Progress Report: Reston RELAC; Town Center’s Block 4

Reston Association on Thursday voted unanimously to amend the Use and Maintenance Standards Resolution 15 regarding air-conditioning service in Lake Anne neighborhoods that use RELAC.

The amendment allows for Lake Anne residents to apply for a medical exemption to the covenant that requires their property to use the lake water-cooled system. Click here to read the resolution.

About 300 homes are bound by deed to use the RELAC system. Residents of some of the homes that use RELAC users say the system, which was touted as quiet and state-of-the-art in the 1960s, is inefficient and produces mold. Many have added supplementary air conditioning systems to their homes, but the medical exemption for that home expires if the home is sold.

RA has allowed for medical exemptions in the past and had been discussing modifications to that policy since last year.

The board added new language about what constitutes a disability. One of the main changes includes adding a form that must be signed by a physician in order to get a temporary exemption. RA did soften the language on the form at the request of residents.

Meanwhile, the Fairfax County Planning Commission was scheduled to hold a public hearing Wednesday night on the transformation of Reston Town Center’s surface parking lot to a mixed-use development.

That hearing was deferred until June 25.

Developer Boston Properties’ plans for the surface lot at Reston Town Center include two high-rise residential buildings as well as a park with a yoga area, public art and picnic areas. The 6.35-acre site, called Block 4, is currently a 251-space surface parking lot, the only remaining surface lot at Reston Town Center. The lot is currently zoned for up for 250,000 square feet of office space.

According to the county planning staff report, which recommends approval of the project, the 250,000 square feet of office density represents the last remaining non-residential density available under the proffered maximum 3.465 million square feet of non-residential development approved within Reston’s urban core.

Boston Properties is seeking to move the office development to Block 5, where the current FedEx/Kinkos and Ann Taylor are now located, with additional office space above.

The plan calls for turning the three-story retail/office building, part of One Fountain Square, into a 17-story building with 276,788 square feet of office space and 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building would also have four levels of underground parking.