Fairfax City Council Approves The IDI Group's Redevelopment Plan

Fairfax, Va. – The IDI Group Companies of Arlington, Va. have received approval from the city of Fairfax to redevelop the 18.5-acre property currently occupied by Pope Paul VI High School along Fairfax Boulevard. The mixed-use plan preserves and adapts the original 1934 portion of the school building into destination retail and includes 115 townhomes, 144 condominium homes, seven single-family homes and 44,000 square feet of commercial and community space.

“We’re very excited about the opportunity to bring our vision to this important and historic piece of land,” said Enrico Cecchi, managing director of The IDI Group Companies. “We understand the significance this land has long had for the community, and we know we’re privileged to be the ones to bring about its next iteration of vibrance and importance,” he continued. Paul VI will move to Loudoun County after the 2020 school year, and the historic school building, originally built in 1935, will be a focal point of IDI’s new development, which is yet to be named.

The new community’s retail space will be clustered along Fairfax Boulevard with the 24,000-square-foot school as the focus, flanked by two 10,000 square foot buildings to be built perpendicular to the school, forming a horseshoe around greenspace. Residential offerings will include one four-story condominium buildings with one- to three-bedroom homes, as well as three-and four-story townhomes, 15 of which will be live/work units with ground floor commercial along Fairfax.

The school originally opened as Fairfax County High School in 1935, and at that time, was the largest high school and first consolidated school in Fairfax County. In 1972, it was bought by George Mason University and served as the university’s North Campus until July

1983, when it was sold to the Catholic Diocese of Arlington; Pope Paul VI Catholic High School opened that fall. In 2002, the school began construction on the two-story Panther Activity Center, which contains a gymnasium, computer lab, weight rooms, offices, and team rooms. Despite the addition, continued school growth and site restrictions led the Diocese of Arlington to seek and ultimately acquire a new 68-acre campus in Loudoun County slated to open in fall 2020.

About The IDI Group Companies

Since 1975, IDI has been recognized as the premier developer of condominiums in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The IDI portfolio includes more than 14,000 multifamily homes in 28 different communities. IDI’s current Northern Virginia communities include: The Enclave condominium in the city of Fairfax and Rivergate North, luxury riverfront apartments in Woodbridge. Also in various stages of development are: the Watermark, 18 exclusive townhomes plus retail in Old Town Alexandria; a second Rivergate building; and the redevelopment of Huntington Club into a significant, transit-oriented mixed use development next to Huntington Metro in Alexandria. IDI and its communities have earned dozens of industry awards for design, construction, management, communications and customer satisfaction, including J.D. Power & Associates’ highest customer satisfaction award. More about IDI can be found at idigroup.com.