Design plans for a future townhouse community along Wilson Blvd at the border of Arlington and Fairfax counties near Seven Corners may be taking shape.
During a June 24 Fairfax County Planning Commission meeting, the development consortium of EYA and Southern Management suggested that their planned townhouses on the Arlington (eastern) side of the boundary could be patterned after EYA’s Sutton Heights community in the City of Fairfax.
The development team also gave details of the publicly accessible park space to be located on the site, currently home to the Cavalier Club apartments.
The new details came as Fairfax’s planning body recommended approval of rezoning needed on that county’s side of the 5.5-acre Cavalier Club parcel. If approved by the Board of Supervisors, a new 8-story, 238-unit apartment building with ground-floor retail would replace surface parking on the site.
A five-story parking structure with up to 366 spaces also would be added on the Fairfax side of the parcel. The existing 12-story, 220-unit Cavalier Club apartment building, which dates to the 1960s and also sits on the Fairfax side, would be retained.
Fairfax Planning Commission members voted unanimously to recommend approval of the new apartments and parking garage. The project has been in the works for four years.
Having a parcel split between two jurisdictions results in “a very complex case,” said Alis Wang, who represents the Mason District on the Planning Commission.
“I’m glad we were able to reach something we could all agree on,” said Wang, in whose district the parcel sits.
“We all want more housing, and this project will do that. It’s good news,” added Wang, who also praised designs for park spaces on the site.
Despite questions about specific aspects of the development proposal, other members of the planning body also came away generally satisfied.
“This is a creative solution” to the unique situation, at-large Planning Commission member Candice Bennett said.
Plans for townhouses on the Arlington side of the parcel have not been submitted to Arlington officials.
Beyond showing a drawing of the Sutton Heights architecture at the Fairfax meeting, the development team has stayed largely silent about its Arlington plans. Sara Mariska, a land-use attorney representing the development team, said the overall project will feature “architecture that is meant to fit the community in which it is being constructed.”
As the development plan has moved through the Fairfax process, it has been suggested that Wilson Blvd westbound be trimmed from two lanes to one as it passes the property. That would better align it with the Arlington side, which has one lane in each direction between Ballston and the Fairfax border.
In addition to being split between Arlington and Fairfax counties, the Cavalier Club parcel abuts the City of Falls Church’s boundary line to the west.
