346 New Housing Units Proposed By Developer For NorthFax Parking Lots

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Capital City Real Estate is scheduled to present a concept proposal at the Fairfax City Council's Tuesday night meeting that seeks to replace two surface parking lots in the WillowWood Plaza office center with a total of 346 residential units.

Currently, WillowWood Plaza, which is located off of Eaton Place near Fairfax Boulevard, consists of four five-story office buildings with two different owners, WillowWood Office Owner LLC and WillowWood Property, LLC.

Under Capital City's proposal, all four office buildings would remain, but the adjacent parking lots, which cover a combined 8.99 acres, would be redeveloped for residential use with some retail space included.

If approved without any changes, the project would be built in two phases. In the first phase, the parking lot at 10306 Eaton Place would be replaced with a seven-story residential building with 282 multifamily units and 2,100 square feet of ground floor retail. In addition, a structured garage with 644 parking spaces would be built to serve the residents and adjacent office buildings.

In the second phase, 64 multifamily units would be built on the parking lot at 10300 Eaton Place, which is near the Fairfax Boulevard intersection. Each unit would be four-stories tall and include two parking spaces. To replace the existing office parking, the developer would build a new five-story, 375-space parking garage.

Capital City would also add green space throughout the development, as well as inter parcel connections, according to its proposal.

Tuesday night's presentation is a concept proposal and does not include a public hearing. Instead, council members will be able to provide Capital City with feedback, before the developer makes its final proposal the city.

If the plan were to move forward as is, Capital City would need the city's approval on a number issues. Currently, the land is zoned commercial retail in the architectural overlay district. The developer would need to request a zoning change to commercial urban or some other classification.

Capital City would also need approval for a special use permit to allow it to build a multi-family and/or upper-story residential mixed-use development.

In addition to applying for a major certificate of appropriateness from the city, the developer would need various special exemptions regarding building height, density, and front-yard setback, among others, according to the city staff report.

When it comes residential development with ground floor retail and an on-site parking garage, the proposal is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the Northfax Small Area Plan, according to initial feedback from city staff.

Capital City will need to submit a Transportation Impact Study and provide a Transportation Demand Management plan. These would need to take into account planned changes to the Chain Bridge Road/Eaton Place intersection, as well the opening of the I-66 HOT lanes later this year.

Also, Capital City does not mention affordable housing in its draft proposal. Whatever plan the developer submits to the city it will be subject to the city's Affordable Dwelling Unit Ordinance, according to city staff. The ordinance requires that 6 percent of the units in any new multifamily development in the city must be dedicated to affordable housing.