Following years of effort by Lynne Strobel and Bill Keefe on behalf of Lake Anne Development Partners LLC, a redevelopment proposal for the historic Lake Anne Village Center and Crescent Apartments was approved. Upon completion, a diversity of housing types and retail and commercial uses connected by well-designed outdoor spaces and trails will result in a community where residents can live, work, play, and shop consistent with Robert E. Simon’s original vision.
The existing 181 multi-family affordable rental units that currently comprise Crescent Apartments will be replaced with up to 185 affordable rental units in the first phase of development. 732 market-rate multi-family units, 120 townhomes, 77,960 square feet of office use, and 58,213 square feet of retail use were also approved.
The Crescent Trail, a new, 10-foot-wide multi-use trail, will link the new residential and commercial areas to Washington Plaza and Lake Anne. Starting at the northeast portion of the trail, pedestrians and cyclists will pass by a series of open spaces and rain gardens that terrace down to North Shore Drive. From that point, visitors and residents will arrive at an amphitheater on the western side of North Shore Drive that transitions into the retail plaza. The plaza will contain a variety of shops and restaurants and will host, among other community activities, an existing, successful farmers’ market.
The redevelopment approvals were associated with a comprehensive agreement between the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and Lake Anne Development Partners LLC. Tom Colucci negotiated the agreement with the Office of Community Revitalization and other Fairfax County representatives to create a public/private partnership addressing the financial and transactional aspects of the redevelopment proposal.
