Development proposals submitted to county

First Christian Church wants to make better use of its underutilized property.

Six development proposals were submitted to the Fairfax County Planning and Development Department for projects in Mason District as part of the South County Site-Specific Plan Amendment process.

These nominations were among the 22 accepted by the planning department for the Mason, Mount Vernon, and Lee districts. The supervisors of those districts will appoint community task forces to review the nominations and determine if they should be included in the county’s Comprehensive Plan Work Program.

We reported on one of the nominations on Feb. 4, proposing a mixed-use development affecting two office buildings and surrounding properties on Little River Turnpike near Hummer Road in Annandale.


Related story: Mixed-use development proposed for underutilized office buildings in Annandale

These are the other five:

• The First Christian Church at 6165 Leesburg Pike in Seven Corners wants to partner with Wesley Housing to develop a 113-unit independent living facility for seniors with 5,000 square feet of leased community-serving medical or general office uses on its property.

Related story: Seven Corners Church to sell land for affordable housing for seniors

• The Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, at 3159 Row St. in the Seven Corners area, wants to expand, as it’s outgrown its building. Since the mosque was completed in 1991, the local Muslim community has increased to 40,000 people, and the facility serves up to 12,000 during Eid.

Dar Al-Hijrah is proposing to develop “a community center and house of worship with potential secondary uses, including senior housing and retail.”

• Priscilla Gibson, the owner of a home on a one-acre lot at 6153 Leesburg Pike at Row Street, across the street from Dar Al-Hijrah, seeks approval to develop “an enclave of five to seven uniquely designed affordable homes” on her property.

Gibson’s family has lived at the address since 1929, when her grandfather, William Mason Smith, built a Dutch Colonial farmhouse there after digging its foundation by hand with a team of horses and a plow. Her mother, Charlotte Smith Needham, now 93, grew up on the property through the Great Depression and World War II and still lives there.

• Another proposal, from Albert Riveros, proposes the development of “assisted living/nursing care/memory care facilities” on a 4.5-acre property at 6420-6443 Arlington Blvd. and 6220 Spring Terrace near Seven Corners.

• Mark Viani the owner of a 76,700-square foot single-story self-storage business at 4312 Ravensworth Road in Annandale is proposing to replace it with “a modern, climate-controlled, four-story self-storage facility” of up to 153,300 square feet “designed to accommodate various types of other uses, such as office and/or retail.”

If the Planning Commission decides to proceed with these proposals, there would be a lengthy review process including community meetings and public hearings.