What could be Falls Church’s next major redevelopment project has taken a small but key step forward.
At a meeting last week, members of Fairfax County’s Planning Commission signaled that they will recommend that the Board of Supervisors authorize further study of a 2.4-acre parcel fronting Route 7.
The staff study of Fairfax County’s portion of the parcel, and associated community outreach, would be in anticipation of future rezoning — most likely for mixed-use development with both housing and retail components.
If that comes, the site could be the latest in a series of large-scale development projects in Falls Church in recent years.
The land in the West End area of Falls Church is currently home to Beyer Auto properties, a restaurant, retail and the Falls Church Animal Hospital. The Fairfax-Falls Church line cuts through the site.
Given the parcel’s proximity to the West Falls Church Metro station and other mixed-use development happening nearby, allowing for new uses would represent “an exceptional planning opportunity,” said Andrew Painter, a land-use attorney representing the property owners.
In a letter to Fairfax officials, Painter urged county and city officials to “jointly re-examine the Triangle’s planning recommendations, encourage reinvestment and help it evolve into a more pedestrian-focused mixed-use community.”
The proposal on the table, which is still very tentative, calls for ground-level retail under multifamily housing, with an overall floor-area ratio (FAR) of at least 3.0.
A 3.0 FAR would be the equivalent of a six-story building with a footprint covering half a lot, or a four-story structure occupying 75% of the parcel.
The Fairfax Planning Commission considered the proposal last Thursday along with various other site-specific planning amendment requests. With no one signed up to speak at the public hearing and no opposition noted, the Commission tentatively agreed to support the request.
Final action to recommend a decision to the Board of Supervisors is set for June 4. Supervisors are slated to act on all 43 pending SSPA proposals on June 10.
Those that win supervisors’ approval will be placed on a master list of projects for county staff to study. Ultimately, those projects will return to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors for further consideration.
Commissioners and staff have proposed the project be considered a “Tier 1” effort, the highest level and one that could put it on a fast track through the staff-analysis phase.
Starting the review process in Fairfax County is likely a move meant to get the ball rolling before seeking Falls Church consideration of the project.
The proposal does seem to align with Falls Church officials’ long-term vision. The city government’s 2020 West End Small Area Plan called for a focus on mixed-use development where possible in the Gordon Road Triangle, a 22-acre site bounded by Route 7, Shreve Road, Gordon Road and the W&OD Regional Trail.
Under a contract with the city, the Urban Land Institute recently studied the corridor and earlier this year delivered its preliminary conclusions to city officials.
The Triangle area previously was studied by the Urban Land Institute in 2015, and two universities — Virginia Tech and George Mason — delivered studies to city leaders in 2010 and 2020.
