Virginia State of Emergency Ends Tonight — The public health emergency that Virginia has had in place since March 2020 due to COVID-19 is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. today (Wednesday). Gov. Ralph Northam’s office has said the order will not be renewed, but ambiguities about mask-wearing could be addressed in a General Assembly special session scheduled for Aug. 2. [WTOP]
Northam Signs Voting Access Legislation — Virginia’s governor formally signed several bills on Monday (June 28) intended to make it easier for people to vote. Changes include allowing localities to open polling places on Sundays during early voting, requiring localities to provide drop-off locations for absentee ballots, and enabling first-time voters to register for an absentee ballot by mail. [WTOP]
Public Input Sought on Regional Housing Plan — Fairfax County is participating in the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ effort to develop a Regional Housing Equity Plan to identify and address racial disparities in housing. COG will host three workshops in July to discuss the history of race and housing and get community perspectives on the issue. [Fairfax County Housing and Community Development]
Sorrento Leasing Tours Delayed — The 306-unit apartment building at 1925 Roland Clarke Place in Reston will not open for leasing tours on July 1 as previously expected. Sorrento Senior Business Manager Curtis Schaeffer tells Reston Now that the date has been pushed back, likely to mid-to-late July, as some work still needs to be done, including the installation of furniture, before the leasing team moves into the building. [Sorrento]
Sorrento, the 306-unit apartment building currently under construction on Roland Clarke Place in Reston, is scheduled to open for leasing tours on July 1, Woodfield Investments partner Margaret Ford says.
Ford told Reston Now on Wednesday (June 2) that the project is expected to be fully completed by Sept. 1.
Located at 1925 Roland Clarke Place, Sorrento recently launched a leasing website that is now accepting applications, as first reported on Monday (May 31) by Reston Skylines.
The seven-story apartment complex has been in the works since 2018, when Woodfield Investments proposed replacing an existing, vacant office building at 1941 Roland Clarke Place with residential development. The project was officially named Sorrento in July 2019.
According to the leasing website, amenities will include large and small courtyards, a sky lounge, a “resort-style” pool with a poolside gaming lounge, a private dining room, a community pantry, a two-floor fitness center, a dog spa, and a yoga studio.
Sorrento is part of a neighborhood that has been gradually undergoing redevelopment in recent years. The Sunrise Square townhomes built by Sekas Homes opened in November 2019 after two years of construction, and the Toll Brothers recently sold out its 54-unit Valley & Park townhome complex, which had been underway since 2017.
Reston Now previously reported in 2019 that Woodfield had purchased the contract for the five-story office building at 1950 Roland Clarke Place and had plans to redevelop it, but Ford says that is no longer the case.
“No, we are not planning to develop 1950 RCP,” she told Reston Now by email, adding that Woodfield had backed away from developing that property about two years ago.
Rendering via Woodfield Development
Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors approved Woodfield Acquisitions’ redevelopment of Roland Clarke Place at its Tuesday (Dec. 4) meeting.
The redevelopment is set to replace a vacant, two-story office building at 1941 Roland Clarke Place with a 308-unit residential complex just south of the Dulles Toll Road.
The seven-story apartment building will be about a mile between the Wiehle-Reston East and Reston Town Center Metro stations. Plans for the building include two interior courtyards, an outdoor pool, seating on a third-floor patio and a 409-space, eight-level parking garage behind the building. About one-third of the new development is slated to remain as open space.
The existing office buildings on the site were constructed in the early 1980s.
The board delayed making a decision after the project’s public hearing on Nov. 20. The Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously approved a series of proffers for the redevelopment on Nov. 15.
The board also greenlighted three other developments in Reston, including the Midline and the Tall Oaks Village Center, at the Tuesday meeting.
Images via Fairfax County and Fairfax County Planning Commission
(Editor’s note: This story was updated Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 1 p.m. to correct information from a Fairfax County press release that incorrectly said the Board of Supervisors approved the project on Nov. 20. The board held a public hearing and decided to defer a decision on the redevelopment until their Dec. 4 meeting.)
Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on yesterday on Woodfield Acquisitions’ redevelopment of Roland Clarke Place.
The hearing came days after the Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously approved a series of proffers for the redevelopment last Thursday (Nov. 15). The county’s board is set to make a decision on the redevelopment at their meeting on Dec. 4.
The development would replace a vacant, two-story office building at 1941 Roland Clarke Place with a 308-unit residential complex just south of the Dulles Toll Road.
The seven-story apartment building would be about a mile between the Wiehle-Reston East and Reston Town Center Metro stations. Plans for the building include two interior courtyards, an outdoor pool, seating on a third-floor patio and a 409-space, eight-level parking garage behind the building. About one-third of the new development is slated to remain as open space.
The existing office buildings on the site were constructed in the early 1980s. In 2008, the redevelopment of the buildings was planned into three new office buildings, but the plan was never implemented.
Nearby, two other residential developments are happening along Sunrise Valley Drive. On the east side of Roland Clarke Place, Sekas Homes is building a townhouse community. On the west side, Toll Brothers is adding 54 townhouses in its Valley and Park development.
Photos via Fairfax County Government
This story has been updated
With little to no discussion and debate other than fixing a typo, the Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously approved a series of proffers for Woodfield Acquisitions’ redevelopment of Roland Clarke Place last night.
The Thursday vote sets into motion a series of waivers and modifications to allow a new residential complex to be built just south of the Dulles Toll Road. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will consider the project on Tuesday (Nov. 20).
The development will replace the office buildings at 1941 Roland Clarke Place and 1950 Roland Clarke Place. A 308-unit residential building will replace 1941 Roland Clarke Place, including roughly 37 workforce units. The application says 1950 Roland Clarke Place will be redeveloped as a small park until another development on the site can be planned.
Though no open space was required for the site, a little over two acres of the new development will remain dedicated as open space. In addition to two private courtyards within the residential complex, two smaller parks and a dog park surround the proposed residential building.
Among the waivers and modifications received for the site an allowance of a residential building 59 feet from the Dulles International Airport from the zoning ordinance’s minimum distance of 200 feet.
The existing office buildings on the site were constructed in the early 1980s. In 2008, the redevelopment of the buildings was planned into three new office buildings, but the plan was never implemented.
Photos via handout/Fairfax County Planning Commission
Plans to replace a vacant office building at 1941 Roland Clarke Place with a 308-unit apartment building are headed to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for approval next week.
Woodfield Investments wants to demolish a two-story office building and replace it with a 291,650-square-foot multifamily building across around 6 acres of land north of Sunrise Valley Drive, south of the Dulles Toll Road and east of Reston Parkway.
A hearing on the project is set for Oct. 30 at 3:30 p.m.
The property would be developed in two phases. Phase one will include the construction of the apartment building, which has 37 workforce dwelling units. The second phase will retain an 80,000-square-foot office building and the addition of a pocket park. The second phase leaves the option of redevelopment sometime in the future, according to the proposal.
The existing cul-de-sac at Roland Clarke Place will be reconstructed and extended further north to connect two private roads and provide access to the parking garage on the property.
Staff from the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning recommended approval of the project.
Photos via handout/Fairfax County Government
