Lake Anne-Area Senior Housing Redvelopment Plan Back in Play

More than a year after a plan to redevelop Lake Anne Fellowship House fell apart, the foundation that runs the senior housing says new plans are on the table.

Fellowship Square Foundation announced on Wednesday it will move forward with the redevelopment of the aging, 240-unit affordable senior housing buildings at 11480-11450 North Shore Dr.

In a release, the foundation said its decision comes after a five month evaluation of conditions at the property, which was built in the early 1970s. About 114 of the 240 units are subsidized for low-income seniors.

Fellowship Square commissioned Community Preservation and Development Corporation (CPDC), a regional not-for-profit developer, to evaluate the feasibility of preserving the existing units at Lake Anne Fellowship House.

Based on the results of the study, Fellowship Square concluded that renovation could not address the structural obsolescence problems facing the building and was not a viable option. They said there is excess land available on the site to allow the construction of a new building.

“Fellowship Square is committed to revitalizing the Lake Anne community, and to helping residents grow and thrive in the place many have called home for decades. This is an important step toward the long-term preservation of affordable senior housing in the Reston community,” said Charles Wortman, Chair of Fellowship Square Foundation. “We look forward to working with residents, Fairfax County and community stakeholders on a new and improved Lake Anne.”

In 2014, Fellowship Square also came to the same realization that its aging facilities could not be repaired at it was more feasible to tear down the buildings and start over.

Many of the units do not meet Americans With Disability Standards and there is a vacancy rate of more than 20 percent, officials said in 2014.

Under the old proposal, the buildings for seniors were to be replaced, and a market-rate building for all ages was to be constructed to blend in and enhance with planned redevelopment at Lake Anne Plaza. The Lake Anne redevelopment proposal — which encompassed nearby Crescent Apartments as well as the are a around North Shore near Lake Anne Plaza — also recently fell apart and is off the table for now.

The 2014 plan for Fellowship House faced challenges, including land that at that time was owned by two different mortgage holders. In September of 2014, Fellowship Square notified the Fairfax County zoning officials that it was deferring the application indefinitely “due to our inability to advance our land use proposal in a manner that will produce the best possible outcome for our residents.”

Going forward, Fellowship Square says it intends to partner with CPDC, an experienced developer of affordable housing, to develop the project.

“We are excited about the prospect of working with Fellowship Square to deliver a property that will be an asset to the community for years to come,” Christopher LoPiano, Senior Vice President of Real Estate Development at CPDC, said in a release.

Fellowship and CPDC will meet with tenants in the coming months to discuss new construction. The site plans and design will have to go through Fairfax County and Reston approvals.

Lake Anne Fellowship House/file photo