The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on Tuesday regarding changes to the comprehensive plan for redevelopment at Reston’s Lake Anne.
The plan, recommended by the Fairfax County Planning Commission last month mostly looks at densities and adds continuity to the six separate Land Bays comprising the comprehensive plan, said a spokesman for Lake Anne Development Partners, which is planning and designing the improvements around Lake Anne.
The plan, as approved in 2013, calls for a mix of uses and intensities in designated zones surrounding Lake Anne’s original village center, but leaves the historic part of the plaza untouched.
The changes to be discussed this week mainly look at densities within the various “Land Bays’ — the areas in and around Lake Anne Plaza and nearby Crescent Apartments.
Lake Anne Development Partners was selected in 2013 after a Request for Proposals by the county to develop the project. The company says the changes only modify some of the density around within the various Land Units to be consistent with the design as it has evolved during the pre-planning process, but it does not actually represent any material change in the overall densities or intent of the original Comprehensive Plan Amendment for Lake Anne Village Center that was initiated in 2007 and approved in March 2009.
The plan as already approved calls for up to 1,415 dwelling units and 219,000 square feet of non-residential uses and up to 1,535 dwelling units and 113,000 square feet of non-residential use under full consolidation.
In an earlier version of the plan, the Millennium Bank Building, which currently houses the Just Cats Clinic, was scheduled for redevelopment, the Board of Supervisors documents state. In documents previewing Tuesday’s hearing, it now says the building is slated to be retained. However, under consolidation, which is what the supervisors are voting on, it is likely to be torn down to make way for a wider plaza entry to the historic part of Lake Anne Plaza.
Entire staff report and land bay maps
“The Amendment will consider changes related to recommendations on the Full Consolidation Option, redevelopment of the Millennium Bank building, heritage resources and transportation,” the Supervisors’ agenda says.
The hearing is at 5 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12055 Government Center Pkwy, Fairfax. To register to speak at the public hearing, follow the instructions and link on the Board of Supervisors’ website.
Artist’s rendering of redeveloped Lake Anne Plaza area/Credit: Lake Anne Development Partners
The Wells Fargo Branch at the International Center off of Sunrise Valley Drive closed its doors on Aug. 1, directing customers to the new branch at North Point Village Center. There is also a Wells Fargo Branch at Hunters Woods.
The building has been empty ever since. The space shares the parking lot with an eclectic mix — a 7-Eleven, Reston Kabob, Popeyes, the Reston International Center office building, and a little farther down, Chili’s.
The International Center area is expected to undergo major changes eventually. In 2013, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the plans for a large mixed-use development there.
The plans will enhance the Reston Heights area built in the last several years. That area includes the Westin Reston Heights, the Mercer Condominium and office buildings.
The next phase will include 145,000 square feet of above-grade retail, 100,00 square feet of below-grade retail, 428,225 square feet of office and more than 400 residential units.
The new phase will potentially have a new grocery and neighborhood retail space and will be a pedestrian friendly, urban-type streetscape with mid-rise residential above, says JBG Companies, the project developers.
Some of the highlights of the design proposal from Cunningham Quill Architects and Olin, a landscape architecture firm:
- A design that “engages with the landscape,” particularly in its site across from open space at Reston National Golf Course.
- Connection with the Wiehle Reston-East Metro Station via a bike/foot path. Reston Heights is about one mile from the Silver Line station.
- Several six-story buildings and a retail plaza.
- Public art screening elements on parking garage facades.
- A retail plaza with restaurants, outdoor seating and a water feature and a mix of public spaces and private plazas for residents.
- Entrances off of Sunrise Valley Drive, as well as Reston Parkway.
RN Golf Management has been given a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing date of 9 a.m on Jan. 21 — and the president of Reston Citizens Association says it is hoping Restonians will support the organization as they fight to preserve open space in Reston.
RN Golf, owners of Reston National Golf Course, first asked for the zoning appeal two years ago, after its inquiry with the Fairfax County on whether the 166-acre parcel could be considered residential came back as “no.”
Fairfax County responded that the course is open recreational space, and if the owners wanted something different, they needed to seek a rezoning. RN Golf, which deferred its quest in the summer of 2013, wants to reclassify the space without going through the rezoning or comprehensive plan amendment process, according to county documents.
Attorneys for RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual, asked the county to reactivate the issue earlier this month.
RCA president Sridhar Ganesan says his organization will join Reston Association and Rescue Reston in opposing redevelopment of the public course.
“In response to RN Golf’s bid in Summer 2012 to explore rezoning of RNGC land for non-open space uses including residential development, RCA passed a resolution on August 27, 2012 rejecting the use of the land for anything other than its current use as open space, specifically its current use a golf course or as open space dedicated to parks and recreation,” Ganesan said.
RCA says that with additional development coming to Reston with the arrival of the Silver Line, “preserving open space dedicated to parks and recreation is critically important, and RNGC is integral to Reston’s longstanding vision and plan as a diverse planned community in which people are able to live, work and play.”
“Just as in 2012, Reston organizations such as Reston Association (RA), Rescue Reston (RR) and RCA are aligned in their opposition to any potential rezoning of the land,” Ganesan said. “Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, Hunter Mill District (which covers RNGC land), has also said that she continues to support the Fairfax County Zoning Administrator’s determination with regards to RNGC and RCA thanks her for publicly stating her support for the original zoning determination.”
RCA says it also supports RA’s willingness to consider purchasing the golf course, if needed, to continue to maintain it as a Reston recreational asset.
As the owners of Reston National Golf Course prepare for a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing, Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins says she continues to support the Fairfax County Zoning Administrator’s determination that Reston National Golf Course is open recreational space.
That’s the same stance Hudgins, along with Reston Association, the Reston Citizens Association and Rescue Reston had two years ago, the last time golf course owners RN Golf tried to appeal the zoning determination.
RN Golf never actually got its case to the Board of Zoning Appeals. While it was on the docket and postponed several times in 2012 and 2013, it was deferred indefinitely in summer 2013.
RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, asked the county in the spring of 2012 for clarification on the course’s status. Even though it was commercial/open space, the company cited complicated Plan Residential Community rules written in 1970 and 1993 as options for the 166-acre space being deemed residential.
Fairfax County then responded that the course is open recreational space, and if the owners wanted something different, they needed to seek a rezoning.
Hudgins said in a statement on Friday that any redevelopment of the property for uses other than a golf course or open space would require an amendment to the Reston Master Plan, which is part of the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan, approval of a Development Plan Amendment and approval of a PRC plan from the Board of Supervisors. Read More
Fairfax County planners encouraged Restonians to dream big last week when it came to a new vision for Tall Oaks Village Center.
At the third of three community meetings on Phase II of the Reston Master Plan, the discussion focused on pedestrian connectivity, possible changes with the Baron Cameron retail, and more talk on what the future holds for the more-than-half-empty Tall Oaks Village Center.
Phase I of the Master Plan — which outlines development around Reston’s transit centers — took about four years to formulate but was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors earlier this year.
Phase II is on the fast track under a new system called Fairfax Forward. The process kicked off in June, has held three community meetings and hopes to have formal plan in 2015.
A new comprehensive plan is necessary, planners say, because Reston’s plan has not been updated in 25 years. Much has changed since then and there will be a lot more changes in population and development as Reston moves towards becoming a transit-oriented community.
Whatever changes are incorporated into the plan will not be a regulatory document and any structural changes will have to eventually go through the Reston Association’s Design Review Board, as well as county planning and zoning and the Board of Supervisors.
A September meeting discussed what, if any, rules should be in place should an entire cluster be considered for redevelopment (this would likely be apartment complexes and not solo-owned properties).
Read the entire Phase II draft plan here.
October’s meeting, featuring small-group discussions, concentrated on the pros and cons of Reston’s Village Centers.
One theme ran through the October meeting — that it may be time to consider Tall Oaks a “convenience center” and redevelop the rest of the space, which has been without an anchor tenant for nearly four years.
Heidi Merkel, the county’s Reston Master Plan Phase II Project Manager, asked last week’s atendees to “think out of the box when it came to Tall Oaks.” Visitors were given stickers to “vote” for different concepts at Baron Cameron and Tall Oaks.
Among some of the most popular ideas for Tall Oaks: Wide Variety of Retail Shops; Grocery, Food and a Beverage Stores; Other “Local Businesses; and Restaurants, Bars and Fast Food.
Those are actually “inside the box” ideas since that was what mainly was at Tall Oaks until stores closed at a fast clip over the last few years.
Other ideas: residential, mixed-use, a rec center, a boutique hotel, outdoor amphitheater or children’s play area, among others.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission on Wednesday recommended for approval plan changes to the comprehensive plan for Crescent Apartments and the Lake Anne area.
The changes, which mostly look at densities and adds continuity to the six separate Land Bays comprising the plan, will go before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 2.
The plan, as approved in 2013, calls for a mix of uses and intensities in designated zones surrounding Lake Anne’s original village center, but leaves the historic part of the plaza untouched.
A spokesman for Lake Anne Development Partners, which was selected in 2013 by the county to develop the project, the changes only modify some of the density around within the “various Land Units to be consistent with our design as it has evolved during the pre-planning process, but it does not actually represent any material change in the overall densities or intent of the original Comprehensive Plan Amendment for Lake Anne Village Center that was initiated in 2007 and approved in March 2009.”
The plan as already approved calls for up to 1,415 dwelling units and 219,000 square feet of non-residential uses and up to 1,535 dwelling units and 113,000 square feet of non-residential use under full consolidation.
To see the full document and maps of Land Units A-F, see this document from Fairfax County.
Photo: Association of School Business Officials building, which is slated to be torn down as part of Lake Anne redevelopment/file photo
The redevelopment of Crescent Apartments and the area near historic Lake Anne Plaza is back on the Fairfax County Planning Commission docket.
An amendment to the project plan is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday night.
A county staff report shows a few changes to the plan.
The county staff report recommends the plan for approval. If recommended, it will go before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 2.
The plan, as approved in 2013, calls for a mix of uses and intensities in designated zones surrounding Lake Anne’s original village center, but leaves the historic part of the plaza untouched.
A spokesman for Lake Anne Development Partners, which was selected in 2013 by the county to develop the project, the changes only modify some of the density around within the “various Land Units to be consistent with our design as it has evolved during the pre-planning process, but it does not actually represent any material change in the overall densities or intent of the original Comprehensive Plan Amendment for Lake Anne Village Center that was initiated in 2007 and approved in March 2009.”
The plan as already approved calls for up to 1,415 dwelling units and 219,000 square feet of non-residential uses and up to 1,535 dwelling units and 113,000 square feet of non-residential use under full consolidation.
According to the Oct. 29 plan amendment:
Plan amendment 2013-III-UP1 considers changes to recommendations regarding the Millennium Bank building, heritage resources, the Full Consolidation Option and transportation. Specifically, these include:
• The current Comprehensive Plan recommends the retention of the Millennium Bank building which is located in Land Unit F. The Plan amendment considers the demolition and redevelopment of the Millennium Bank building as part of Land Unit A.
• The Full Consolidation Option is contingent upon consolidation of Land Units A, D and E. The Plan amendment considers deletion of Land Unit E from this option, which is developed with Fellowship House, while retaining the opportunity for Land Unit E to redevelop independently up to 510,000 SF of residential development or 425 MF dwelling units and 4,000 SF of non-residential uses.
• Under the Full Consolidation Option, the current Comprehensive Plan recommends that Land Unit D be developed with up to 4,000 SF of non-residential development exclusive of an existing gas station. The Plan amendment considers providing up to 48,000 SF of non-residential development in Land Unit D including redevelopment of the gas station.
Under the Full Consolidation Option in Land Units A and D, the current Comprehensive Plan recommends up to 109,000 SF of non-residential development. The Plan amendment considers increasing the total amount of non-residential development to 153,000 SF under the Full Consolidation Option in Land Units A and D.
• Potential impact of increased land use intensity under consideration for this Plan amendment on transportation is evaluated.
To see the full document and maps of Land Units A-F, see this document from Fairfax County.
Photo: Rendering of redeveloped Lake Anne area/Credit: LADP
The Fellowship Square Foundation will regroup this fall to figure out a way forward without rebuilding the aging Lake Anne Fellowship House.
The foundation, which owns and operates the affordable senior housing across North Shore Road from Lake Anne Plaza, had worked for about a year on a plan to tear down the existing building and rebuild it on the same site, as well as build an additional building with 285 market-rate units.
But early last month, 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.”
Faye Codding, Fellowship Square’s Director of Community Outreach, says the group “remains committed to our mission” of providing affordable senior housing.
“We don’t have anything [to report] at this time,” she said Thursday. “The board meets in November and in January, and the board is exploring all possibilities.”
Lake Anne Fellowship House currently has 240 units for seniors, 114 of which are subsidized. The building, which was built in the early 1970s and does not meet all Americans With Disability Act standards, also has a 20 percent vacancy rate.
Former board member John Thillman pointed out some of the building’s issues in a presentation to Reston’s Planning and Zoning Committee last November. He said the two Lake Anne buildings lose about $10,000 a month.
“We’re bleeding red ink,” he said. “The main reason the rent is low is the buildings were built in 1971 and ’74. The standards used are not the same as today.” Read More
As stores at Tall Oaks Village Center have shut their doors one after another, it has been hard to predict the future for the plaza.
Will any tenants sign leases there? Will the property eventually be rezoned so homes or a community center can be built there? Or will it just remain a near-ghost town for years?
It is speculation that took hold nearly three years ago, when Compare Foods closed in the center’s large anchor spot. Compare Foods was the second international supermarket in five years to occupy the space after longtime tenant Giant Foods left in 2007.
Since then, it has been one closure after another. Even some new tenants that signed in that time have since closed. Among the departures: 7-Eleven, El Manantial restaurant, Curves, Burger King, Total Rehab Chiropractic and Dominoes Pizza.
Some mainstays remain. Paradise Nails, Vocelli Pizza, Paisano’s Pizza, Mama Wok and Pho 75, all of which have a loyal customer base.
The vacancies are still there despite active marketing by Lincoln Property Management.
“Tall Oaks Village Center is located in Fairfax County, one of the fastest growing suburban locations in the Washington, D.C. metro area,” reads the Tall Oaks listing on Lincoln’s website. “The county enjoys one of the most affluent and educated consumer bases in the country.”
Lincoln reps did not return requests for an interview and asking prices for the spaces were not available.
Lincoln’s site shows more than 46,000 square feet of space in four storefronts up for rent. That includes the anchor site, which is more than 38,000 square feet. The anchor site is listed as “will not divide,” meaning it will take a big tenant such as a grocery store to seek the space.
Meanwhile, Lincoln’s somewhat dated marketing brochure for Tall Oaks shows the demographics of the area (“Excellent demographics with 87,181 people with an average household income of $160,145 within 3 miles”).
Development-watcher group Reston 2020 says it is concerned about planned improvements for connectivity in Reston — at the expense of motorists.
In a letter to Richard Lambert of Fairfax County’s Department of Planning and Zoning, Reston 2020 says that autos will still rule in Reston. So whether we are transit-oriented in the future, we still need to accommodate more cars on the road.
The county should start by ensuring that developer proffers should help pay for widening of Reston Parkway to ease future traffic flow, Reston 2020 says.
The lengthy letter comes in response to the Reston Master Plan Phase II “Strawman Draft” released by the county a few weeks ago. The county is taking feedback from citizens and citizen groups as it organized the comprehensive plan for Reston’s village centers and neighborhoods.
Says Reston 2020:
We are enthusiastic about improved connectivity in Reston, especially for pedestrians and bicyclists, but not at the expense of vehicular traffic.
Automobiles will remain the predominant mode of transportation in Reston, especially in its suburban areas, and even the plans for expanded bus service will mean the greater use of Reston’s roadways.
Moreover, the planned addition of some 50,000 people to the TSAs [transit station areas] and the potential addition of several thousand new residents to the village centers means there will be more vehicular traffic.
We would put special emphasis on key north-south roadways that, in our view, received short shrift in the Phase 1 effort. Much of the traffic generated in Reston, including some commuting traffic, involves people moving from the north to south or vice versa suburban (Phase 2) areas of our community.
In particular, as part of the proffer process,we would ask again that Reston Parkway (including the corridor overpass) be expanded to three through lanes all the way north to Baron Cameron Avenue and south to Glade, about one-mile from the Town Center Metro station in each direction, to facilitate the movement of traffic to, from, and through the Town Center TSA.
The standing County approvals for the 23-story Town Center Office Building and the 10-12-story mixed-use Spectrum Center, both outside the half-mile walkability circle, highlight the relatively urgent need for the road’s expansion north of the corridor.
The choking of suburban traffic will only hurt the development of both the TSA and suburban Reston. In addition to ensuring that connectivity does not come at the expense of vehicular traffic, we have proposed stronger language to help ensure that any traffic impacts caused by redevelopment are mitigated by developers.
The plan must at least sustain the existing level of service (LOS) for Restoniansin the Phase 2 study area, including accommodations for TSA residents to drive in the suburban areas of Reston to a school, park, preferred supermarket or other retail outlet, and even their place of work beyond suburban Reston.
See the entire letter and markup of the Master Plan draft text on Reston 2020’s website.
Photo: Traffic on Reston Parkway/File photo
Another Reston apartment complex is looking into redevelopment as a higher density neighborhood.
Bozzuto Development has filed a proposal with the Fairfax County Planning Commission to redevelop St. John’s Wood, a garden apartment neighborhood with 250 units over nine buildings in North Reston, into a new complex of 635 new apartments and 34 townhomes.
St. John’s Wood is located at Reston Parkway and Center Harbor Drive. It is one of the few rental complexes in the nearby Buzz Aldrin Elementary School district.
Bozzuto will have more details on the plan for St. John’s Wood as the process gets further. The neighborhood does not fall under the Reston Master Plan’s transit-oriented high-density guidelines because it is more than a mile away from a future Metro station.
In other development news:
The planning commission hearing for Crescent Apartments has been indefinitely deferred, but will likely be back on the docket soon. The project had been scheduled for a Nov. 5 planning commission hearing, and, if it was recommended for approval, a Nov. 18 Board of Supervisors hearing.
Lake Anne Development Partners were chosen by the county in summer 2013 to transform the county-owned affordable housing development. CEO David Peter has said he hopes to begin construction in 2015.
LADP plans include replacing the aging 181-unit Crescent Apartments with slightly more affordable housing, as well as mix of townhomes and multifamily dwellings. In all, about 1,000 new residential units are planned, as well as a new retail plaza, new access points to historic Lake Anne Plaza and more than 130,000 square feet of new retail and office space.
A plan to redevelop Lake Anne Fellowship House, which sits adjacent to Crescent Apartments and Lake Anne Plaza, was recently indefinitely deferred. The plan had called for tearing down the subsidized senior housing on North Shore Drive and replacing it with more modern and affordable senior housing, as well as market rate units for the community as a whole.
Nearly 2 1/2 years after plans for a major redevelopment at Reston’s Fairway Apartments near Lake Anne were finally approved, there have been no changes to the 346-unit garden apartments that were the source of major discussions a few years ago.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved developer JBG’s plans in the Spring of 2012, and it was not one that sailed through the Reston channels easily.
JBG was sent back to the drawing board many times over three years by Reston Association’s Design Review Board, and later the county planning commission. Many Reston residents spoke up in 2010 and ’11 about proposed density, the design elements and potential traffic on North Shore Drive.
Finally, the developer tweaked the design to a sustainable one — but not the “Texas doughnut” that was previously disdained by the DRB.
The approved plan calls for a mix of townhomes and multifamily units, with 804 residences in all. The final plan also includes 38 percent open space in the new complex, pedestrian connectivity, and more than 47,000 square feet of preserved tree canopy. JBG has also pledged about 80 units for workforce housing.
Because the redevelopment is not a rezoning, JBG was not required to provide any certain level of workforce housing.
A development source says the plans are still on, but that no start date has been booked and might not be for some time.
That is sometimes the case with development plans. Lerner Enterprises received approval in early 2013 for a major redo of Reston’s Spectrum Center, but developers say that building may be as many as 10 years away.
Since Fairways’ approval, other Lake Anne-area residential projects have launched. Last summer, Fairfax County selected Lake Anne Development Partners (LADP) to redevelop Crescent Apartments, a similarly aging 18-building apartment complex near Lake Anne.
About 1,000 residential units are planned for the revamped Crescent. Developers hope the renovation of Crescent — which also includes a retail element in Lake Anne Plaza’s current parking lot, additional parking, added office space and a rerouted entrance to the plaza — will bring needed added density and vibrancy to Lake Anne. LADP is required to replace all 181 units of affordable housing and must also provide 151 units of workforce housing.
LADP’s plans will go before the Planning Commission in a public hearing Nov. 5. If the planning commission recommends approval, the plan will go to the Board of Supervisors Nov. 18. Both of those dates are subject to change. If approvals go forward on that schedule, LADP President David Peter said he expects construction to begin in 2015.
Meanwhile, a plan to tear down and rebuild nearby senior housing at Lake Anne Fellowship House, as well as an additional housing complex on the same land, fell apart in recent weeks “when county officials were not receptive to the idea of offering Section 8 housing vouchers to existing residents, which the Fellowship Foundation needed in order to progress with the zoning application,” Fellowship House officials said.
When Fairway and Crescent are completed, it will increase housing at Lake Anne by nearly 2,000 units.
The Reston of the future may or may not change that much, but Fairfax County planners want to make sure language is in place to guide redevelopment around the community’s village centers and in residential neighborhoods.
The county has posted the first strawman draft for Phase II of the Reston Master Plan. Phase I, approved by the Board of Supervisors last winter, guides development around the Metro stations.
Fairfax County officials say the the current comprehensive plan, last updated in 1989, requires revision because Reston no longer has a master developer to update the plan for Reston; the plan for Reston has outdated elements; and with population expected to grow with the arrival of Metro later this year, Reston is evolving as a community.
The community is invited to weigh in on the draft at a meeting on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at Reston Association headquarters, 12011 Sunrise Valley Drive.
Read the entire 71-page document here.
Some of the draft highlights:
Village Centers must meet criteria. Redevelopment in the Village Centers may occur in the commercial core area but the residential areas within the Village Centers are planned to remain as they currently exist. In order to establish clear expectations for all residents, landowners and businesses, any proposal for redevelopment of the commercial core areas of Reston’s Village Centers should meet the following guidelines:
- Demonstrate how the proposal achieves the general vision established for Reston’s Village Centers.
- Involve residents and businesses of the Village Center, the residents surrounding the Village Center, as well as the larger Reston community in determining the views and desires of all stakeholders.
- Design charrettes or other intensive activities designed to gather stakeholder input and build support for the redevelopment proposal are.
- Conduct a market analysis to provide information on the existing and proposed development and the viability of the mix of uses proposed. .
- Conduct transportation analysis on existing and proposed development.
Convenience centers should remain. The Sunrise Valley, Lake Newport, Soapstone, and Fairways Convenience Centers should continue to serve as small commercial centers providing goods and services for their surrounding neighborhoods. Connectivity to the surrounding neighborhoods should be preserved, particularly for pedestrians and bicycles.
Clusters and neighborhoods should be protected from pressure to redevelop. However, from time to time, circumstances may arise that merit consideration of the redevelopment of an existing cluster or neighborhood, such as if a cluster should become blighted. Under such circumstances, the Board of Supervisors may consider proposals to amend the Comprehensive Plan to allow for the consolidation and redevelopment of such clusters or neighborhoods. Such proposals should be in accordance with the Policy Plan’s Guidelines for Neighborhood Redevelopment and the following criteria: Read More
Development projects in Reston are in a bit of a lull right now as both the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Fairfax County Planning Commission are off until September.
However, many of them have upcoming hearings and other important dates coming soon.
Here is a rundown of what to expect.
Lake Anne/Crescent Apartments
The revitalization plan for Crescent Apartments and the surrounding area near Lake Anne Plaza has been in the works for nearly a year. Lake Anne Development Partners were chosen by the county in summer 2013 to transform the county-owned affordable housing development.
LADP plans include replacing the aging 181-unit Crescent Apartments with slightly more affordable housing, as well as mix of townhomes and multifamily dwellings. In all, about 1,000 new residential units are planned, as well as a new retail plaza, new access points to historic Lake Anne Plaza and more than 130,000 square feet of new retail and office space.
Plans also call for housing for seniors and a boutique grocery store.
LADP’s plans will go before the Planning Commission in a public hearing Nov. 5. If the planning commission recommends approval, the plan will go to the Board of Supervisors Nov. 18. Both of those dates are subject to change.
LADP CEO David Peter says he hopes to begin construction in 2015. The revitalization is expected to be a multiyear process.
Meanwhile, LADP has reached an agreement on a land swap with Reston Association. By obtaining a one-acre plot near Lake Anne Village Center, LADP can now proceed with plans to build a 120-space parking garage.
Lake Anne Fellowship House
Novus Residences has filed with Fairfax County Proffered Condition Amendment, Development Plan Amendment and a Planned Residential Community application in order to build on the site of Lake Anne Fellowship House at 11448 and 11450 North Shore Dr.
Plans for the six-acre site include building up to 425 dwelling units that will include a building with 140 independent living affordable units and a second building with 285 market rate multi-family dwelling units.
Current residents of Fellowship House, a residence for low-income seniors that is badly in need of renovation, will be moved to the new building.
A Planning Commission date is scheduled for Sept. 17, 2014 at 8:15 p.m., with a Board of Supervisors public hearing scheduled for Oct. 7. Those dates are also subject to change.
Art Studio on Concord Point
The planning commission will hear a special exemption request from Mary Beth Swicord, owner of First Marks Art Studio.
Swicord has been operating the art studio from her home at 1398 Concord Point Lane for many years. Previously, the enrollment was eight students at a time. Swicord wants to increase enrollment to 18 students on Mondays and 12 from Tuesdays through Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m., and the county requires a special exemption to do that.
She is also proposing a Summer Camp, Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. daily, with an enrollment of 12 students.The Planning Commission public hearing is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 9.
JBG/Reston Executive Center
Developer JBG previously filed a special exception to allow for the building 65,000 square feet of development to include retail sales, eating establishment, fast food restaurant and quick service food stores in the 12000 block of Sunset Hills Road
The plan calls for converting 27,850 square feet of existing office use and constructing 37,150 square feet of building additions to the existing office buildings.
The planning commission public hearing has been indefinitely deferred.
Graphic: Artist’s rendering of improved Lake Anne Plaza/file photo
(Correction: An earlier version of this post said a 170,000 square foot office building was part of this project. That was incorrect. The project has been approved for up to 421 residential units and 10,000 square feet of retail)
Plans are underway to relocate some of the commercial tenants of the 11400 block of Sunset Hills Rd. in order to make room for the construction of 421 apartments.
Chuck Veatch, owner of the property, says construction will begin this fall on the mid-rise residential building with 421 units. The five-acre property was approved for the residences in 2013.
The location is currently home to Reston Mini-Storage, as well as several retail stores. Veatch says Reston Mini-Storage customers have been notified that the business will be closing Nov. 1.
The parcel is adjacent to Reston Station, the mixed-use development being constructed on top of the 3,300-space parking garage at the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. Reston Station is approved for 1.2 million square feet of commercial, office, residential and hotel space. Comstock’s 22-story, 450-unit BLVD apartments are currently under construction.
The proximity to Wiehle-Reston East makes Veatch’s property a prime location for transit-oriented development, says Veatch.
Veatch and Bozzuto Development, whom he is teaming with on the project, got the land rezoned from Industrial to Planned Mixed Use Residential in 2010. See the county staff report for more details on the project.
At least one major tenant, Home Escapes Spa & Patio, is relocating with Veatch’s help. The store will move this fall to Sunset Park Drive in Herndon, to the space occupied by Gymini Gymnastics for 30 years. Veatch says his company purchased the space on Sunset Park and will lease it to the patio store owners.
“We are hoping to help relocate as many [tenants] as we can,” said Veatch.
Crews will begin tearing down the one-story retail section and the former mini storage lot late this fall, said Veatch.
Photos: Top – Retail stretch that will be demolished to make way for apartments. Bottom – Reston Mini Storage, with Reston Station BLVD apartments under construction nearby.
