Sekas Homes is planning to replace a two-story office building next to the mini-roundabout on Park Street in Vienna with a quintet of townhouses that will be priced “in the low $1 millions,” the developer says on its website.
The Town of Vienna Board of Architectural Review is scheduled to discuss Sekas’ request for approval to construct the proposed Cadence on Park development at 201 Park Street SE during its meeting tonight (Thursday).
Dated June 2020, the site plan calls for the construction of five attached condominium townhomes on a 0.41-acre lot. The buildings would be approximately 33 feet tall above grade with four floors and a rooftop terrace.
The plan proposes a total of 14 parking spaces, including two garage spaces per unit and four surface spaces for visitors. Utilities would be located underground, and the site would feature a concrete pad surrounded by a six-foot wooden fence for trash containers.
Sekas, which built a similar townhome complex on Center Street in 2019, has committed to providing new road and sidewalk development as part of the Park Street proposal, according to its application to the Vienna Department of Planning and Zoning.
In order to build the townhomes, Sekas plans to demolish the existing structure at 201 Park Street SE.
The office building had been primarily occupied by medical practices, but most of the tenants have now retired, according to an individual with Vienna Hearing Center, the last remaining occupant.
The person told Tysons Reporter that Vienna Hearing Center will be relocating just down the road to the office complex at 124 Park Street SE. The audiology clinic is scheduled to move out of its current space on March 26 and will start seeing patients again at its new location on March 30.
Image via Cadence on Park L.C./Town of Vienna
Falls Church City could be getting a second phase of the Founders Row development project on W. Broad and S. West streets.
Developer Mill Creek Residential Trust is proposing a mixed-use apartment building with 319 units, ground-floor retail, and underground parking with 80 retail and 351 residential spaces. It would replace the vacant Rite Aid and carpet store at 1001 and 1003 W. Broad Street across the street from the first phase of Founders Row.
“It’s meant to complement phase one in the evolving downtown of the City of Falls Church,” Mill Creek representative Joe Muffler said during a Falls Church City Council meeting on Monday (March 15).
Mill Creek submitted an application for Founders Row II to the city in November. The developer anticipates finishing the first phase by next March and hopes to start phase two around that time, Muffler said.
The developer is seeking special exceptions to allow a 30-foot height bonus, which would make the development to 85 feet tall, and to build residential units in a mixed-use area.
Aiming for LEED Gold status, Founders Row II will have electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot and plan for future solar panel installations. The developer also plans to put utilities underground and has committed to making street and sidewalk repairs.
Mill Creek plans to re-time signals and add traffic calming measures at the intersection of S. West and W. Broad streets. The project is projected to produce a net 3-4% increase in cars at peak hours, Muffler said.
A Falls Church City staff analysis says nearly 40 units could be set aside as affordable, which is “in significant excess of the ‘typical’ 6% of all units at 60% AMI.” The proposed contribution includes 6% at 60% AMI and 6% at 80% AMI.
The affordable housing unit contribution compensates for a lack of cash contributions, but the developer is willing to be flexible, Muffler said.
The larger-scale contribution also compensates “for not providing net new commercial square feet,” Becky Witsman, the city’s economic development division chief, said in a letter.
58 units will be restricted to residents 55 and older, bringing the total number of proposed age-restricted units to 134 across both Founders Row developments, Muffler said.
“We wanted to bring a thoughtful, diverse mix that brings new renters into the city, that isn’t just kind of one size fits all,” he said.
On Monday, Councilmember Ross Litkenhous commended Mill Creek for adding green space to the proposed project in response to feedback two weeks ago. He said it will help with connectivity to the neighborhood and the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, which passes the site to the north.
In addition to housing, Founders Row II will have 15,000 square feet of retail, 5,000 square feet of medical or professional offices, and a 5,000 square-foot community co-working space. Muffler envisions less experiential, more necessary retail occupying this space.
“We all know Founders Row phase one has lifestyle- and entertainment-heavy retail,” he said. “One thing that is never going away and gets set aside for ‘sexier’ uses is retail such as convenience marts, pharmacies, and dry cleaners.”
The retail will be recessed to provide outdoor seating that will be appealing in light of the pandemic, Muffler said.
Councilmember Letty Hardi said there was “a lot to like” about Mill Creek’s proposal but cautioned that recessed retail with pavilions does not always work. She also suggested adding a turn lane onto S. West Street, as traffic can back up to Madison Lane.
“I know that this will be a consistent point of feedback, as users have trouble turning onto West right now,” Hardi said.
Some big changes are coming to McLean, and Dranesville Supervisor John Foust says he supports many — but not all — of them.
During a “Good Morning, McLean” breakfast hosted by the Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce yesterday morning (Thursday), Foust highlighted ongoing redevelopment work to the downtown area and Chain Bridge Road, but expressed caution about proposed zoning changes.
He repeated his support for the McLean Commercial Business Center revitalization plan despite some vocal opposition, saying it encourages development while protecting those who do not want McLean to become the next Tysons. The Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the plan on April 28, and it will go before the Board of Supervisors on May 18.
Foust also spoke favorably about Tri-State Development’s proposal to build a 35-unit senior living facility with townhouses on a Chain Bridge Road site that would otherwise fit nine single-family homes. Earlier this month, the planning commission deferred a decision on the plan until next Wednesday (March 17).
“It’s exactly what McLean residents are looking for who want to downsize but don’t want to leave McLean,” Foust said. “Fundamentally, it’s a good application, and I think it’ll probably get approved.”
The project has received some pushback from nearby residents who say the project extends the business district into their residential area and will cause transportation and parking problems.
Foust acknowledged these complaints, adding that a dedicated left turn lane at the Chain Bridge and Davidson Road intersection could be needed to account for car and foot traffic. Ultimately, though, he believes it is better than the alternative for developers.
“Building nine houses would’ve been miserable,” he said.
McLean is also bracing for the potential impact of Fairfax County’s Zoning Ordinance Modernization project. Most of the changes proposed by county staff are “non-controversial” and will simplify frustrating ordinances, Foust said.
But he opposes a few elements that have also consternated the public, including proposed regulations on flags and changes to the permits required to operate a business from home.
Foust says loosening customer and signage rules for home-based businesses could lead to more businesses in residential areas.
“Staff prepared, I think, a very liberalized version,” he said. “I’m not excited about the direction staff is trying to take this.”
Outside of development and zoning issues, Foust says that, as chair of the Board of Supervisors’ economic initiatives committee, he has been focused on how Fairfax County will recover from the COVID-19 pandemic once it’s over.
The committee will receive a presentation on Tuesday from a consultant that the county hired last year to develop recommendations for its road to recovery. Right now, about $15 million are earmarked for implementing recovery programs, but Foust predicts “that number will increase dramatically” when Fairfax County receives federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act.
According to Fairfax County, that sum could be $222.56 million, although the exact amount has not yet been confirmed by the federal government.
In the meantime, the vaccine process is picking up, even with more than 103,000 people currently on Fairfax County’s waitlist.
“We’re getting through it,” Foust said. “…I get so frustrated sometimes with the failures we’ve encountered, the bumps in the road, but when I step back and look at what staff and others are accomplishing, it’s just amazing.”
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
(Updated at 9:20 a.m.) Fairfax County Gets New General Registrar — “The Fairfax County Electoral Board appointed Scott O. Konopasek as the county’s new general registrar and director of elections at its March 11, 2020, meeting. He will lead the Fairfax County Office of Elections following the retirement of the current registrar Gary Scott who has worked in the office for the past 24 years. Konopasek’s tentative starting date is April 19.” [Fairfax County Government]
Metrobus to Expand Service Starting March 14 — Metro will increase bus service to 80% of pre-pandemic levels starting next week to accommodate increased ridership demand. Some routes, including Route 28A between the Tysons and King Street-Old Town Metro stations, will have service completely restored to pre-pandemic levels, while others will get supplemental buses or have weekend service restored. [WMATA]
Tysons One East Developer Joins Expansion of The Boro — The D.C. developer Akridge has partnered with The Meridian Group on its plans to expand The Boro in Tysons with additional mixed-use development. Akridge is also behind the Tysons One East tower that Fairfax County approved last year for Old Meadow Road near the McLean Metro station. [Bisnow]
House Fire in Vienna Extinguished — “Units on scene of a house fire in the 10400 block of Hunt Country Lane. First arriving reported smoke showing from two story home. Small fire located and extinguished. All occupants safe. Crews checking for extension.” [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department/Twitter]
McLean Student Wins State Journalism Competition — “McLean High School senior Marina Qu has been named the 2021 Virginia Journalist of the Year by the Virginia Association of Journalism Teachers and Advisers. Qu serves as editor-in-chief of The Highlander newsmagazine and The Tartan literary magazine; she has been on both publications’ staff for three years.” [FCPS]
FEMA Gives Virginia Funding for COVID-19 Vaccinations — “The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded $38.6 million in funding to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts in Virginia. A grant of $1,814,688 will be used to pay for staff needed to administer vaccines, while a grant of $36,750,003 has been made available to establish a number of mobile vaccine sites across the state.” [Patch]
Vienna Decks Out “Love” Sign for St. Patrick’s Day — “Friends of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail Trail Patrol volunteer was kind enough to pose for this. #LOVEViennaVA sign has been decorated for St. Patrick’s Day, so snap away #spring #March.” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
A luxury townhome developer wants to supplant an office complex on Leesburg Pike in Tysons with more than 100 units of housing.
EYA Development has submitted a rezoning application and development plan to Fairfax County seeking to build 104 single-family, attached dwellings on a 6.7-acre site at 7700 Leesburg Pike that is now occupied by a 150,000 square-foot commercial building that was constructed in 1976. The property owner, S.C. Herman & Associates, is also listed as an applicant.
Existing tenants include the Ismaili Cultural Center, the weight loss service SimplySlim Medical, the accounting firm Gilliland & Associates, a telecommunications contractor called McEnroe Voice and Data, and the private Standard College of Nursing.
Submitted on Dec. 15 and accepted by the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning last Friday (March 5), the application proposes rezoning the commercial site to the planned development housing district.
Under a PDH-16 zoning, the site would have a maximum density of 16 dwelling units per acre and require 281 parking spaces, which EYA says would be provided with two garage spaces for each housing unit and 73 surface spaces.
According to the conceptual development plan, the development would exceed open space requirements with 93,688 square feet of open space, including 38,688 square feet of recreational open space.
The plan features three dedicated open spaces on the north end of the site: a central courtyard with a pergola and terraces called The Green, a fitness area, and a playspace with a cherry tree grove, rain gardens, and birdhouses.
In terms of infrastructure, the development will include internal private roads with an exit to the south onto Leesburg Pike, and the site plan envisions 10-foot crosswalks across George C. Marshall Drive and a future road to the property’s east side that is included in the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan.
EYA notes in the plan that illustrations showing the future road are to demonstrate that the proposed development can accommodate the road but “is not a commitment for the applicant to construct the future road or infrastructure.”
The developer also says its proposal would not preclude any potential widenings of Leesburg Pike, and it plans to dedicate a portion of the site area for future road improvements introduced by a Route 7 bus rapid transit system.
“To the best of our knowledge, the proposed development will not pose any adverse impacts on adjacent properties,” the applicants say in the development plan.
Photo via Google Maps
The fate of a potential senior living facility in McLean has been put on hold.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission deferred a decision to permit an independent living facility for adults 60 and older on Chain Bridge Road on March 3. The decision on the project is now scheduled for March 17 during the commission’s meeting, which will start at 7:30 p.m.
Dranesville District Commissioner John Ulfedler proposed deferring the decision in order to address issues presented during the March 3 public hearing.
Tri-State Development Companies secured a recommendation from Fairfax County’s planning staff in February for the development of the 3.23-acre site. The company has proposed replacing existing single-family dwellings at 1638 and 1642 Chain Bridge Road with 35 independent living units.
When presenting the staff report, Fairfax County senior planner Kelly Posusney noted that 15% of the dwellings will be provided as affordable, 55% of the site will be open space, and 90 total parking spaces would be provided via private garages attached to the individual dwellings and surface parking in the development.
McGuireWoods managing partner Greg Riegle, who represents Tri-State on the project, said the development would feature on-site management to assist residents with day-to-day living and amenities like fitness programs and entertainment.
“A commitment to provide the services, amenities and access to care appropriate to an aging population drives almost everything about this application,” Riegle said.
While there was some support from the public during the March 3 public hearing, many also raised questions and concerns about the potential for the project to increase traffic in the community, the development’s height, proposed setbacks, noise and light pollution, and storm water management.
Riegle said the project team is working on storm water management concerns by making downstream improvements. The plans also include on-site storm water management facilities to control an increase in runoff, addressing inadequate pipe capacity and flooding of properties downstream.
He added the proposed height of the residential units would not exceed 50 feet. The project overview lists the height of the units as between 36 and 40 feet, “depending on the style of roof.”
Multiple community members called for further evaluation of the development’s possible impact on traffic. Resident Elizabeth Yu requested that a traffic signal be installed at the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and Davidson Road, which runs perpendicular to the project site.
However, Riegle said an analysis performed by the project applicant and VDOT guidelines showed the project does not warrant installation of a signal.
Tri-State’s request to reduce the required 50-foot yard setback to between 27 and 34 feet, depending on the side of the lot, was a particular point of concern for Bobbi Bowman, the abutting neighbor to the site. She specifically requested that a proposed clubhouse, outdoor dining area, and fire pit be relocated from an area adjacent to her property to another location on the site.
“This clubhouse restaurant is essentially a business located adjacent to my home and my very low-density and quiet neighborhood,” Bowman said. “The clubhouse with its noise, and lights and happy hours is even closer to my home and our neighborhood because the applicant has asked to shrink the setbacks.”
Riegle said the clubhouse will be 83 feet from the common property line and the outdoor dining area 88 feet from the neighboring building, but he added that the issue is still being addressed.
“I think we can do some things with landscaping or the special arrangement to potentially improve that,” Riegle said. “We’ve conveyed that to the resident and we will continue to work on that between now and when this application is brought back for decision.”
Map via Fairfax County
(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) The Meridian Group is following up its mixed-use development, The Boro, with plans for an expansion along Westpark Drive.
Fairfax County recently accepted a rezoning application from Meridian that involves about 9.37 acres of land in the west quadrant of Westpark Drive and Greensboro Drive, the developer’s legal representative Elizabeth D. Baker told Tysons Reporter.
The application concerns two buildings in a larger conceptual development plan that calls for four buildings — Buildings I, J, K and L — that will be developed with residential, continuing care, health club, and retail and service uses, she said in an email.
“This development will be an extension of The Boro, which is a successful transit-oriented mixed-use development across Westpark Drive,” said Baker, who is the Senior Land Use Planner for Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh.
Fairfax County accepted plans for Buildings I and K on Feb. 25. It has also accepted and is evaluating a plan for a proposed continuing care facility in Building J by Silverstone Tysons.
Meridian is proposing the following specifications for Building I, which would be adjacent to Westpark Drive:
- Maximum of 200,000 square feet — up to 175,000 square feet for residential use and up to 25,000 for retail
- Maximum of 130 dwelling units, likely condominiums
- Approximately seven stories with a maximum height of 90 feet
- Underground and above-ground parking structures
“In addition to interior residential amenities, Building I includes an elevated outdoor terrace that looks out onto a central park,” Baker said.
Building K would be located west of Building I with frontages on Greensboro Drive. It has the following proposed specifications:
- Up to 430 residential units
- Up to 20,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail use
- Approximately seven stories with a maximum height of 90 feet
- Underground and above-ground parking structures
“Two interior courtyards providing amenities for the buildings’ residents are located atop the parking garage podium,” Baker said.
In addition to a central park, Meridian envisions creating a linear park along Westpark Drive. It would be a combined pedestrian and bicycle circuit designed to accommodate leisure bikers and walkers, according to Baker.
“Known as the Community Circuit, this park will include marked pavement, wayfinding signage, bike and pedestrian amenities, and focal elements such as public art, benches, and specialty landscaping,” she said.
The Meridian Group acquired the National Automobile Dealers Association headquarters building at 8400 Westpark Drive and an adjacent site in 2018, the Washington Business Journal reported. The developer paid $33.7 million to the NADA, which relocated to 8484 Westpark Drive that October.
A separate development is in the works at nearby Westpark Plaza.
The lot at 8401 Westpark Drive will be converted into an interim public “reading park” with new vehicle storage after the Fairfax County Planning Commission granted developer Dittmar’s request to amend its plans on Dec. 9. The amenities will occupy the site until Dittmar kicks off its idling plans for two residential buildings, a new hotel, and retail.
Image via Google Maps
Virginia Tech is no longer looking to expand its campus in West Falls Church.
The university announced yesterday (Sunday) that it made a mutual decision with the Falls Church-based construction company HITT Contracting to stop pursuing plans to redevelop its Northern Virginia Center at Haycock Road just south of the West Falls Church Metro station.
The proposed project would have added a new academic building and a research center for design and construction to the center, which currently houses administrative offices and a handful of graduate-level academic programs. It would have also featured a new headquarters for HITT, which is currently located about three miles away on Fairview Park Drive.
“After a period of due diligence and business analysis, HITT and Virginia Tech jointly decided not to finalize a comprehensive agreement for the project,” Virginia Tech said in a statement. “Despite this news, the long-time partners remain committed to working together to advance “smart” building in the construction industry.”
Virginia Tech unveiled plans to redevelop its Falls Church property in July 2019 after it received an unsolicited proposal from HITT through Virginia’s Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act (PPEA) process, which allows private entities to develop certain public facilities and infrastructure projects.
University leaders said at the time that the potential expansion of the Falls Church campus was part of a wider effort to reorganize programming throughout Northern Virginia, including by establishing an innovation campus in Alexandria.
Virginia Tech Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer Dwayne Pinkney says the university will contine to work with HITT “to advance building construction research.”
“Virginia Tech has a long history in Falls Church,” Pinkney said. “We are committed to being there and working with Fairfax County, the City of Falls Church, and other partners to create a vibrant district around our campus.”
HITT still plans to develop a new headquarters building and a school focused on design and construction. The company says it remains interested in collaborating with Virginia Tech on those projects.
“While the redevelopment project isn’t moving forward, we believe deeply in the partnership and our work together,” HITT Vice President of Research and Development Megan Lantz said.
The real estate investment firm Rushmark Properties had also partnered with Virginia Tech on the Northern Virginia Center redevelopment. An individual with the developer confirmed to Tysons Reporter that it is no longer involved.
The Northern Virginia Center expansion was part of an ambitious redevelopment plan for the West Falls Church Transit Station Area that Fairfax County has been coordinating with the university and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).
The next meeting of the task force appointed to develop recommendations for the West Falls Church TSA study is scheduled to take place virtually on Mar. 16.
Photo via Google Maps
In response to a new wave of public feedback, Fairfax County staff has revised its drafted plan to revitalize the McLean Community Business Center.
The changes include harder caps on building heights, guarantees for syncing development to public school capacity, and more specific environmental requirements — all concerns that some community members and civic associations have recently raised.
Staff discussed the changes during a virtual open house on Saturday (Feb. 20).
The draft plan is currently under review as it winds through county processes. It will go before the Fairfax County Planning Commission for a public hearing on Apr. 28, followed by a May 18 Board of Supervisors meeting when county leaders will vote on whether to adopt the plan.
McLean Citizens for Right Size Development (Right Size McLean), a coalition of local neighborhood associations, welcomed the changes.
“We were encouraged to see the proposed changes to the maximum heights by zone and that the plan would spell out the maximums in linear feet, reducing the allowable height of the land parcels that abut Franklin Sherman Elementary School along Chain Bridge Road to 40 feet,” Right Size McLean member Linda Walsh said.
Walsh says the group was also glad to see that the new draft sets stronger environmental goals, especially for tree canopies and stormwater quality and quantity.
The McLean CBC study process began in 2018 when consultant StreetSense worked with members of the McLean community to draft a 10-year “Vision Plan.” Since then, a task force appointed by Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust has worked with county staff to create a Comprehensive Plan spanning 25 years.
According to Foust, task force members, and staff, downtown McLean will become a vibrant, biking- and walking-friendly downtown that creates a real sense of place. The plan envisions a total of 3,850 residential units in the district as well as traffic pattern changes and streetscape updates.
The community business center will be divided into three zones: Center, General and Edge, with corresponding heights for each. The most recent draft does not change height caps for buildings in each zone, but it does specify maximum heights in feet as opposed to the number of stories.
Buildings cannot exceed 92 feet (or seven stories), although one building in the Center zone will be allowed to reach 128 feet (or 10 stories). The developer who is awarded the tallest building will be responsible for creating the two-thirds-acre public plaza envisioned in the plan.
General zone buildings surrounding the Center zone can reach 68 feet (five stories). The county did not make any changes to the Edge zone in the most recent draft. Read More
Falls Church City is acquiring a Virginia Village apartment building on Shirley Street with the goal of preserving the units as market-rate affordable housing.
The City of Falls Church Economic Development Authority unanimously voted on Feb. 17 to enter into a contract to purchase the property at 302 Shirley Street for $925,000.
According to a presentation given to the EDA, there were nine other bidders for the property, which is 2,560 square feet in size and has four one-bedroom apartments. The competition required that the city act quickly to take advantage of the opportunity, Falls Church EDA Chair Robert Young says.
“The EDA has taken a strong position in the last year or such that its members believe that Affordable Housing is key part of economic development, especially in a small city like Falls Church,” Young said in a statement to Tysons Reporter. “This opportunity arose over a weekend and it quickly became clear it would be necessary to move quickly if the city/EDA was to have any chance of acquiring this asset.”
Young is also president of the property developer The Young Group, which he says put the building under contract to give the EDA and Falls Church City “sufficient time to properly consider the purchase.”
The building is currently fully leased, but three out of the four tenant leases are scheduled to terminate on May 31. Once the sale is complete, the existing tenants will be allowed to remain until the end of their leases, and the city will consider options for future property uses with a commitment to maintaining the units as affordable housing.
According to the presentation, the current rents for the one-bedroom apartment units are below 60% of the area median income.
If the sale is completed, this will be the second Virginia Village property owned by the City of Falls Church, since the city already owns the apartment building at 208 Gibson St. near Big Chimneys Park. That building is managed by a property management company for use by a nonprofit, and the rents are around 40% AMI, according to Young.
The city’s plans for the Shirley Street property will be in line with its South Washington Street Small Area Plan, which states that the Virginia Village neighborhood should either be preserved or redeveloped with replacement affordable housing incorporated into the new development.
To cover the purchase and operating costs, the EDA is utilizing $1.3 million in land banking funds, including $100,000 in transferred coronavirus relief funds.
Falls Church’s land banking program allows the city to sell a property to a developer for redevelopment. Previous purchases made through the program include a property in the mixed-use Rushmark development that now contains the West Broad apartments and Harris Teeter.
“Opportunities to acquire property consistent with the EDA’s land banking program are rare,” EDA Vice Chair Brian Williams said. “In this case, the City will be able to preserve affordable housing units in what is an important part of the South Washington Street small area plan. The EDA is pleased to help the City make progress in this area.”
Photo via Google Maps
