approved back in 2018 to replace the hotel and restaurant, which relocated to Oakton.
“We’re excited to get the project underway,” said Chris Bell, senior vice president of acquisition and development for New Jersey-based developer Hekemian & Co., Inc. “It’s been a long time.”
The project calls for approximately 20,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground with 151 multifamily rental units above, according to the town.
The project has stirred controversy since it was announced, as community members objected to its size and potential traffic impact in a town that has proven wary of development.
Construction documentation took about a year, and the developer submitted building permits to Fairfax County in September after being slowed down by the pandemic for about four months, Bell says.
Demolition permits are in the works, and the project is expected to have utilities capped off at the property soon. A permit allowing sewer and water services to be capped off in the Tequila Grande property line was issued on Feb. 4, according to the county’s permits and inspections database.
Bell says construction could begin in the early fall and take about 18 months.
Commercial tenants are already slated to take most of the business space available at the 444 Maple development, but it still has space for lease, according to company representatives.
Councilmember Howard Springsteen broke from the majority to vote against approving the project in 2018, citing the development’s size and traffic concerns.
Springsteen told Tysons Reporter that people welcome development — provided it’s reasonable.
The project has not yet had plans come before the town’s Board of Architectural Review, chairman Roy Baldwin said yesterday (Wednesday). The architectural board advanced the project in May 2018, saying that it met zoning parameters.
“All we were called on was whether this particular proposal met the zoning at that time,” Baldwin said, noting that didn’t mean whether they’d vote for or against the project.
The developer describes the planned mixed-use complex as a “walkable neighborhood destination” with luxury apartments, two levels of parking, a bike storage, a pet-washing station, and more.
Renderings show a central plaza by commercial spaces, trees around the property, and two courtyards — including one with a pool — surrounded by residential units.
Photo via Town of Vienna
One of the longest-running stories on Tysons Reporter has been plans to overhaul McLean’s downtown. The aim is to make it more vibrant and active, but critics of the plan say it still misses the mark on parking and stormwater management.
The McLean Community Business Center plan divides the 230 acres of central McLean into a few zones with greater residential density opportunities than currently exist — the idea being to incentivize more development in exchange for those developments including more public open space and community amenities.
The expanded density will allow for up to 3,850 residential units in McLean, more than triple the 1,280 units currently built in that area.
Robert Jackson, president of the McLean Citizens Association, said that in spite of some changes, the MCA still opposes the draft plan, due to a lack of specificity around water management requirements and changes that will shift the emphasis to underground parking garages, rather than surface parking.
“Some changes made, and we are pleased with some of them, but [those] two major issues remain unaddressed satisfactorily,” he said at a public hearing held by the Fairfax County Planning Commission on May 26.
Other concerns that emerged during last week’s public hearing included calls for more assurance that the new development won’t add to McLean’s flooding issues.
“The focus needs to address flooding and streambed erosion concerns,” local citizen Barbara Ryan said, “particularly as we are seeing downstream erosion in Pimmit Run.”
After the public hearing, the planning commission deferred its decision on whether to recommend approval of the proposed comprehensive plan amendment to June 9. The plan will then go before the Board of Supervisors on June 22.
Image via Fairfax County
The Fairfax County Planning Commission deferred a decision on the McLean Community Business Center comprehensive plan until June during a meeting last Wednesday (May 26).
It was the second deferral for the plan to guide development in downtown McLean, which has been developing over the last three years. The hotly debated plan was originally slated to go before the commission for a public hearing in April but was deferred to May. During that time, further revisions were made to the final draft.
Now, the planning commission will make a decision on June 9 ahead of a Board of Supervisors meeting set for June 22.
“A lot of hard work has been put into this,” Dranesville District Commissioner John Ulfelder said. “I think those revisions help with some of the issues that have arisen since the original staff report. But we’re going to hear from the community there are still differences of opinion about the proposed language.”
Nearly two dozen speakers voiced their opinions at the commission’s public hearing last week, and a majority had criticisms of certain aspects of the plan or the plan in its entirety. Among the demands were more stringent stormwater protections, more surface parking, and a lower cap on residential units.
Covering a 230-acre area between Dolley Madison Boulevard, Chain Bridge Road, and Old Dominion Road, the draft plan is meant to incentivize developers to come to McLean and build more residential density in exchange for public open space and other community amenities. The plan also no longer prescribes specific uses for specific properties.
The plan divides the downtown area into Center, General, and Edge zones, each with height requirements. It allows for up to 3,850 residential units in McLean, which currently has 1,280 units.
Robert Jackson, president of the McLean Citizens Association, said the organization opposes the newest draft plan on the grounds of parking and stormwater management.
“Some changes made, and we are pleased with some of them, but [those] two major issues remain unaddressed satisfactorily,” he said.
The MCA previously recommended removing the entire parking management section because “its intention is to make parking scarce, not plentiful,” he said. It also recommended restoring old language with more specific and protective stormwater requirements.
Barbara Ryan, a citizen and credentialed sustainable landscape designer, said each subsequent draft has diluted stormwater management requirements. She called for restoring a requirement that new development retains one inch of water and imposing a volume limit on runoff, rather than requiring a reduction.
“The focus needs to address flooding and streambed erosion concerns, particularly as we are seeing downstream erosion in Pimmit Run,” she said.
Responding to earlier input, county staff recently added a provision stating that the plan will be reviewed either in 2031 or when 1,660 units are built or in development, whichever comes first. That would result in 2,360 total units in McLean, which is a few hundred more than the current upper limit of 2,175.
But planning commissioners were skeptical of the 10-year timeframe.
“One of the issues in development years is that 10 years is in the blink of an eye,” Ulfelder said. “I think this is necessary and appropriate, but it’s not clear to me what we’ll know in this timeframe unless the developers are hanging outside the CBC waiting for this plan amendment to be passed — salivating, waiting to put together some blocks of land, particularly in the center zone.” Read More
Man Dies in Great Falls Car Crash — A man identified as Salvadro Alvarez Perez, 24, of Maryland died Saturday night (May 29) after hitting a fence and mailbox and flipping over in a crash that occurred at 10:53 p.m. near the intersection of Georgetown Pike and Old Dominion Drive. Detectives believe alcohol may be a factor in the crash but are continuing to investigate whether speed was a factor as well. [FCPD]
Linway Terrace Closed for Stormwater Pipe Replacement — Starting at 8 a.m. today, Linway Terrace between Birch Road and Kirby Road (Route 695) in McLean will be closed to through traffic, weather permitting, until 5 p.m. on June 11 to replace a stormwater pipe. Except for people who need to access properties along Linway Terrace, traffic will not be able to go beyond just west of Bryan Branch Road in either direction. [VDOT]
Madeira School Expansion Approved by Planning Commission — “The Madeira School on May 26 received the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s unanimous support for its special-exception application to add a new science building, more housing and modernized equestrian facilities.” [Sun Gazette]
Idylwood House Fire Caused by Lightning Strike — A house fire that occurred in the 7700 block of Virginia Lane at approximately 8:40 p.m. last Wednesday (May 26) was caused by a lightning strike that hit the home’s exterior. There were no injuries, but the fire displaced two people and produced approximately $42,500 in damages. It was one of two house fires ignited by lightning that night. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
I-66 Lane Closures Coming to Vienna Area — “Overnight lane closures and traffic stoppages on I-66 East and West approaching Vaden Drive in Vienna are scheduled to occur Tuesday, June 1, through Saturday, June 5, for installation of beams for the new Express Lanes access ramps at Vaden Drive…Drivers should expect delays if traveling in this area and should consider using alternate routes.” [VDOT]
Inch by inch, memo by memo, plans for Tysons’ street grid are coming together.
A new memorandum of understanding (MOU) approved at the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday (May 18) could help clear one hurdle that’s been a thorn in the side of infrastructure plans.
As a follow-up to the June 2010 Tysons Corner Comprehensive Plan, Dominion Energy is entering an MOU with Fairfax County that will streamline a complicated part of the development process for new projects.
According to the staff report, Fairfax County has had a memorandum of agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation since 2011 that commits VDOT to including all streets in the Tysons grid in its maintenance program.
At the same time, Dominion Energy has been working to update its electric distribution infrastructure in Tysons, a process that has been happening in conjunction with the arrival of new development.
“Developers agree to install new distribution duct banks and related equipment connecting to their proposed buildings, consistent with Dominion’s updated infrastructure,” county staff said in a report. “The facilities run parallel to existing streets, streets with modified cross-sections, or newly built streets, typically underneath sidewalk areas or parking lanes.”
Differences between VDOT’s conditions for its street maintenance program and requirements imposed by Dominion Energy for the installation of new distribution facilities has created some uncertainty for developers, the staff report says:
VDOT will not accept new streetscape areas that include easements, and Dominion requires easements where distribution ductbanks and related equipment are installed outside of vehicular lanes. Dominion is not a signatory to the 2011 MOA. Thus, there is uncertainty for developers about Dominion permitting their installations and VDOT accepting the streetscape areas above those installations for maintenance.
The newly approved MOU is intended to alleviate some of that uncertainty over where developers can and can’t build new streetscapes without stepping on the tangled web of local easements.
Under the MOU, Fairfax County will pay for future relocations of electric distribution ductbanks and related equipment that are needed by the county or VDOT, while Dominion will cover any relocations that it needs. Private developers will still pay for new ductbanks and relocations necessitated by their projects.
“This arrangement prevents Dominion from requiring easements in streetscape areas intended as county right-of-way, thereby ensuring ultimate acceptance by VDOT into its secondary street system, pursuant to the 2011 MOA,” county staff explained in its report.
VDOT has not officially signed the MOU, but the agency has endorsed it and committed to continuing to honor the 2011 agreement with Fairfax County, according to county staff.
The board of supervisors unanimously approved the motion, but at the meeting, Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said there have been frustrations with Dominion failing to meet its timelines and obligations.
“One of the ways that we make sure we’re managing cost going through this is proper planning,” Fairfax County Director of Land Development Services Bill Hicks said. “We’re working close, hand in hand, with VDOT and their long-running plans and Dominion Energy with their long-range plans.”
William Marsh, Tysons coordinator for Land Development Services, said the MOU will hopefully help to streamline permitting.
“Developers will continue to pay for development in Tysons, but [we] want to provide them permitting efficiency,” Marsh said.
Photo via Dominion Energy/Facebook
Falls Church is looking to set up a new governing authority to handle some of the finances for its ambitious West Falls Church Economic Development Project — a new mixed-use development the city hopes can rival the nearby Mosaic District in Merrifield.
The new Community Development Authority (CDA) will be financially-focused, aimed at administering the bonds and debt service for local projects, as well as imposing special taxes on businesses within its zone.
The West Falls CDA will be the first of its kind created in Falls Church, though similar CDAs are in place in Ballston Quarter in Arlington and for the Mosaic District in Fairfax.
“A CDA can finance such projects by issuing bonds and then requesting that the locality impose special taxes or a special assessment on properties in the district to pay the debt service on such bonds,” city staff said in a report. “This ordinance is before City Council for creation of the CDA only, and bond issuance will require further Council approval down the road.”
Staff presented an overview of the proposal to the Falls Church City Council during its work session on Monday (May 17).
City Manager Wyatt Shields explained that community development authorities result from property owners petitioning their local government to create the organization, generally so that they can “gain public improvements” within the specific district where they are located.
In the case of the potential West Falls CDA, the petitioners are the future leaseholders of the site, which is currently owned by the City of Falls Church. That includes Falls Church Gateway Partners, the developer group comprised of EYA and Hoffman & Associates.
“There would be a special assessment paid only by those who live in that special district to pay for those public improvements,” Shields said. “There is no tax impact for taxpayers who live outside the district.”
The plan for the West Falls Church Economic Development Project is to create a sprawling mixed-use area with a residential component as well as 123,000 square feet of retail anchored by a grocery store, office space, and a hotel.
The report says the intent is for the CDA to issue $12 to $15 million in bonds that would kickstart some of the planned infrastructure improvements and fund under-grounding utilities.
The CDA will be managed by a five-member board appointed by the city.
The proposal is scheduled to go to a public hearing on Monday (May 24) before returning to the city council for final approval on June 28. If approved, the CDA would start meeting in July, with bond sales beginning February 2022.
Image via City of Falls Church
McLean has had its fair share of contentious development debates, but to the relief of everyone involved, a planned senior living facility at 1638 and 1642 Chain Bridge Road didn’t go that way, instead getting a unanimous vote of support from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
Tension over the future of development in McLean has been brewing in recent weeks with the much-debated downtown revitalization plan headed for a delayed planning commission public hearing on May 26.
In this case, however, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust says the cooperation and willingness to compromise from both developer Tri-State Development Companies and the nearby residents resulted in a smooth process.
The plan is to build 35 independent living units, five of which are expected to be sold as affordable, and a central clubhouse area for residents to gather.
“This has been a really good experience, working with the community and this developer,” Foust said. “Sometimes you don’t come away with such a good taste in your mouth after you go through a difficult land use case, and this wasn’t simple, but everyone was so positive and cooperative and I want to thank everyone involved in the process.”
While speakers at the meeting generally expressed support for the project, neighboring property owner Bobbi Bowman, who said she’d lived there for 22 years, stated that she still had concerns about the noise level from the clubhouse on the site.
“I will look over my back yard and side-yard fences into the front yard of two-story townhouses and clubhouse with an joining outdoor area,” Bowman said. “I believe this application fails to meet county standard that says such development must be compatible…I am not asking the applicant to forego the clubhouse, I’m only asking to be protected from the noise.”
Tri-State has agreed that the clubhouse will not be rented out to anyone outside of the condominium owners association that will be formed to govern the facility, and no audible music will be allowed in the patio area, according to a list of approved development conditions attached to the project.
Other speakers said they were looking forward to the development in part because they see the need for senior housing for their parents or for themselves a few years down the road.
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” nearby resident Eric West said. “I don’t know of any place within the DMV that has something that would meet the needs of those who want to age in place.”
Winnie Pizzano, president of the nearby Stoneleigh Homeowners Association, said the project had great support from within her community.
Resident Scott Shawkey expressed hope that the project could help pave the way for a transformation of McLean’s downtown area, a goal of the county that has been several years in the making.
“I have a father in his 80s who’s worked his entire life for something nice,” Shawkey said. “This is something special, a celebration of life. I think it will be great…We have an incredible community, but our downtown is just a four-way intersection.”
Map via Fairfax County
