West Falls Church Developments Secure New Approvals

FALLS CHURCH, VA — New approvals have been secured for planned developments in the West Falls Church area near the Metro station and newly constructed Meridian High School.

Separate developments are being planned in the City of Falls Church and Fairfax County. The city development will be a nearly 10-acre project on the old high school site with retail, office, hotel, civic space, senior housing and a mix of condo and rental multifamily housing. In Fairfax County, an adjoining development is envisioned on the Virginia Tech and West Falls Church Metro Station sites.

City Development

The future city development known as West Falls has been years in the making. A team of developers known as Falls Church Gateway Partners was chosen in 2018 to redevelop the old high school site once construction of the new school was finished. Revenue from the private development will partially fund the high school construction costs, also supported by a $120 million bond approved by voters in 2017.

The latest update for the West Falls project was Falls Church City Council's special exception site plan approval on Monday for phase one of the project. Falls Church Gateway Partners indicated construction is expected to begin in 2022.

City Council also established a Community Development Authority that will infrastructure bonds and impose a special assessment on the site to cover debt service for the bonds. The authority is expected to issue $13 million in infrastructure bonds to pay for certain roads, stormwater facilities, and other public improvements on the site, as well as impose a special assessment of 15 cents on the real estate tax rate on the West Falls property.

Fairfax County Redevelopment Site

The Fairfax County site targeted for redevelopment involves 32 acres of land on part of the West Falls Church Metro Station site and the Virginia Tech site connecting to the future city development. PN Hoffman and EYA, LLC, who are part of the Falls Church Gateway Partners for the city development, teamed up with Rushmark Properties for the county redevelopment. Potential residential, office and retail uses are envisioned for the sites.

Metro, Fairfax County, and the developers have been working for years to amend the comprehensive plan recommendations for the West Falls Church Metro site. In July, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a comprehensive plan amendment that is the first step in redevelopment. For redevelopment to occur, the site will need to go through a rezoning process, followed by a site plan for the redevelopment. Under the current timeline, construction would begin in 2023.

The latest update is Metro announcing a joint development agreement with the development team to redevelop the West Falls Church Metro site. Redevelopment on the Metro station site would happen in underutilized parking spaces. The current parking garage at the Metro station will stay.

"The execution of the JDA and vote by the Board of Supervisors are critical next steps in enabling the transformation of the West Falls Church Metro parking lots into a walkable, bikeable, and welcoming neighborhood," said Evan Goldman, executive vice president of acquisition and Development at EYA. "There is an evident need to create a pedestrian friendly development and optimize the West Falls Church Metro Station, and our team of developers look forward to making this happen."

The development team will work through Fairfax County's rezoning process over the next year. The rezoning application will include detailed plans for redeveloping Metro’s parking lots with apartments, townhomes, neighborhood retail, and public green spaces. The developers seek to not only boost ridership at the West Falls Church Metro, but also relieve congestion in the area of Leesburg Pike and Haycock Road through new bike lanes, sidewalks, public park spaces and grid of streets connecting to the city development. A pedestrian center on the site would accommodate buses, kiss and ride, and park and ride users.

Metro also plans to hold a public hearing on changes to commuter parking and bus facilities later in 2021.