Mixed-use development proposed for Eastgate center in Annandale
Insight Property Group has submitted a proposal to develop a mixed-use multifamily apartment complex at the Eastgate Shopping Center in Annandale.
Insight is proposing a six-story building with up to 280 residential units and 11,220 square feet of ground-level retail.
The Eastgate Shopping Center, at 4251 John Marr Drive, was developed in 2020 on the site of a Kmart, which closed in 2018. Main tenants include The Block food hall and the K Market grocery store.
The proposed development would “retain and enhance the majority of existing retail within the shopping center,” states Insight’s statement of justification.
The proposal requests a rezoning from the C-6 commercial designation to a PRM (planned residential mixed-use district) for a 3.3-acre area at the northern section of the 11.8-acre property. Shops in that section include Kimen Ramen & Izakaya, Pelicana Chicken, The Block, and B-thrifty.
Insight says the project will “transition the site into a more vibrant, mixed-use, and community-centered asset.” The building would include supportive retail and amenities and would be wrapped around a structured parking garage.
“This diversified and more balanced mix of uses will ensure that Eastgate Shopping Center continues to contribute positively to and be a resource for the community,” Insight states.
The project would advance Fairfax County’s planning objectives by providing workforce housing, reducing impervious surfaces, having a pedestrian-oriented design, and creating public open space areas and a more engaged streetscape.
Insight also says the project will serve as a catalyst for future redevelopment in central Annandale.
The Annandale Comprehensive Plan recommends mixed uses with up to six stories in the Community Business Center with the tallest buildings oriented toward Little River Turnpike and John Marr Drive.
According to Insight, the proposed development would be designed to facilitate future redevelopment of the remainder of the shopping center to include a new street grid, pedestrian corridors, and urban park spaces.
One of Insight’s current projects is the mixed-use development under construction on Broad and N. Washington streets in the City of Falls Church with 339 apartments, Whole Foods, Creative Cauldron, and other retail.
Does this mean that strip will be demolished? It’s unclear to me why they would redevelop an area that’s currently under development. There’s a second strip going in the parking lot and I don’t see how this all fits together.
Only a portion of the site would be redeveloped under this proposal. That portion does not include the area that’s currently under development.
The article describes the portion of the site that would be redeveloped under this proposal in the following paragraph:
“The proposal requests a rezoning from the C-6 commercial designation to a PRM (planned residential mixed-use district) FOR A 3.3-ACRE AREA AT THE NORTHERN SECTION OF THE 11.8-ACRE PROPERTY. Shops in that section include Kimen Ramen & Izakaya, Pelicana Chicken, The Block, and B-thrifty.”
I’m for redevelopment but it should be the all of the property. Also, This appears closer to Columbia Pike on the property.
Moreover this mixed use will be a traffic nightmare just like mosaic is because there is no effectively used nor ever going to happen public transit (buses don’t count).
Fantastic! Keep the improvements coming to Annandale.
Totally agree!!!
Many of us do not consider this to be an improvement. How can you say adding almost 300 new residential units without providing additional school space, without providing road enhancements to allow those new residents and existing traffic to more easily access 495, 395 and Metro and without taking into consideration other infrastructure this project would require, plus providing a means for paying for that infrastructure, improves Annandale? Plus what happens in 20 years when mixed use goes out of fashion?
Lol mixed use will not go out of fashion, it is the dominant way of building communities in all the western countries that do build them. What DOES go out of fashion and proven to go out of fashion are these strip malls, despite how diverse Annandale’s center is, strip malls are not solvent long term. This mixed use development will house hundreds of people in those hundreds of units and bring more in revenue than any of these strip malls that we spend lots of money on. It will also start making a transportation center and is actually fit for transit because it is walk-able. This will very likely generate money for transportation improvements especially if we keep up the pace it will generate a surplus of what it took in the future.
The United States does not necessarily follow the trends of other western countries Adnan. Mixed use isn’t being driven by home buyers. The most recent reports I have seen indicate that over 3/4ths of home buyers purchase single family detached homes. Even among home buyers under 30 single family detached homes was the clear favorite. Half of all home purchases were in suburban areas, again holding true across age groups. NAR Generational Trends report for 2021. There is a reason that the population of D.C. is lower today than it was in 1970, while the population in the D.C. Metro area where single family detached homes are more common has been exploding.
It is premature to write the obituary on Annandale’s strip malls. The Annandale Shopping Center on Columbia Pike is usually busy, as are the Home Depot and the strip mall across the street to the east. Bradlick shopping center seems to have a low turnover of tenants and the parking lot is again busy. Plus if a strip mall doesn’t work it is much easier to get one owner to sign off on bulldozing it and putting something else in, as opposed to 300 condo owners in a mixed use facility.
Yeah duh, 3/4 of home buyers purchase single family detached homes because that’s all that we have. Plenty of people would been keen to purchase a condo in a mixed-use walkable development if they had the option.
The area needs new, modern housing and commercial development. Mixed use developments are the way to meet both goals and needs. Annandale has been stymied by people and leadership who are bizarrely stuck in 1985 and committed to staying regressive. This and other development will finally help catapult this area into the 21st century like most of the surrounding area. Hopefully all the big projects underway in adjacent West End Alexandria will create a spillover effect into Lincolnia/Annandale.
I find the negative comments on this proposed development amusing for the most part.
I remember two decades ago when the residents of Falls Church City had their big debate over whether to allow the development of mid-sized condos and apartment buildings in their little city.
There was vocal opposition, but the majority supported it. Since then, there has been a great deal, and continues to be a great deal, of development in Falls Church City, and the traffic situation is fine.
In fact, the 35 MPH speed limit is enforced and keeps most of the traffic under control and safe (even for pedestrians who are not under the influence)
It seems to me that most of those opposed to this development want the Central Annandale Business District to either: remain the favorite destination of Vape and Thrift stores; deteriorate into a mid-sized pocket forest/woodlands; or redeveloped into McMasions to house a few very affluent people who won’t put a strain on FCPS and traffic.
Well said.
Definitely agree! Hoping whoever replaces pushes this and further public transportation and multi modal changes, hoping its Jimenez!
You and Jimenez would have our once quiet suburb turned into an overcrowded, high crime cesspool. I’m glad my parents aren’t alive to see what’s become of their beloved home town.
That seems like a harsh thing to say about your parents? Also what has changed to your hometown? You realize keeping it a suburb will keep it overcrowded, densifiying housing won’t and will actually improve the social fabric of the area. I don’t know why you love the old typical suburb as. I’d like to give Annandale a character and actually make visitors or drivers passerby feel the presence of the area of a sprawled suburb. Cities change and adapt and Annandale is urbanizing because Nova and DC metro area is in high demand and is not sustainable or big enough to stay as a suburb nor is it affordable to.
I don’t see any plan for parking, which is always in short supply in residential developments around here. Wish the buildings were more aesthetic instead of big blocks, but oh well.
The article has a sentence which addresses parking as follows:
“The building would include supportive retail and amenities and would be wrapped around a STRUCTURED PARKING GARAGE.”
Yes but at what ratio? Also, the impacts to other infrastructure and schools is not addressed. Moreover this is closer to Columbia Pike than Little River Turnpike.
I’d really like to know what the impact and plans are for funding FCPS along with infrastructure improvements to the roads in that area. 280 new apartments will be a big burden on the schools and the community at large. I don’t mind development, I just want it to be done responsibly with the proper outlays to larger community.
Good point. I guess more business, more accommodation equals more taxes? But I agree with you. The county/whoever needs to come up with budget plan and proposal on how to channel these monies to the school system.
Let’s channel this money to providing some relief to our real estate taxes. Speaking of taxes, were there any tax incentives given to the developer?
If FCPS isn’t seriously planning for the impact of thousands of new apartment units in Tysons on Marshall HS and McLean HS – and they are not – they certainly aren’t going to spend much time considering the impact of 280 new apartments on Annandale. That’s not to say you aren’t raising a fair question; it’s just that FCPS is generally re-active rather than pro-active when it comes to addressing the impact of new development.
This is just the earliest stage of the development proposal so details are appropriately scarce. There will be a lot to sort out as it goes forward. The picture, I believe, is merely a placeholder image – there is no proposed site plan, no discussion of proffers (monies used to offset the impact of a development on schools and other public systems), and no sense of how it fits into that site. All that will come. Right now, I am eager to see that, like elsewhere in Mason District, there are active plans to take advantage of the land values and the growth potential. Some of them won’t come to fruition (I am still waiting for the hotel on the bowling alley site!) but some of them will. By the way, if you get a chance to visit the developer’s ongoing development in Falls Church, you will see what they are probably going to propose – it is a similar idea albeit in a bit larger piece of land – and it might answer some questions.
100% agree! This is good news. I hope this and any similar developments in the Mason District do come to fruition.
A mixed use development was proposed at that location circa 2007 and the Gerry Connolly led BOS quashed it, much to Penny’s chagrin. Connolly stated that the CBD of Annandale could not handle the added traffic the development would bring. The Annandale Revitalization Committee worked to get it passed but came up short.
Traffic has steadily gotten worse in Annandale over the years and this development will only add to it…so what would cause the BOS to approve the project this time when others of this stature never materialized in the past?
I will be happy if the project gets approved…especially if an anchor like Target or a Harris Teeter/Whole Foods are part of the parcel…and newer condos/apartments would be a plus.
Raj.
You got a Harris Teeter a mile away. What’s Whole Foods but “whole paycheck”. I can’t see the fascination of these glam markets when Ht, Giant, Safeway, offer the same stuff with different labels. Is it the hardwood floors? Mood lighting? Help me understand the fascination with Whole Foods? Why would I pay $3.98 for almond milk at a glam market when it $2.19 at Aldis?
Oh there was a Whole Foods in line rest but there was t the moneyed clientele to support it. Now it’s lydl
I’m not lying. There’s a HT in Barcroft Plaza @ intersection of Lincolnia road and Columbia Pike
The Harris Teeter at Barcroft is ~3 miles away which makes it a 15-20 minute drive depending on traffic.
I go to the one near the Dunn Loring Metro since the Target is close by which is where I get a lot of stuff.
I don’t get everything at Harris Teeter or Whole Foods but they do have items that Giant/Safeway don’t. I shop at the Giant on Columbia Pike but this Giant doesn’t have nearly the stock that other larger Giants do. The KMarket that opened up at the former KMart location doesn’t have anything I would expect it to considering its focus on international products so I have to go to a store far away.
I would like to do all my shopping in Annandale and having a Target/Harris Teeter goes a long way in making that happen. What would you like as an anchor?
3 miles away and it takes you 15 mins?
How about 5 mins and I do it every day..
If you bothered to clearly read and understand what I posted, you’d know that I shop at the Harris Teeter near the Dunn Loring Metro because the Target is close by…and that I want to do all my shopping in the Annandale CBD.
I knew VINCENT CAREATTI was lying when he said the Harris Teeter was a mile away so I looked it up on Google Maps…the distance was listed at about 3 miles away and due to traffic would have taken 15 minutes.
Yeah, I suspect that this person has other reasons for wanting to shop at Dunn Loring.
I live right between the Harris Teeter at Barcroft and Eastgate Shopping Center. It does not ever take 15 minutes to get between the two. Google Maps says they are 2.1 miles apart.
This is very disappointing. These developers always promise vibrant retail, but then they nix that when it actually comes to development. There are some gems in that shopping center, and they will all be gone if this goes through.
Read the entire article Dawna.
The article includes the following information:
“The proposed development would ‘RETAIN AND ENHANCE THE MAJORITY OF THE EXISTING RETAIL WITHIN THE SHOPPING CENTER,’ states Insight’s statement of justification.”
Now, you may not believe the developer or even believe the developer is lying, but don’t inaccurately claim as a fact that this proposed development will result in the total elimination of the current businesses.
You’re being critical just for the sake of being critical.
I see the value in the businesses that are there currently. I’m wracking my brain, and cannot come up with any new developments that have successfully retained prior tenants.
When the whole place was a dilapidated, abandoned K-Mart – why didn’t they try harder at the time to get something going? They then decided to fully renovate and lease everything out? Just does not make sense.
I do not think this particular space is quite big enough for retail and 280 apartments, and accommodating a new street grid, and outdoor space, and parking for all of this. The most likely thing to ax is retail.
Fairfax County has had a “master plan” for the redevelopment of the central Annandale business district for at least a decade, but no way to get started on actually implementing it. Will the proposed Eastgate complex be along the lines of what was envisioned in the master plan, and is it just a first step in implementing the rest of the plan for central Annandale?
I’m very excited about this project and will lobby for its approval. Annandale is finally getting major modern development!
This is great! Exciting things are happening in Annandale.
I will take anything they have that will clean up this dump and make it a more respectable place to say I am from. Annandale has a bad rap and continues to get bad press. The Korean food eateries have been saving us from our hometown demise and the stupidity of the BoS leadership,
There are numerous Korean food establishments and a Korean grocery store where this developer is proposing to build this generic monument to gentrification.
That is ok, there are plenty of spaces for these food shops to move to and hopefully the developer will assist them. I am not advocating for the generic demise of these mom and pop establishments. The area just needs a better mix to keep Annandale from spiraling further into the abyss.
Leave your house once in a while. Annandale is not “spiraling into the abyss”. People come from far and wide to go to The Block, and other businesses slated to be replaced by a generic apartment building. Promises of “retaining existing retail” are unfeasible.
I’m leaning toward this is not happening. This development plan has been talked about for years, and keeps being revived from the dead, only to die again.
I don’t understand why you are suggesting that retaining existing retail is unfeasible. It is my understanding that the owner of The Block has been campaigning for this to happen for several years.
The Block will probably be retained for the retail level of the complex because of its success. Projects can be phased such as what the developer is doing at Lohmann’s Plaza to keep businesses operational during construction.
For someone who thinks she knows everything, you know little. Are you an urban planner, an architect, an economist, a social scientist, a NIMBY or just a self righteous PIA?
I’m afraid getting through the intersection between John Marr and Ravenworths will take much longer to get to 495. I don’t see how they can expand the roads to accommodate more residents in this area. It’s already terrible as it is.
Similar efforts on the same land space have been proposed / discussed since at least 2006. This is not new. There should be very few unanswered questions, so if critical details remain “to be discovered,” it is a reasonable assumption that someone is intentionally hiding their findings or otherwise covering up weaknesses in the proposed plan. On face value, I personally love the basic idea. But as a long-term impact on the community, I would like to know that the data is all above board.
That’s right…let’s build a glorious 6 story box filled with overpriced units that invade the space of FCPS and have no concern about the impact around them! We can have nice walking paths or gardens for the homeless to live in, just don’t forget to buy them a coffee or food when you run downstairs for your breakfast. If you like having the problems of FC, Ballston, or Arlington then please move out there but don’t bring that sh*t out here! People live here because it doesn’t look like that!
Insight only has plans to get richer off violating what land they can get their claws in. They don’t pay extra for the upkeep of the roads and all the additional accidents that will happen because of their desire to build it and they will come mentality. The question is if this one goes up… then will you be ok if the next one is built right by your property?
I can certainly understand some of your points but I think the biggest reason people live here is that it is slightly more affordable than those areas you mentioned (and still within a reasonable commuting distance to DC). I’ll speak for myself and say that’s the biggest reason we moved here, it’s definitely not because of the school pyramid. If they really wanted a suburban oasis they would live elsewhere (I like Annandale, just being honest).
Despite what you think about the quality of our schools, they are overcrowded for the large part. However, I don’t think the newly proposed 1800 Gentrification Way would house many young families. These types of places charge exorbitant amounts for a studio apartment, and raise the rent every year, not exactly ideal for families with young kids.
That’s fair, I am a product of public school and want my kid to attend them. Just being honest about the pyramid in the part of Annandale I live in (it’s mainly Annandale HS). I do believe all schools in Annandale will slowly improve as folks who get priced out of Arlington/Alexandria come over here. Agreed that the new complex isn’t focused on families but no solution will please everyone. If something can be done to improve “Downtown” Annandale into a more walkable, attractive area, i’m all for it.
Not everyone can live in FC, Ballston, or Arlington. It’s hard to find a place there since it’s so desirable. Why not make our neighborhood desirable as well? I don’t understand the logic against progress and improvement. I would be ecstatic if a mixed-use walkable development were built by me – all the more walkable for me.
Perhaps previous generations of people in Annandale didn’t want the amenities and glitz of Arlington, Old Town, and Mosaic, but most current and newer residents of the area I have talked to long for a modern upgrade of their area, complete with upgraded shopping and mixed use development. They are coming closer and closer already, imminently on our doorstep. Times are a changin’. Thankfully!
Agreed! This is a great development idea and I fully support it moving forward. Hope Annandale continues to push for mixed-use, pedestrian friendly options going forward.
With increased density, more robust & frequent public transportation becomes feasible. As more bike lanes are created that mode of transportation becomes more useful too. Downtown Annandale is getting even more walkable. I just hope there will actually be workforce housing and some affordable units available vs. the developer just paying fines. As newer housing units go up, maybe we’ll able to help upgrade the low-income housing in the area too. Beats homeless people living on the streets.
It’s very simple; tax revenue to keep our taxes from rapidly climbing. High density housing brings in residents who pay taxes visa vi their rent, condo apt or townhouse fees that transfers to the property owner who pays commercial/residential real estate taxes. These would be proportionally higher dollar amounts than if there was a single family home on that parcel.
More revenue means better and sustained services and less pain for the average homeowners’ property taxes.
It’s all about the money!
I wouldn’t mind some upgraded shopping in Annandale, but traffic is already a problem, and denser development (particularly with a big influx of residents) does NOT benefit current residents – it primarily benefits developers. Annandale has certainly evolved in the last 60 years, mostly for the better, but high density would be a detriment to the community.
I like the current Eastgate Shopping Center; although anyone who goes there knows parking is already getting tight.
Pedestrian friendly is a joke. Walking or cycling in that area is literally a deadly proposition. Will it be possible to access parks, or get to a metro, or offices and schools in falls church and Arlington or DC from your mixed use condo? Nope! Your stuck in your gilded cage. Developers and Fairfax County never seem to look at connecting Annandale to any other areas. Why? Also, will there be private security around the new development? There’s already a crime spree centered in Annandale and county police just ignore that area as a rule. What a shame and a half baked mess. Pretty typical of ffx county planning. Oh how about a bookstore? Does anyone read in Annandale or just eat?
There is a Word of Life books in Annandale, near the Goodwill shop.
Totally agree!
I find all the negative comments here so extremely disappointing and disheartening. I don’t understand. Traffic isn’t bad here compared to other areas. What crime spree? I live a mile from east gate. I would love something like this to come to annandale. Bring it up out of the 50s and help turn this blacktop paved pedestrian unfriendly hellscape into a modern friendly community. I love east gate now and I love the parking lot is full. As other people have mentioned, more people means more tax revenue. FCPS does pay attention to needs. We got the fantastic Mason Crest Elementary just for us. I’d like to see all those complaining about FCPS do better managing a billion dollar budget 185K student district struggling to keep all the schools upgraded. Maybe if this gets built, they can do it to annandale shopping center too and we can have a nice actual main street with a strong identity. That whole strip of columbia pike right out of the 50s one story buildings with the parking lot in front. It’s so hideous. Mixed use properties with walkable spaces and parks are so much better.
It is almost funny, but mostly sad, that you think razing shopping centers with thriving, community-serving businesses, simply because they are not shiny and new, and jamming in multiple mixed-use developments would give Annandale “identity.
It sounds like you just fear what you don’t know. We can have all these thriving, community-serving businesses in a venue that is walkable and a true destination with outdoor green space and a place for community. It doesn’t have to be like this. What we have now is urban sprawl, inefficient, and an eye sore.
I agree Mark. I think the negative comments here reflect the fact that the many people who support these new developments are much less likely to expend time and energy to comment than the chronically cranky minority who do not.
Springfield is way over due for a face lift it is a great location and should have a lot more development than McLean and Tyson. Except authorities forgot about the springfield!! Hope these new developments help to start improving the area!
Crime spree in Annandale? Didn’t a person get shot at the BoA ATM last summer? Didn’t two morons brazenly carry a lottery machine out of a 711? Aren’t stores and cars in Annandale regularly getting broken into by PG county and Alexandria and DC school system’s best and brightest drop outs? Legit Business investment in a community starts with a moderate assurance of security. Hence, the BoA in Annandale proper closed after numerous hold ups and shootings over the years. The death last summer had to be the last straw. A mixed use condo island will not stop criminals. Actual law enforcement will.
Before I can make any valid comment, I need to see how the current roads will be changed to handle additional traffic.
I love it! Time to turn Annandale around, the armpit of the inner beltway no more. Yes to mixed-use walkable developments! Let’s make Annandale the next Falls Church City.
To be clear, apartments or condos? These seem to be used unterchangeably and that is not the case. Also, is there a plan to make any or all of these 8A/Low Income? Just curious. On the fence about the whole thing at this point. The Chick Fillet looks better than the previous run down buildings which is good, but still. Looking forward to more details.
I pray this will be a great addition — I hope for the best. I love Mosaic, pentagon multi-use area, and what is happening in Falls Church — please, please let that happen here and not have it turned into some dinky little extension of the stores that are there — do it all at one time instead of the little piddly things that are going on. Annandale is an embarrassment. I have lived here all my life and I remember my father saying that Annandale was an ugly little town. It has not changed much and quite frankly those that don’t want it to change are keeping it ugly. We need the updates. It’s pathetic.