Extension Granted To Delayed Part Of Falls Church Mixed-Use Development

FALLS CHURCH, VA — With the developer of the senior living portion of a new Falls Church development backing out, that part of the project will be delayed.

On Monday, Falls Church City Council approved an extension to the senior living construction at West Falls, the mixed-use development being constructed around Route 7 and Haycock Road.

Under an agreement with the city, the West Falls developer had a deadline of June 13, 2023, to transfer the senior living site to a senior living developer. But because Trammell Crow has stepped away from the senior living part of the project, the developer requested an extension.

According to Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester, the developer is currently negotiating with other possible senior living developers. The developer could return to City Council by the end of September to identify the senior living developer and operator.

"With the new Senior Living developer and operator there may need to be changes to the [special exception plan], the site plan, everything that's already been approved," said Mester. "That would trigger some time to go through that land use approval process and then of course building permits, permitting and so forth."

The extension move the substantial completion deadline for senior living construction from the current May 13, 2029 to July 15, 2031. The final deadline for construction also moves from May 13, 2030 to July 15, 2032.

Under the approved plan for the senior living, it will have up to 217 units, including 22 memory care studio units, 55 assisted living units, 140 independent living units and ground floor retail.

The senior living is now being targeted as a phase 1b for the project. Phase 1a involves buildings currently under construction: a condo building, hotel, two parking garages, and apartment building.

"Hopefully after we hear the name of the [senior living] operator this September, you guys will move in due course and actually start construction well before July 15, 2029," Vice Mayor Letty Hardi told the developer at Monday's meeting. "And obviously substantial completion, hopefully 2031 is really an outside date."

The approximately 217 units of senior living will be part of the West Falls project. Other components include 400 apartments, about 247 condominiums, a hotel, medical offices, retail, new streets, parking garages and a public green space.

According to Mary Beth Avedesian, a senior vice president for Hoffman & Associates managing the project, the medical office building is expected to be completed around the end of 2023, and parking garage that's close to the secondary school campus will be finished this summer. The hotel is targeted to be "substantially complete" by the end of 2023. The condominium and apartment buildings could be complete around fall 2024.

There is no word yet on a grocery tenant for the development, as the developer is seeking a new tenant, according to Avedesian.

A separate, connecting development is being planned next to the West Falls development on the West Falls Church Metro property in Fairfax County. That development still needs to secure final approvals in Fairfax County before construction could begin.

As part of the extension, the developer agreed to install a temporary flashing pedestrian signal at Mustang Alley & Haycock Street before the new school year begins, bring the new senior living developer and operator to City Council by Sept. 30, pay $5,000 in city legal fees and provide a decorative cover of the parking garage facing Haycock Road on or before phase 1a of the project is "substantially complete" around January 2025.

Mayor David Tarter pressed for a solution to cover the concrete wall sooner, because "that seems like a really long time to have a really ugly blank wall." The mayor pressed the developer to consider solutions like decorative lighting, painting the wall, or hanging a banner.