A look at economic development, rezoning, and residential and commercial projects happening in Northern Virginia. 

Planned Residential Development  

466 Unit Residential Development on Richmond Highway to be Considered by Planning Commission February 16 

On February 16 the Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a decision-only session to consider application by LMC Alexandria Crossing Holdings, LLC to rezone On February 16 the Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a decision-only session to consider application by LMC Alexandria Crossing Holdings, LLC to rezone a 7.3 acre property located on the south side of Richmond Highway between Shields Avenue and Quander Road.

The property is currently improved with several existing structures that will be demolished with the construction of the proposed improvements. A multi-family building will contain a maximum of 385 units in a building that is six and seven stories. Parking will be provided in a seven-story garage located behind the building and wrapped on two sides by residential units to minimize its visibility. The multi-family building transitions from Richmond Highway to 23 four-story stacked townhomes, each with two units, then to 35 traditional townhomes that are proximate to existing residential development to the south. The stacked townhomes and traditional townhomes will all have two car garages and amenities such as rooftop decks. The Applicant proposes a total of 466 residential dwelling units or a proposed 2.5 FAR. The Applicant will likely phase the construction of the proposed residential community. More.

Loudoun Planning Commission Forwards Zoning Amendments for Residential Development 

On January 25 the Loudoun County Planning Commission reviewed multiple zoning amendments for housing development projects. 

ZMAP-2021-0001, Gum Spring Residential, is a proposal to rezone a two-acre parcel from the Single Family Residential – 1 (R-1) zoning to the Single Family Residential – 8 (R-8) zoning in order to develop of up to 12 single-family attached residential units. The property is located north of Whitman Corner Drive on the east side of Gum Spring Road. Upon development, it will be accessed from Whitman Corner Drive. The planning commission approved this application to be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors. More.

The Villas at Cascades requests to rezone approximately 6.93 acres from commercial zoning to the Multifamily Residential zoning in order to develop 173 multifamily stacked residential units, at a density of approximately 24.96 dwelling units per acre. The applicant is also requesting a Special Exception to reduce the front yard setback from 25 feet to 10 feet and two Zoning Modifications to permit access via a private street and to modify height standards in the R-24 district. The property is located north of Harry Byrd Highway (Route 7), east of Cascades Parkway (Route 1794) and south of Palisade Parkway (Route 1795) in the Cascades Marketplace shopping center. The site is directly accessible from McClellan Way, a private street.  The Planning Commission forwarded this application to a future Planning Commission work session to allow for additional study and amendment of the application. More.

Loudoun Supervisors to Sell Park-and-Ride for Affordable Housing 

Loudoun County supervisors have directed county staff members to negotiate with Cleveland, OH-based developer The NRP Group on a deal to sell the Ashburn North Park and Ride on Russell Branch Parkway, “to be used for development of mixed-income multifamily rental housing and related amenities.” More.

PW Planning Commission Approves 222 new Homes Development Near Haymarket 

A plan to build 222 new homes near Haymarket has cleared a key hurdle and is awaiting final consideration from the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. The Prince William County Planning Commission considered and approved a request to rezone 81.6 acres from Agricultural to Planned Mixed Residential to allow up to 222 single-family detached residential units. The property is located south of Lightner Rd., along both sides of Omland Pl., and at the northeastern terminus of Utterback Ln. If approved the proposal would be sent to the Board of Supervisors for final approval.

Prince William County Planning Commission Resolution
Planning commission OKs 222-home development outside Haymarket

Alexandria Planning Commission Considers Wesley Affordable Housing Development 

On February 1, the Alexandria City Planning Commission will hold public testimony in
consideration of a rezoning for 5380 Holmes Run Parkway - ParcView II. The property is located to the south of Holmes Run Parkway, in between its intersections with North Paxton Street and North Ripley Street and located within the Landmark/VanDorn Small Area Plan (“SAP”). The property is currently developed with a single 14-story residential building constructed in the 1970s, containing 148 units and surface parking. 

Wesley Housing Development Corporation proposes to retain and renovate the existing residential building and redevelop the remainder of the property with two new nine-story residential buildings that will contain approximately 235 units, for a total of 383 units, of which 76 will be affordable at 80% of Area Median Income (“AMI”) and 307 will be affordable at or less than 60% of AMI. A day care, commercial, or other community use will be located on the ground floor, with potential for an additional 2,600 square feet on the second floor. A three-level garage and surface parking will serve the residential program and the day care, commercial, or community use. More.

Wesley Housing Acquires Additional Alexandria Property To Preserve Affordability 

Wesley Housing has acquired Parc Square Apartments, a 66-unit complex in Alexandria’s Arlandria neighborhood, with the help of $2.3 million grant from Amazon.com Inc. 

Amazon’s funding ensures the property, located at 600-604 Notabene Drive and built in 1940, will remain affordable for at least 99 years, the Alexandria-based affordable housing developer and nonprofit announced Tuesday. More.

Site near Amazon's HQ2 trades hands, paving way for dual-tower residential project

Developers have closed on the purchase of a vacant site near Crystal City and Potomac Yard in Arlington, a transaction that paves the way for a new two-building project there. 

An affiliate of Orlando-based Zom Living acquired two acres at Crystal Drive and 29th Street S. for $32.1 million on Dec. 15, according to Arlington County property records. A $26 million bridge loan from CB&S bank helped fund the property acquisition. 

Zom is working with Partners Group of Zug, Switzerland on the development; the two also secured $150 million in construction financing for the project, a two-tower development called Hazel & Azure at National Landing, the company said in December. The financing allowed them to break ground on the 492-unit residential project located a mile from Amazon's new second headquarters buildings in one directly and the $1 billion Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria in the other.  More.

Commercial and Economic Development

PenPlace (Amazon HQ2) Site Plan Review Scheduled 

The next phase of Amazon’s HQ2 is a proposed redevelopment of the PenPlace block in Pentagon City. The applicants, Acorn LLC and JBG Smith, acting as Amazon’s development consultant, submitted a proposed site plan application on February 2, 2021. The Arlington Site Plan Review Committee will consider the application February 10, 2022. 

The proposal includes approximately 3.3 million square feet divided across four buildings. 

In addition, the proposal includes a 2.5-acre public open space , detached retail pavilions, and underground vehicular access. Specific details of the open space will be evaluated through a Park Master Plan process. 

Buildings will be designed for LEED Platinum certification and tailored towards achieving the County’s Community Energy Plan goals. In addition, the project would contribute to the County’s utility fund, public art, and streetscape improvements. 

The proposed development would supersede the approved plan for Pen Place adopted by the County Board in 2013. More.

Crystal City office tower sells for $188M as buyer doubles down in market 

One of Crystal City's newest office transformations has changed hands, marking one of the biggest sales of the year. 

The building at 1400 Crystal Drive, totaling 308,000 square feet, was sold in late December by affiliates of Lincoln Property Co. for $188.5 million, or $612 per square foot, to Starwood Capital Group, according to Arlington County property records. It’s a high-dollar transaction, which closed Dec. 28, in an area primed for Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 campus, as well as Virginia Tech’s $1 billion innovation campus not far away. More.

Officials get an earful at PW Digital Gateway listening session 

Prince William County officials got an earful Thursday night from all sides of the request to designate more than 2,100 acres along Pageland Lane for data centers. The county held a listening session on the PW Digital Gateway - a proposal to potentially pave the way for more than 27.6 million square feet of data centers along Pageland Lane, or nearly as much data center space as is currently in use or under construction in neighboring Loudoun County, the world’s largest concentration of such facilities. After nearly three hours, 73 people spoke, with 41 opposed to the proposal and 32 in favor of it. More.

Langley eyed for East Coast intel hub  

Langley Air Force Base may be poised to bring in thousands of additional Air Force intelligence personnel. The base, part of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, is already set for a major expansion as the Air Force’s formal training unit for F-22 fighter jets moves there from Florida. The move will bring 750 airmen and families to the Peninsula. “JBLE-Langley is anticipating significant growth in the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission on the installation,” said Bruce Sturk, Hampton’s director of federal facilities support. More.