The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recently approved two redevelopment/rezoning proposals shepherded by Art Walsh and planner Elizabeth Baker.
Westpark Plaza
In November, the Board approved an application by the Dittmar Company to rezone the site of the former Westpark Hotel, at the corner of Route 7 and Westpark Drive, from C-7 (Regional Retail District) to PTC (Planned Tysons Corner Urban District). The site is located just over ⅛ mile from the newly opened Greensboro Metro Station. Known as Westpark Plaza, the project will include residential, hotel, and retail/service uses with a maximum gross floor area of nearly 1.5 million square feet. A hotel with up to 300 rooms and two high-rise residential towers with 1,300 multi-family rental units will sit atop a parking podium lined with ground floor retail/service uses fronting on Route 7. Reaching a height of 330 feet, the residential towers, designed by MTFA Architecture, Inc., will have a dramatic effect on the Tysons skyline.
Westpark Plaza will include a large neighborhood park in the center of the block providing a variety of active and passive park spaces for the project’s residents and the wider community. An open play lawn will accommodate pick-up games while sport courts, playground, and passive recreational areas will provide for a variety of activities. A Final Development Plan for the first tower, with 610 dwelling units and interim park space, was also approved by the Planning Commission in October.
7915 Jones Branch Drive
A joint venture between PS Business Parks and Kettler sought and won Board approval for rezoning a 5.7-acre parcel in the West*Park Office Park from C-3 (Commercial Office District) to PTC (Planned Tysons Corner Urban District). An existing six-story office building, consisting of 135,296 square feet of gross floor area, and associated surface parking will be redeveloped with a 450,000-square-foot residential building including up to 400 multi-family dwelling units. Optional retail/service uses are permitted on the ground floor. Designed by Design Collaborative, Inc., this mid-rise building, located approximately ½ mile from the Tysons Metro Station, offers an alternative to the high-rise offerings being constructed closer to the transit stations.
The development of 7915 Jones Branch Drive will be the first phase of a redevelopment of the surrounding area into a new residential community with services and parks. The approval provides for three new streets that can be extended when adjacent properties choose to redevelop. A 1.4-acre park area will be constructed with the building and is the beginning of a much larger signature recreational park planned to be completed during potential future phases. A site plan was recently submitted to Fairfax County.