FXCO moving forward with new office complex in Bailey’s Crossroads

Fairfax County’s plan to build a new East County Government
Center in Bailey’s Crossroads as part of a mixed-used project developed by a public-private
partnership has been in the works for some five years.

The plan languished, however, as the real estate market
tanked, but now it looks like it might finally happen: The budget adopted by the Board of Supervisors May 1 includes funding for planning and design for the new office
building.

The development would be located off Columbia Pike at Moncure
Avenue. The homeless shelter
on Moncure would be relocated or incorporated into the new complex. Meanwhile, a temporary fire station will be installed on that lot while the Bailey’s Crossroads firehouse, heavily damaged by snow in 2010,
will be torn down and replaced with a larger structure.

The county offices would house the approximately 400 or so
Human Services and other employees that are moving from Leesburg Pike to leased
space in the Heritage office building in Annandale. The move could  take place as early as next month.

The new county building would have about 175,000 square feet
of office space. It is a part of a long-term plan to have five satellite
offices throughout the county.

The East County office building could be operational in about
three to four years, says Matt Flis, a planner with the Fairfax County Office of Community Revitalization.

The county plans to issue a request for proposals for
design services in about three to four months It will take about six to nine
months to develop a master plan for the site and another six to nine months for
the rezoning process, Flis says. Construction will take about a year.

The private component of the project, to include about 400
residential units and a limited amount of retail space, would be developed by
the Weissberg Corp.

The county review process for the project would take into
account the impact on roads and schools, as well as how it fits with the revitalization plan for Bailey’s Crossroads approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2010. 

That
plan offers a blueprint for future redevelopment of the area, including a
town center, green space, streetscape improvements along Leesburg Pike, a
realignment of Seminary Road, and new road connections. Approval of the Pike Transit Initiative, which could bring streetcars to the Bailey’s Crossroads area, could spur redevelopment.