Design of proposed housing on two Association Drive parcels in Reston questioned

RestonNow.com March 23, 2023 at 10:20am

Hundreds of residential units on two parcels on Association Drive could be on the horizon.

The plan by JLB Realty and Toll Brothers calls for a six-story, 400-unit building on the northern end of the horseshoe-shaped road, along with a 39-unit triplex on the southern end, according to Brian Winterhalter, land use attorney with DLA Piper.

The proposed development is the first of several that could come forward on Association Drive, which consists of 10 different office parcels owned by multiple owners near the Dulles Toll Road in Reston.

Winterhalter said it’s unlikely a consolidated plan will be proposed, but the development team will coordinate with other owners if and when opportunities for collaboration arise.

“We are hoping that it will be formally accepted for processing any time now,” Winterhalter said, referring to the county’s formal acceptance of the plan.

At a Reston Planning & Zoning Committee meeting on Monday (March 20), some members expressed concern about the density and overall design of the project.

Matt Stevison, a committee member, said he was concerned about the way the triplex units — which would be for sale — are designed without any architectural cohesiveness.

“The way the units are stacked from an architecture standpoint.” Stevison said. “It just doesn’t work for me.”

Committee member Tammi Petrine said she were concerned about the residential units’ close proximity to the Dulles Toll Road. She also said the impact of the applicant’s proposed grid of streets would have a detrimental impact on specimen trees on the property.

“Basically, this Association Drive area has some of the most beautiful trees in Reston and you all are talking about a grid of streets that has not taken into account where the specimen trees are,” Petrine said.

A total of 57 affordable units are planned on the property, along with a little over two acres of open space and 1.2 acres of urban parkland.

Winterhalter said the development plan includes a grid of streets that is in Reston’s comprehensive plan.

That grid is different from one suggested by a task force that recommended revisions to the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan for Reston last year. A draft of the new plan is currently under review by the county and slated for discussion by the Fairfax County Planning Commission later this month.

Winterhalter said seven of the 10 property owners on Association Drive are in support of the county’s current proposed grid of streets.

The proposal is moving alongside a Site-Specific Plan Amendment currently under review for Association Drive. That proposal calls for shifting the zoning from office uses to residential uses — including at 1900 and 1920 Association Drive.

“We can develop this property prior to the development of the other properties,” Winterhalter said.