Community offers input on Halifax proposal

The Halifax office buildings.

Lincolnia residents who came to a community meeting March 20 about a project to transform the aging Halifax office buildings into apartments came away with a clearer understanding of what the project is all about – and the lengthy process ahead before it can be approved.

Like all suburban office buildings in Fairfax County that aren’t near transit, those buildings, at 5250 and 5252 Cherokee Ave., are experiencing rising vacancy rates.

The solution to ensure the property remains viable is to add three stories to each building and convert them to luxury apartments. There would be up to 130 units targeted to working professionals.

To make that happen, the county’s comprehensive plan would have to be amended, and the property would have to be rezoned. It’s currently zoned C-3 for office use.

“We’re open to ideas for how this works for us as landowners and you as a community,” said David Gill of Wire Gill, the property owners’ attorney. “We want to come up with something that makes sense for all of us.”

At the meeting, people raised concerns about traffic and the need to maintain the character of the surrounding residential area, which consists of single-family homes and townhouses.

A preliminary traffic study found that if the buildings are used as offices, they would generate 743 daily trips, assuming full occupancy, said Michael Burton of the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning. If the properties are converted to residential uses, there would be 707 daily trips.

With regard to the impact of the office-to-residential project on the surrounding community, one resident said, “this is a huge increase for our low-density neighborhood.”

Burton said when the Planning and Zoning staff evaluates the proposal, they will consider language in the Comprehensive Plan that encourages land use that maintains the stability of established residential neighborhoods and that won’t have a negative impact on public facilities, transportation, or the environment.

The buildings’ footprints would not change, and because the buildings are at a lower elevation, the additional height would be less noticeable.

The character of the the complex will change, at least temporarily when Immanuel Christian School will move its new high school program to one of the buildings in August, taking up two full floors. The school is based at Immanuel Bible Church at the corner of Braddock and Backlick road.

Residents also talked about the lack of sidewalks on Cherokee Avenue, overflow parking on neighborhood streets, and the impact on school overcrowding.

A county estimate found the project would generate eight elementary school students, two middle school students, and four high school students.

All three schools where those students would go – Bren Mar Park Elementary, Holmes Middle, and Edison High School – are currently under capacity. By 2022-23, Edison would be 106 percent over capacity, and the two others would still be underutilized.

One resident said the apartments are not likely to attract a lot of families with children. Nazir Bhagat, owner of one of the Halifax buildings, concurred, noting that the apartments would be designed with an at-home office, the buildings would have a business center, and the complex would be marketed to individuals or couples who work at home.

“We want to replace an obsolete building and an eyesore with something much better,” Bhagat said.

Gill told the neighborhood residence the $15 million project would benefit the community by improving the Indian Run Stream Valley, a resource protection area. Also, “the new residents would be part of your community.”

County planners will prepare a staff report on the proposal before any decisions are made. The community will have more chances to weigh in – at a Mason District Land Use Committee meeting and at public hearings before the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.