BLOG: Marriott and the Boulevard Master Plan

The new Marriott Residence Inn on Route 123 may look like just one of the many extended stay hotels popping up all over the place, but for Fairfax City it is more than that. It is the first piece to the massive puzzle that is the Fairfax Boulevard Master Plan. 

Though the plan isn’t officially adopted, and isn’t even fully worked out yet, several projects have come forward claiming to be a part of the vision of the plan since its inception in 2007.  So far, the Marriot is the only one to make it through the political and economic barriers to become a reality, and it did so with relative ease.

Marriott initially proposed a more suburban style site plan with the building centered on the old VDOT site with parking wrapping around all sides. The planning commission responded negatively and directed them to Fairfax Boulevard. Two revisions later they had a general site plan that the city was happy with because it followed the guidelines of the master plan and allowed any potential neighboring redevelopment to do the same. 

Some of the aspects of the master plan incorporated by Marriott:

1. Five story height limit (already in the city code)
2. Building setback from Route 123.
3. Parking aisle in front of building has appropriate width to be converted into a service road with parallel parking on both sides (part of the “5+2” lane configuration of the master plan).
4. Building position allows for a future street through the back half of the property.
5. Building oriented toward a potential future street along the south edge of the property.

The attached map shows the sketch road plan taken from the Fairfax Boulevard Master Plan overlayed with a Google image showing the hotel when it was under construction last August. Although the street network shown here was just a preliminary sketch, it was all the developer had to go on and it defined the footprint of the building. 

It doesn't look out of the ordinary on it's own. But if additional redevelopment on surrounding properties follows similar principles, the result could be a more urban- and pedestrian-oriented environment for the Northfax area.  

This project was a success because the city was quick to clarify their vision at the beginning of the approval process and the developer was willing to respond.