Eight redevelopment projects proposed for Mason District
Developers have submitted nominations to amend the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan to allow new multifamily housing, infill housing, and retail projects in Mason District.
The proposals were submitted as part of the newly revised Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process.
The Board of Supervisors approved changes in the SSPA in July that sped up the timeline for reviewing projects and gave the board more flexibility in determining which proposals should go forward.
Community meetings on the plan amendment nominations are expected to take place in January. After that, they will be subject to public hearings by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.
Of the 75 proposals submitted to the Department of Planning and Development during the 2022-23 nomination process in October, eight would be in Mason District.
Related story: Supervisors streamline the development review process
Projects are proposed for these locations in Mason District:
- 6675 Little River Turnpike, 4605 Columbia Road, and 4600 and 4604 Randolph Road, Annandale – The landowner, 6675 Little River Turnpike LLC, is proposing having the properties rezoned from office and retail uses to mixed-use. The nomination calls for 105 multifamily housing units on top of 18,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and structured parking. The development would replace a computer repair shop and single-family houses.
- 6129 Leesburg Pike, Seven Corners – New multifamily housing is proposed for underutilized land and surface parking at Munson Hill Towers. The property would remain residential but the density would be increased to up to 30 dwelling units per acre. The nominators are 6129 Leesburg Pike LLC, Michelle Rosati, and Holland & Knight LLP.
- 6500 block of Church Street in Bailey’s Crossroads, at the rear of the Bailey’s Crossroads Shopping Center and the retail strip with Pollo Campero on Columbia Pike – The owner of the shopping center requests increased density to allow several development options, including a four-story multifamily building with 75 units, 28 townhomes, or 8,000 to 10,000 square feet of retail.
- 6200 Wilson Blvd., Seven Corners – The proposal calls for an additional 300 multifamily units and 5,000 to 20,000 square feet of retail in a seven-story building and a structured parking garage at the Cavalier Club apartments.
The project was nominated by Cavalier Club LLC and EYA Development LLC.
- 7320, 7312, 7308, 7306, 7304, and 7324 Braddock Road; 7351 and 7355 Shenandoah Ave.; and 5105 and 5109 Blue Ridge Ave. near Wilburdale Park in Annandale – The landowners, Braddock Homes LLC, Tamrat Mamo, and Eyob Mamo, propose rezoning 10 properties from R-1 (one dwelling per acre) to allow four or five houses per acre.
- 3402, 3404, 3406, 3408 Gallows Road and 7816, 7818, and 7820 Libeau Lane in Annandale across from Woodburn Elementary School – Madison Homes LLC is seeking a rezoning to permit 20 single-family homes. The company’s affiliate, Madison Acquisitions LLC, acquired seven parcels on 5 acres. The land is currently zoned R-2, and the proposal calls for rezoning to permit three or four dwellings per acre. Three homes on Libeau Lane would be demolished.
- 6320 and 6326 Arlington Blvd. in Seven Corners – Eakin Properties proposes a mixed-use development on 3.15 acres occupied by a Grand Mart and Pistone’s Italian Restaurant. The project would replace those businesses with an eight-story, 450-unit multifamily building with retail.
- 6500 Little River Turnpike, Lincolnia – NRP Properties LLC proposes a mid-rise multifamily building with 360 units and structured parking near Green Spring Gardens.
Mixed-use multi family is welcome in Little River. But if they approve it, they better also approve pedestrian and bicycle improvements leading to Barcroft Plaza and Pinecrest Plaza. We need to provide safety to our community.
I wouldn’t welcome it. We have traffic problems as it is on Little River Turnpike and it’s difficult to walk and even drive in the area between the library and Pinecrest. Adding a multistory building with 105 housing units plus retail and a parking garage there will destroy the lower density feel of that area.
You may not welcome it, but at some point LRT will see redevelopment ala Columbia Pike in Arlington…I just hope they powers that be add better accommodations for pedestrians/bicyclists on LRT and add features that slow drivers speeding…and the yellow ped crossing signs are not it.
Turning up your nose at progress to try to stay in the past will only mean you have less control of what the future looks like. This area is going to change, it’s up to us to influence what that looks like. Ensuring safety, walkability, and community green spaces for developments that are bound to happen is the best way to positively impact the inevitable tides of change.
Would it be too hard for articles about developments like this to include a map showing the properties?
Multi multi family. Time to sell my property. I wish you all sincere luck.
I don’t know whether the nominator of grandmart/pistone’s missed the memo that one of those parcels is in line to be used for the ring road or if they otherwise are deliberately doing this to raise their valuation in preparation for that occurrence, but i’d hope the county does NOT allow that proposal to go through.
Note… not a NIMBY for most of these proposals… but that particular one seems more like a $ grab than an honest development proposal.
The proposal for theoretically a new tower on vacant land Munson Hill Towers, for instance seems something that would be consistent with other uses in the area, but as we have recently seen with the nearby proposal in the last iteration of the SSPA, that area’s storm water management is over-taxed, so they would need to be held to the absolute strictest of standards.
Also, the county and school system needs to get ON working to handle the additional capacity. Transit on Rt 7 is always 10-15 years away, and despite my consistent urging, FCPS CAP still does not anticipate this kind of development, so we will be dealing with incredibly over-crowded schools in a matter of years and yet another crisis.
Ring Road current proposal begins from the 50 Access Roads by building new bridge adjacent to existing bridge. The Ring Road is not proposed to access either Hillwood Street or Broad Street due to city of Falls Church opposition. The redevelopment of the Pistons/Grandmart with multi-family residential is questionable given the location but it sure beats the exiting uses and could facilitate the implementation of the Ring Road. The land use and zoning changes could be the impetus for these needed infrastructure improvements to occur.
I missed that the ring road now ends at Rt 50. That’s apparently new as of this month (i had to miss the phasing update meeting due to other commitments).
Development hasn’t even begun and already the plans for improving public infrastructure put in place years ago are being scaled back.
What. a. joke.
Can you imagine the number of additional daily vehicle trips generated by 450 units with no transit options in safe walking distance? Rental/condo owners and their family vehicles, contractors, delivery trucks, and visitors going in and out of one of the worst traffic intersections in Fairfax County ? There is no justification or logic for this one without supporting revamped infrastructure and transit.
I say they pass the proposal under the condition that the area plan for and cooperate with ring road efforts.
When are we ever going to see those vacant lots on Columbia Pike and Moncure Ave developed? Has Mason scared all the developers away. This is prime real estate that has been vacant for decades.
How will all these projects impact the environment? Can we mandate some eco-friendly features? Will existing infrastructure/utilities support it? Will there be sufficient demand by the time these projects are finished?
Goodness gracious, with these questions about the environment. Try a new hobby like crossword puzzles or staring at the grass. Those would be much more productive.
Seriously? No concern about the environment? Do you ever spend any time in any green space? Do you know even one thing about nature?
I’m with you! This expression ‘underutilized lane’ 🙄 While many places are wisely preserving and creating open, green spaces, Mason District seems to be headed deeper into soulless suburbia.
I bought here because it wasn’t ridiculously overcrowded. Over the last ten years I’ve seen far too much green turn to gray.
If we want to preserve the desirability of living here, we need to slow down.
Heck no to slowing down! Annandale is the slowest and most outdated portion of Virginia inside the Beltway. Old school NIMBYS enamored with the bucolic past and outdated suburban life have stymied the area. We finally have proposals to jettison the area into the 21st century with progressive mixed use development and modernity, and I will do all I can to support it!
The old ladies are the problem!
Totally agree! Annandale is famous for being not so great. Why not improve it? NIMBYs are still opposing redeveloping the strip mall at Rose Hill even though the development calls for a green community space, which it currently doesn’t have. Crying “nature” is a red herring, the new proposals often have more green space or community space than anything we currently have. These people are just against any and all change, even if it’s change for the better. When it comes to downtown Annandable, most change is for the better.
Penny Gross will dissuade each and every developer, if history is any indicator of future performance.
You are right on the money VDizzle. PG is Masons obstacle for a better future.
And that’s why I keep voting for her! Thank you, Supervisor Gross!
I appreciate the zoning that creates more green (for example R-2), and that is a large reason I bought in Mason District. Adding 100+ residential / mixed use on LRT at 6675 is destructive. It gives developers a pass as they crush others with traffic and parking challenges (look at old Columbia Pike near the apartments in The Pinecrest). Moreover, the light retail already there fits the immediate neighborhood. The size proposed would be better either in Annandale proper or Linconia near 395.
I don’t expect any Fairfax county elected or gov’t worker (aka zoning folks) to oppose this nor do I expect it to be stopped. Also, this is not going to fill in like Arlington’s top of the pike – they have more options for road traffic. This is just going to be bad. Keep the bigger and more green space & Mason can and will thrive as those areas are disappearing.
It’s good to see our “urban suburb” going toward greater density with these multifamily projects. But when will our civic leadership take action to provide ways for the new residents to travel? Our roads are overcrowded, pedestrians are being killed & maimed by speeding autos, and mass transit is woefully inadequate. For quality of life, we need green spaces, safe routes for pedestrians and bicycles, and much better bus service, since Mason District has no direct access to Metrorail.
We moved away from the Bailey’s Crossroads/Culmore/LakeBarcroft area in June. We’re both in our 60s and getting around NoVA had become such a hassle that we even short trips to the store could be an ordeal. We’re in a smaller city now, and it’s nice – we have all the creature comfort options available to us (BJs Wholesale, Kroger, Whole Foods, Target, etc), but nothing is more than 10 – 15 minutes away. I loved the northern Virginia area and lived there for over 25 years, but it’s too crowded and the traffic is awful.
I’m all for revitalizing the entire area. There is an enormous amount of urban blight. Mason District is way behind Arlington in making the area livable and attractive. That being said, safe access ways for pedestrians and cyclists are imperative. With just that improvement, the entire area would benefit. We don’t need a gazillion cars jamming roads, creating pollution, and injuring (and in some cases killing) people because drivers forget to follow traffic laws and don’t pay attention. Arlington seems to get this. Mason District needs to step up its game.
Traffic , Traffic …
This is northern Virginia , not even Mohamed Ali could punch this traffic out .
This is something that we will always have to deal with .. regarles if 20 or 400 new homes .
All the best places in the region are walkable and mixed use. Ballston, Clarendon, Old Town, Del Rey, Leesburg, etc. This area will NEVER have light traffic again. It will never get less dense. We need to plan for how density can be comfortable and enjoyable, and the best way to do that is to created mixed-use developments so that the number of places people can walk increases and the distance between someone’s home and a useful store decreases. 15 minute villages for the win!
Whatever happened to the Lincolnia development. I didn’t see it mentioned after or the SSPA? I’d like to see a link to the presentation or further information
Nothing happened. Don’t know if the property owner is following up.
If you do get see an update please share. Where did you here about this initially?