Supervisors approve office-to-residential conversion in Annandale

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 29 unanimously approved a rezoning application from Nicholas Development to permit the conversion of an office building in Annandale to multifamily housing.

The board action rezones a six-story building at 7620 Little River Turnpike from C-6 (office) to PDC (planned residential mixed use).

The Wells Fargo Bank will remain on the ground floor, and 39 residential units will be developed on the upper floors.

The existing building’s footprint and shell will remain. According to a staff report, the building is only 8 percent occupied.

Nicholas Development is planning to improve the site with 9,546 square feet of urban park area and 16,768 square feet of standard open space. The urban park will feature “an experience plaza with a fountain, café court, and coffee cart concept.”

The nine-story office building owned by Nicholas at 7630 Little River Turnpike will remain. That building houses the Joongmi Banjum restaurant and GolfPark on the first floor.  

Nicholas is seeking tenants for a two-story “industrial flex” building on the property, which is being repurposed for retail use under a by-right building permit.

The site is currently accessed from three points along Little River Turnpike. Nicholas proposes removing the westernmost entrance and retaining the other two. Some parking spaces would be replaced by an upgraded streetscape and landscaping.

The office building conversion approved by the Board of Supervisors is a scaled-down version – or possibly the first phase – of a much larger mixed-use redevelopment project proposed by Nicholas in 2020 that was strongly opposed by nearby residents.