A new townhome neighborhood might be coming soon to a property just blocks from Reston Town Center and its upcoming Metro station. Wheelock Street Capital, known infamously for its flagging efforts to redevelop Reston’s Hidden Creek Country Club, is asking Fairfax County to rezone a neighboring property to allow 90 urban-style townhomes.
In an application submitted late last year, Wheelock proposes to change the property that is currently home to a nine-story Fannie Mae office, and zoned for two additional suburban office buildings, to instead allow residential development. If approved, the existing 1990s-built office building would remain. Currently, the undeveloped portions of the property contain private green space and stormwater management ponds. Public use of the property is not currently permitted, but will be encouraged if the homes are built.
Map Image Credit: Commonwealth of Virginia, Maxar Technologies, U.S. Geological Survey, USDA Farm Service Agency, Google LLC
Wheelock will commit to provide public parking for the outdoor amenities, as well as connections to Sunset Hills Road and the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. Nearly half of the property would remain as open space under the proposed plan. In particular, the large ponds will not be removed as part of this development.
These townhomes, if built, should be highly desirable. Discounting the onsite water and open green space amenities, this property represents one of the last undeveloped areas within walking distance of the future Reston Town Center Metro station, as well as Plaza America, Reston Town Center itself, and Reston Station. As Reston continues to urbanize around the Silver Line, single family homes should become increasingly rare within walking distance of its Metro stations, and homes centrally located even more so.
The County Planning Commission will consider the application in September, after which it would need to be accepted by the Board of Supervisors. Whether the rezoning is approved or not, Wheelock would retain the right to develop the office buildings that the 29-acre property is currently zoned to allow.
As for the fate of the current office building, Fannie Mae plans to continue its lease through 2022, at which point the company will move its Northern Virginia operations to Reston Town Center’s latest phase. If Wheelock is lucky, the office market will have recovered somewhat by then. Otherwise, that lease may prove difficult to replace.