More Townhomes Planned for Sunrise Valley Near Reston Heights

The Fairfax County Planning Commission will review next week the latest development plan for more new housing along Sunrise Valley Drive.

RP 11720, LLC, which is part of Rooney Properties, is seeking build 54 townhouses to replace a six-story office building constructed in 1985.

The parcel is at 11720 Sunrise Valley Dr., just west of the Mercer Condos, part of JBG’s Reston Heights, right across Roland Clarke Place, where Sekas Homes is planning to turn the former home of the American Press Institute into a residential development (34 townhouses and 10 condominiums). Rooney Properties also owns the former API building.

Rooney/Sekas Homes’ plan was was sent to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors last month with a recommendation for denial of the application after the planning commission was made aware rather late in the process of the historical significance of the 1975 building designed by famed Brutalist architect Marcel Breuer. The Board of Supervisors hearing has not been scheduled.

The property also sits across from Reston National Golf Course, which has fended off redevelopment for now.

The developer is proposing four-story garage townhouses. Interior units  would be about 1,00 to 1,450 square feet; end units would be about 1,350 to 1,700 square feet.

The development would include a quarter-acre pocket park to the north of the proposed private street, which is designed to include public art, sidewalks, signage, bike racks, benches, light poles and landscaping, according to the application. The applicant also proposes a pedestrian walkway that transverses the property north to south to provide a pedestrian connection through the development to the pocket park and to the trail and cycle track along Sunrise Valley Drive.

Some of the units would face Roland Clarke Place. Others would face a new street or Sunrise Valley Drive.

The county planning staff has recommended approval of the application, but development conditions include conducting a noise study.

The developer is proposing a $151,160 proffer contribution to the Fairfax County Park Authority for the construction and maintenance of athletic fields of $151,600. The park authority has requested $260,752, based on the calculation of $1.72 per square foot of gross floor area.

The developer has not not committed to providing a transportation demand management commitment (i.e., traffic light improvements).

Some of the other proffer conditions outlined by the county:

Schools contribution: The developer will give contribution of $11,749 per projected student for the total number of units constructed, based on methodology for calculating the number of students outlined by Fairfax County Public Schools.

The applicant will provide five Workforce Dwelling Units.

Reston Road Fund Contribution: A $3,000 (or less) contribution per swelling unit.

The applicant will pay $341,000 for Metrorail improvements.

The planning commission will have a public hearing on the development on July 28. See the full planning staff report on the planning commission’s website.