Updated design for affordable housing on Franconia Governmental Center site (via Fairfax County and Soto Architecture & Urban Design)
A proposal to build 120 units of affordable housing on a site now occupied by the Franconia Governmental Center has won the support of the Fairfax County Planning Commission.
Commission members voted without opposition on Feb. 4 to approve the plan by Franconia Development Partners, a consortium of several housing groups seeking to redevelop the 3.3 acres of leased county land at 6121 Franconia Road with a four-story apartment building.
The complex will serve individuals and families earning up to 60% of area median income, which would set a limit of just under $100,000 in annual income for a family of four.
Qualifying tenants could live in the 49 one-bedroom, 45 two-bedroom and 26 three-bedroom units for rents estimated at between $1,679 and $2,341 per month.
“People can live there in dignity,” said Mark Viani, a land-use attorney with Bean, Kinney & Korman representing the developers SCG Development, NFP Affordable Housing Corp. and Good Shepherd Housing.
Though the planning commission’s vote recommending approval was unanimous, the proposal still faces some public opposition as it advances to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which is scheduled to hold a hearing on the rezoning proposal and conceptual development plan on Feb. 17.
The planning commission, which has the ultimate say over a project’s final development plan, approved the one submitted by the developer.
Joy Wahler, vice president of the North Franconia Civic Association, claimed residents of that community are “overwhelmingly opposed” to the project. She said handing the site over on a 99-year lease effectively represented “developer welfare.”
Elaine Anderegg, representing the Franconia Forest Homeowners Association, cited concerns about the project’s density, height, traffic impact, safety and its location adjacent to one gas station and close to four others.
Anderegg told planning commissioners she had “very little expectation” county officials would ask tough questions before granting final approval.
But another speaker, Cindy Marisch, said the project’s design and placement had improved over the past year through community input.
“I’m satisfied that the developer not only addressed but accommodated requests from local residents to ensure the building fits into the fabric of the neighborhood,” Marisch said.
Franconia District Commissioner Chris Landgraf acknowledged that there are some points still dividing the community, including the building’s height and proximity to gas fumes.
But he praised changes made in response to concerns raised during the review process. In response to complaints about the apartment building’s mass, the developers agreed for move it farther back from Franconia Road, and brick will be incorporated into the exterior so the project better fits into its surroundings.
The site will include 156 parking spaces. About 40% of the parcel will remain open space, including publicly accessible parkland.
The site is becoming available as the current Franconia Governmental Center is set to close. Operations will soon be moved to a new campus expected to open at 7130 Silver Lake Blvd this spring.
The new facility will total 90,000 square feet and house a district police station, the Franconia District supervisor’s office, active adult center, museum and an expanded Kingstowne Library, which will be upgraded to a regional branch.
McLean single-family development wins support
Proposed site design for Wormald Companies’ Spring Hill Reserve subdivision (via Fairfax County staff report)
The commission also voted at its Feb. 4 meeting to recommend approval of a request to rezone a parcel at 1348 Spring Hill Road in McLean from a low-density residential district to planned development, paving the way for a proposed subdivision with 14 single-family homes on a 5-acre site.
Located about 150 feet north of the Dulles Toll Road, the parcel largely is surrounded by single-family housing. Accessed via Spring Hill Road, the small development planned by home builder Wormald Companies will end in a cul-de-sac.
Named “Spring Hill Reserve” in the application, the site will feature a community courtyard, tree preservation area and passive recreation area.
Dranesville District Commissioner Alyssa Batchelor-Causey noted that several attempts have been made to develop the parcel, calling the plan currently on the table responsive to concerns of nearby residents who had objected to proposals with more density.
In addition to recommending that the Board of Supervisors approve the rezoning plan after a scheduled public hearing on March 17, the commission adopted the final development plan, which doesn’t require the supervisors’ vote.
More office buildings planned for Chantilly site
Aerial view of the Westfields International Center office park in Chantilly (via Fairfax County staff report)
At the same meeting, the planning commission recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve zoning changes to permit more office development at the Westfields International Center in Chantilly.
In its application, originally submitted in September 2023, property owner Corporate Office Properties Trust said an unidentified “federal government user” currently based on the secure, 62-acre site at 4850 Stonecroft Blvd wants to “expand its footprint,” which already includes four office buildings totaling 926,119 square feet of space.
The proposed plan would slightly tweak the footprints of two new, 120-foot-tall buildings that were previously approved but never constructed. An adjacent parking garage with seven levels and 2,765 spaces would also be added to the western portion of the office park.
Four existing buildings, an existing parking garage and much of the site’s existing surface parking would remain, and the development wouldn’t affect a cemetery on the site.
If fully built out, the parcel would contain more than 1.92 million square feet of gross floor area.
During the hearing, several commission members highlighted a need to address the additional development’s impacts on pedestrians.
Sully District Commissioner Evelyn Spain said she believed the property owner would meet pedestrian mobility obligations spelled out in a proffer agreement with the county, but said those with concerns should “keep an eye on” the site to ensure all requirements are met.
Among other conditions, the agreement tasks the property owner with adding crosswalks and connections to existing pedestrian refuges at the site’s northern and western entrances as well as Stonecroft Blvd’s intersections with Conference Center Drive and Lee Road, though the changes would need to be approved by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Pedestrian signals must also be added at those intersections, if allowed by VDOT, and a 4-foot-wide asphalt trail along Stonecroft Blvd must also be expanded to 8 feet.
Spain applauded the developer’s efforts to work with the community.
The rezoning application is now scheduled to go to the Board of Supervisors for a public hearing on Feb. 17.
Reprinted from FFXNow. See the original here.