Amid Concerns, Reston Planning and Zoning to Revisit Campus Commons Proposal

The Reston Planning and Zoning Committee will revisit TFC Cornerstone’s Campus Commons proposal next month.

The committee failed to approve the project, which is located on the southeastern corner of Wiehle Avenue and the Dulles Toll Road, at a meeting on July 15 amid concerns about the proposed pedestrian connection across Wiehle Avenue.

The developer plans to add 630 residential units spread across a mid-rise and high-rise building on the site, along with a new office building at the corner of Wiehle Avenue and Sunrise Valley Drive. The developer will preserve two office buildings from the 1980s on the site and add roughly 26,000 square feet of retail.

Some residents pushed the developer to build an underpass that connects Comstock’s project on the other side of Wiehle Avenue to Campus Commons.

But TFC Cornerstone plans to install at an at-grade crosswalk at Wiehle Avenue — an option that the company Vice President Ken Houle said is the safest and convenient pedestrian crossing.

“We have studied the issue extensively with multiple industry experts and FCDOT, looking at both regional and national precedents.  There is a consensus among the experts that an at grade crosswalk is the preferred pedestrian solution,” Houle told Reston Now.

He noted that TFC Cornerstones also plans to contribute land to construct a westbound lane on Sunrise Valley Drive as part of proposed infrastructure improvements.

Residents from Upper Lake Drive — which is neighbors the site — said the developer did not engage with the neighboring community before proceeding with the project.

They expressed concerns about the spillover effects of the new development on their community, including shared parking on Upper Lakes Drive, neighborhoods streets being used as a cut-through, and increased noise and light.

Residential units will not be under the Reston Association’s purview — which residents said should prompt the developer to pay for maintaining the neighborhoods paths if they are used by residents of Campus Commons.

Hoele said they launched an “extensive public review process” over the last two years, including meeting with adjacent communities, the Reston Planning and Zoning, meetings and Reston Association.

In response to concerns, Hoele said the company plans to widen the geographic area of its outreach and schedule an additional public session with Upper Lake Drive residents.

If the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee approves the project next month, Campus Commons heads to the Fairfax County Planning Commission in September.

A timeline for the development of the project has not been made public.

Photo via Kenneth Houle/TFC Cornerstone