Redevelopment under consideration for Route 50 shopping center
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| Graham Park Plaza |
Federal Realty Investment Trust, the owner of Graham Park Plaza, the shopping center on Route 50 formerly known as Loehmann’s Plaza, is
considering redevelopment options, including a mixed-use building with
multifamily housing on the upper floors and retail on the ground floor.
considering redevelopment options, including a mixed-use building with
multifamily housing on the upper floors and retail on the ground floor.
The company has asked Mason Supervisor Penny Gross’s office
to solicit feedback from local residents about what type of retail they would
like to see there and what benefits and concerns they might expect with new
construction.
According to one community leader, the company is thinking about adding
apartments or condos to the western part of the shopping center, where LA Fitness and Loehmann’s Plaza Cinema, which specializes in Bollywood movies, are located.
No formal proposal has been drafted. “At this time, Federal
Realty is in the early stages of evaluating and exploring options to enhance
Graham Park Plaza and working closely with Supervisor Gross, the community, and
county staff,” said Sarah North, senior marketing manager with Federal Realty.
“While there are no firm plans in place at this time, we are committed to
working through this process as we did with the integration of Giant Foods with the
community.”
Realty is in the early stages of evaluating and exploring options to enhance
Graham Park Plaza and working closely with Supervisor Gross, the community, and
county staff,” said Sarah North, senior marketing manager with Federal Realty.
“While there are no firm plans in place at this time, we are committed to
working through this process as we did with the integration of Giant Foods with the
community.”
“Options are being evaluated as input is gathered from
county officials and community members,” North said. “We look forward to
announcing definitive plans in the upcoming months on the revitalization of
Graham Park Plaza.”
county officials and community members,” North said. “We look forward to
announcing definitive plans in the upcoming months on the revitalization of
Graham Park Plaza.”
Hope they keep the bollywood movie theater!
Didn't they just do a reno when the Giant went in?
Very happy with the Stein Mart there!
I agree with 9:05 – hope the movie theater stays!
Be prepared for bait-and-switch. While Penny Gross and the developers may dangle visions of high-end retail, they will say that they must build hundreds or thousands of apartments first to make the project "viable." In reality, the public will never be able to dictate or control who leases space there. Probably end up with more Title Loan places… No more residential re-zonings should be permitted until we address school overcrowding and traffic congestion.
I am not familiar with any Title Loan places going into new mixed use projects. As for hundreds of apartments, given how high rents are, why is that a bad thing?
"1/27/15 1:33" Your logic is amusing.
"No more residential re-zonings should be permitted until we address school overcrowding and traffic congestion."
So where do you think the BOS is going to obtain the additional funding needed to address school overcrowding and traffic congestion if no residential rezonings are allowed?
Don't tell me, let me guess.
You believe government is inherently wasteful, but somehow Fairfax County Government is going to magically become super efficient and come up with a ton of money (without massively increasing taxes on its current residents) to support an army of code enforcers to clean out all the multi-families living in studio apartments, and as a result Mason District's schools and traffic will no longer be overcrowded and congested, but underutilized.
On second thought, your logic is more delusional than amusing.
According to today's blog, the Mason District Land Use Committee recognized some of the same concerns shared by the poster at 1:33 am and did not endorse a developer's plan to rezone an office building on Columbia Pike for residential use citing concerns for school overcrowding.
It is really a wonder that Falls Church High School is so under capacity, what with all of the multi-family housing surrounding it. Kingsley Commons, Monticello Gardens, etc. Maybe this will spur the school to be more at capacity, and to not slip further into being the black hole of degradation of the county!
^^^i agree….and the bollywood movie theater needs to go!! the LA fitness is really crappy on the inside. However as with most new construction in this area, the residents of any new apartments will be young professionals and childless couples. The residents in the surrounding complexing will probably not be able to afford anything built there
Do we really need more apartments along Rt. 50? As 9:29 pointed out, there are already two large complexes right there at the shopping center. Anyone looking to move to the area will likely spend a little more to live closer to the Mosaic District and the Dunn Loring Metro.
According to some commenters seen around, we should just be so happy and grateful that developers want to even glance in the direction of the Mason district! We should be so lucky that they want to build RSUs and other multi-family housing on every tract that they can suss out!
No more Apts or condos please; I agree that schools and traffic can't handle the growth. I would like a Trader Joe's and a Costco.
Would love to have Trader Joe's there but it will increase traffic around the shopping center. I do not think that residential buildings should go there – again, parking and congestion.
Interesting I just noticed that la fitness closed down. They opened a new advance auto parts in the hmart shopping center even tho there is on at graham park. Wonder if the wheels have begun to turn.