Old Lee Highway theater demolished, clearing the way for Merrifield redevelopment
I’ve spent many a date night at the Lee Highway Multiplex in Merrifield, and it was a little sad to the see the building demolished. The site has been cleared to make way for the new Mosaic District, the $450 million redevelopment project to create a new Merrifield Town Center in the area between Gallows Road and Lee Highway. The Mosaic District, scheduled to open in the fall of 2012 will have an eight-screen Angelika movie theater; Target, Mom’s Organic Market, a branch of the D.C.-based Matchbox pizza bistro, and much more.
The first phase of the project call for 400,000 square feet of retail space; a 150-room “boutique” hotel; 60,000 square feet of office space; 14 urban town homes; two acres of “pocket parks” and open space for public performances; a parking deck (with free parking); restaurants with outdoor dining; a new pedestrian-friendly District Avenue; and a network of sidewalks. Eventually, the project will have 1,000 residential units. And there will be a shuttle bus to the Dunn-Loring Metro Station.
The project has an environmentally sustainable design with rooftop landscaping. At least some of the materials from the old movie theater will be recycled or repurposed, says a spokesperson from the developer, Edens and Avant. The concrete from the walls will be ground into small pellets and will be used in the foundation of new structures, for example. The videos below show the demolition of the old movie theater and the planned redevelopment.
6 responses to “Old Lee Highway theater demolished, clearing the way for Merrifield redevelopment”
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I too had a number of movie nights there and while it was sad to see it go, the place was in need of a serious update. That said, traffic at and around the 50/Gallows and Lee/Gallows intersections is, to put it mildly, horrific. I like a number of the ideas (being close to metro, the choices of stores/restaurants as well as the free parking) but I question how the roads are going to support the (assumed) increase in traffic.
To Dave L: Well, they are updating the roads, too. Also, there will be on- and off-ramps for I495 at Lee Highway, which will lighten the load on Gallows.
To Annandale VA: Last week we drove in on Strawberry Lane to go to Panera, and when I saw the entire edifice of the old movie theater torn down, I was seriously shocked, even though I knew it would eventually happened. SO strange to see such a broad panorama right there!
Now I can't imagine how big the new building will be, or if it will be one gigantic place, or a few buildings. Also, at one point, I had heard there might be a Costco in there, but I could never confirm that, so I assume it isn't so. Too bad, that would have been nice.
I just found this blog today, and very happy to do so. Thank you to the author. But one question: why not include your name on your blog?
It's there. Select "view my complete profile."
So far I've read the following retail will be at the mosaic district:
Target
Angelika Theatre
Matchbox
Black Restaurant
MOM
Any others?
To Shulamit: Has the money come through for the road improvments – last I heard it hadn't. And it is my understanding that the Lee Highway 495 access is via the hotlanes only. It's not just Gallows…it is the whole area. The Gallows/Lee intersection is one of the worst/busiest in NoVa. Without major road improvements, this will be bad. I hope you are correct about the roads…
It seems repurposing the concrete are the least of my concerns.