When Virginia Tech canceled plans to expand its West Falls Church campus on Feb. 28, the ripple effects could be felt in three different jurisdictions.
The proposed project to establish a design school and a new headquarters building for the Falls Church construction company HITT Contracting at the Northern Virginia Center had been in the works since 2019. It was expected to be part of a sweeping redevelopment of the area around the West Falls Church Metro station.
Officials with Fairfax County, the City of Falls Church, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which all oversee land around the rail station, say the collapse of Virginia Tech and HITT’s project has not substantially altered their ambitions for the area, but the full consequences are not yet clear.
Fairfax County’s West Falls Church Transit Station Area Study Task Force has postponed a meeting that was scheduled to take place tonight (Tuesday) until April 6 to give county staff more time to assess the implications of Virginia Tech and HITT’s decision.
“Virginia Tech’s decision does not change the County’s overall vision for the West Falls Church transit station area,” the county said in a statement to Tysons Reporter. “The county is evaluating next steps for the current Plan amendment under review given the recent announcement by Virginia Tech.”
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust assembled the task force in 2019 to make recommendations for updating the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan for the West Falls Church TSA in light of new development proposals from Virginia Tech and Metro.
While its work was interrupted last spring by the COVID-19 pandemic, the task force has met 20 times over the past two years to evaluate proposed changes related to “the addition of residential and non-residential uses to the TSA, improved connections, and additional parks and open space,” according to Fairfax County.
A draft comprehensive amendment was released on Dec. 9, and a public hearing before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is expected to take place late this spring, though an exact date has not been set.
“The main goals for development in the West Falls Church transit station area are encouraging use of rail transit, preserving stable neighborhoods, and enhancing the established sense of community,” Fairfax County said. “…The County looks forward to working with Virginia Tech in the future in fulfilling the goals of the transit station area.”
WMATA spokesperson Sherri Ly told Tysons Reporter last week that its plans to bring mixed-use development to a 24-acre site next to the West Falls Church Metro station have not changed.
The proposal calls for a replacement and reconfiguration of the existing station parking lot, along with the addition of 500-700 units of new residential development, 150,000 square feet of office, and 50,000 square feet of retail. Read More
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
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The City of Falls Church will hold a virtual town hall meeting at noon this coming Friday (Jan. 8) to discuss proposed changes to the West Falls Church Economic Development Project, an extensive mixed-use development that has already been in the works for two years.
This will be the second town hall on the project since developer Falls Church Gateway Partners told the Falls Church City Council in December that it needs to revise its agreement with the city in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first town hall took place on Dec. 17.
“The pandemic has caused a constriction in commercial real estate markets for new investments in hotel, office, and retail,” City Manager Wyatt Shields said at a Dec. 14 city council meeting. “The developer…requests changes to terms of the Comprehensive Agreement in order to be able [to] proceed with obtaining financing for the project.”
The composition of the project will largely remain the same, with no alterations to the proposed ratios of hotel, office and civic space, senior housing, and condo and apartment residential units.
However, Gateway Partners says the project delivery date will be delayed by six months. The developer also wants to reduce its capitalized lease payments from $34.5 million to $25.5 million, increase ground rent payments, and revise provisions for profit sharing with the city.
If approved, the amendments would come on the condition that Gateway Partners completes the demolition and rough grading of the George Mason High School property by the end of May 2021.
The developer has also committed to finishing the negotiation of agreements with a prospective grocer, office developer, and senior housing developer by Mar. 1.
Imagined as a future gateway to Falls Church City, the West End development is expected to have approximately 123,000 square feet of retail anchored by a grocery store, along with 17,000 square feet of civic space that will include a conference center and an outdoor Commons area for music and entertainment.
According to the project website, the residential components include between 150 and 250 senior housing units, up to 302 condo units, and approximately 400 multi-family apartment units. 6% of the total units will qualify as affordable dwelling units.
The plans also feature approximately 325,000 square feet of commercial office space and a limited or full-service hotel with about 146 rooms.
The Falls Church City Council will hold a public hearing and take a vote on the proposed project agreement amendments on Jan. 11.
Image via City of Falls Church
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Staff photo by Angela Woolsey
The West Falls Church Economic Development Project in the Little City has updated plans, including a new design for the hotel.
The Falls Church City Council held a joint work session with the Planning Commission and Economic Development Authority on Monday (Dec. 9) to review progress and discuss project aesthetics.
A presentation by James Snyder, the city’s director of community planning and economic development services, explored how the new development will look in the community and revealed a variety of building styles and colors to break up block redundancy.
People can expect numerous trees to be included in the final project, rooftop greenery, a grocery store, hotel, a new high school, senior living homes, family housing, shops and pedestrian-friendly walkways in the development, according to the presentation.
It has not been announced which hotel or grocery store will move into the space, but a commissioner said the announcement should be made either in the spring or summer of 2020.
Images and blueprints from the presentation primarily featured grey and white brick buildings with red, light wood and metal accents. Architects and designers said they looked toward New York and D.C. for industrial design ideas.
“The biggest change is the hotel. We heard everybody’s feedback that time that they were not thrilled with the hotel design, so we have started in a new direction,” another representative said.
The plans are expected to remain somewhat consistent throughout the next ideation phases, except for the senior living center, according to Snyder, who added that the Planning Commission is still awaiting development plans from the senior living facility.
“I like the geometric forms and modern architecture,” Planning Commission Chair Russell Wodiska said. “That’s a new look for Falls Church.”
Going forward in January, the next steps will be to work on creating a sense of community in the development, another commissioner said.
This Thursday (Dec. 12), community members are welcome to attend an event at the Town Hall (300 Park Avenue) from 7-9:30 p.m. where they will be able to learn more about the project and share their comments.
Image via City of Falls Church
