Townhouses, not mixed-use development, planned for Graham Park Plaza
Federal Realty Investment Trust has dropped plans to transform Graham Park Plaza into a mixed-use development with apartments and ground-floor retail, according to news reports.
Instead, the company is selling 8.3 acres on the western side of the 19-acre site to EYA, which plans to build 175 luxury townhouses there. The shopping center, formerly called Loehmann’s Plaza, is on Arlington Boulevard in the Falls Church area of Mason District.
Federal Realty plans to make improvements to the rest of the shopping center – the area with Giant Food, Advance Auto Parts, Celebrity Delly, and other stores – including façade upgrades and landscaping. The stand-alone gas station, McDonald’s, and PNC Bank will remain intact.
The sale to EYA is contingent on Eya obtaining approval for the townhouse development from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. That process is expected to take about a year.
According to the Washington Business Journal, Federal Realty’s decision to abandon the mixed-use development was all about “the highest economic use of the site,” said Barry Carty, vice president of acquisitions. “This made more sense for the project, and the element of having additional homes and residents, and EYA’s reputation, will enhance the Giant side of the property, as well.”
The Board of Supervisors approved the mixed-use redevelopment at Graham Park Plaza in December 2016. A year later, Federal Realty announced plans to downsize that project.
8 responses to “Townhouses, not mixed-use development, planned for Graham Park Plaza”
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It takes a year to get approval of a basic project? Absolutely unacceptable and ridiculous!
Actually, that's not bad. There are a lot of things that have to be taken into consideration (including the fact that the BOS has plenty of other things to do), and believe me, you SHOULD NOT trust the people who want to barrel ahead.
Of course, we always get townhouses, never anything more special. Soon Mason District will be nothing but a sea of townhouses. Could be worse, I suppose.
I mean, I'd take any development in Mason, any.
The pace is between slow and halting.
Every comment on this blog:
DOEs AnYoNE elsE hATE MAsOn DISTRIct?!?!?
How about some modern, significant mixed-use development with nice, upscale dining and retail?
Well, the land is held by private entities, and if it does not make economic sense to build a mix use development, then the developers won't build it. The government cannot dictate what get built. Also, with the addition of town homes, Graham Park Plaza would become a mixed-use development. Perhaps this would also enable Federal Reality to attract and retain tenants. Still a win for the district.
Let the gentrification begin!
(And yes, very sad this grave-yard feel neighborhood will remain deserted and boring with no mixed-use but more simple-life residential projects.