Renderings of Franconia Governmental Center redevelopment (image via Fairfax County government/Soto Architecture & Urban Design)
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors around midnight on Tuesday (May 13) voted 9-0 to move forward with a plan for affordable housing on the soon-to-be-vacated Franconia Governmental Center site.
The vote — unanimous except for absent Springfield District Superivsor Pat Herrity — came after hours of public testimony for and against the proposal to amend the county’s Comprehensive Plan related to the 22.75-acre site known as the Franconia Triangle.
The vote was a necessary procedural step before the county can consider a formal rezoning application submitted in March by Franconia Development Partners, a team-up of SCG Development Partners, NFP Affordable Housing Corp. and Good Shepherd Housing.
Though the governmental center parcel at 6121 Franconia Road occupies just 3.26 acres of the larger study area, the proposal to use the site for a 120-unit apartment building drew the most public comment. As has been the case at previous meetings, views expressed at the May 13 hearing were both mixed and passionate.
“It just does not fit,” said Tim Fleming, chief of the Franconia Volunteer Fire Department, whose station at 6300 Beulah Street is contiguous with the current government center parcel.
Renderings of Franconia Governmental Center redevelopment (image via Fairfax County government/Soto Architecture & Urban Design)
Like other critics of the development plan, Fleming cited concerns about traffic, pedestrian safety, health, school crowding, the height of the proposed residential building, and changes to the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Rand Pixa, president of the Clermont Woods Community Association, contended that there was never a full consideration of uses beyond housing on the site, asking the proposal to be put on hold until other options are evaluated.
That was the same view of the Franconia District Land Use Committee, which supported other proposed changes across the Franconia Triangle but voted overwhelmingly to oppose the income-restricted housing plan for the governmental center.
Pixa said it was unfair to tag opponents of the proposal as NIMBYs or against housing options for lower-income residents.
“We need more affordable housing,” Pixa said. “The question is: where?”
Proponents said the answer to that question is self-evident.
“These are exactly the kinds of people we want living here,” said Alyssa Densham, pastor of Provision United Methodist Church.
In its rezoning application, Franconia Development Partners said the future housing will be designated for people earning between 30 and 80% of the area median income, which was $108,300 for one person, as of June 2024, according to the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development.
In addition, 25 units will be set aside for police, firefighters, teachers and medical personnel.
Cindy Marisch, another supporter of the plan, said civic associations in the area have become “impediments to change” and resort to “misinformation and bias” in their opposition.
Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk said that while he recognized the concerns of residents opposing the plan, “a new use for the current governmental site is needed.” Other possibilities, such as a new fire station, had been ruled out during a planning process that has now stretched on for four years, he said.
The lengthy public hearing started around 5 p.m. and included roughly six hours of video testimony, along with several community members who spoke in person.
“It’s been a very long day but a very productive day,” Board Chairman Jeff McKay said.
Fairfax County amended its comprehensive plan for the Franconia Triangle to allow more residential and retail uses (via Fairfax County)
The Franconia Triangle area is bounded by Franconia Road, Beulah Street and Grovedale Street. Currently, it is home to a mix of residential, retail and commercial uses.
Under the amended comprehensive plan, residential development, including multi-family and townhouse units, will be allowed on the governmental center site, along Beulah Street and in place of the commercial building at 6323 Grovedale Drive presently occupied by Franconia KinderCare.
The amendment also increased the density of retail permitted on two parcels along Franconia Road.
Opponents of the Franconia Development Partners plan again raised concerns about the health implications of having so many residents in the vicinity of five gas stations. Similar comments were made to the Fairfax County Planning Commission, which held a two-day public hearing before voting 10-1 on May 7 to support the plan amendment.
County health officials said there are no indications that the service stations are currently causing harm in the surrounding area, although even several planning commissioners who supported the proposal said they’d like to see more data supporting that position.
If all the proposed changes are eventually implemented, development in the Franconia Triangle would total 44,520 square feet of office, 62,512 square feet of retail, 150 multi-family residential units, 79 townhouses, and 34,921 square feet of public or institutional space, including the existing volunteer fire station and Olivet Episcopal Church, according to a county staff report.
Operations of the Franconia Governmental Center are scheduled to move later this summer to facilities currently under construction on Beulah Street. That parcel will also include a new Kingstowne Library, police station, child-care center, senior center and museum.
Reprinted from FFXNow. See the original here.