Falls Church officials hope that 2026 will be the year they start making decisions about the city’s portion of the 20-acre Gordon Road Triangle.
Much of the city’s portion of the industrial area is occupied by the Robert L. Goff Operations Yard on Gordon Road. It is likely the city would work to find private partners to fund on-site renovations to — and new facilities on — the well-worn facility, rather than try to cover all those costs itself.
At the Monday meeting, elected officials, staff and members of advisory commissions came together for a first look at possibilities for what should be shoehorned in the 5 acres.
“There’s a lot we want to use this space for,” Council member Justine Underhill said. She said the city may need to be willing to trade higher density in order to get what it seeks from a development partner.
In January, a contingent from the Urban Land Institute visited the site to explore redevelopment opportunities. Its report, issued in the spring, discussed options including retail development along Broad Street and the W&OD Trail as well as additional housing.
The recommendations contained in the 37-page final report were “designed for maximum flexibility,” said Emily Bazemore, a senior planner with the city government.
The Urban Land Institute recommendations call for tackling the future of government-owned property first, before considering future uses for the three-quarters of the site that is in private hands. That view drew praise from Council member Laura Downs.
“It’s a very complex process,” she said. “Let us take the lead … attack the city side first.”
But city officials may not have the luxury of time. The Beyer family is eyeing redevelopment options on its land along W. Broad, and has filed paperwork with the Fairfax County government to begin the process on the part of the parcel under Fairfax’s jurisdiction. Plans for the Falls Church side of the Beyer site are likely forthcoming.
Located in the city’s West End area, the Gordon Road triangle industrial area is bounded by W. Broad Street (Route 7) to the northeast, the W&OD Regional Trail to the south and Shreve Road and the Fairfax County line to the west.
While some at the meeting floated the idea of relocating the Robert L. Goff Operations Yard elsewhere to provide more development space, City Manager Wyatt Shields was quick to throw cold water on the proposal.
It would be “99.9999% not possible” to find a suitable alternative site for operations now housed at the center, Shields said.
Shields said his plan was to bring a draft timeline for staff to approach the future of the Gordon Road Triangle to Council members at a January retreat. That will come once the occupants of four Council seats on the Nov. 4 ballot are determined and seated.
One who will not be on the Council next year is current member Debora Schantz-Hiscott, who did not seek re-election. She said the city could learn from past experience partnering with private developers on the city’s Meridian High School/Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School tract to move forward on the Gordon Road site.
“It does feel overwhelming,” Schantz-Hiscott said of projects with multiple pieces to be worked through. But, she added, “things do end up, many times, working really, really well.”
To get to a positive outcome, Shields said, city leaders need to begin to “consider the big picture and then narrow down” the options.
Hardi said she hoped “healthy discussions and productive conversation” would guide the process to where it needs to go.
