Developers have withdrawn a handful of nominations in the Mount Vernon District from the Fairfax County 2023 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program.
The plans to redevelop the Moon Inn motel property on Richmond Highway and plans to build townhomes in Gum Springs are both off the drawing board.
The third withdrawn nomination was by The L&F Laurel Hill Highlands, LLC, which included building townhomes on Ox Road in the Lorton area.
While the developers did not give specific reasons for canceling their proposals, interest rates and the increasing cost of building materials are making the math difficult to justify.
The Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program is one of the ways that officials seek out and vet proposals to change land use recommendations in the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan. Changing the land use recommendations or zoning often precedes redevelopment of a property.
The Moon Inn motel property at 6140 Richmond Hwy. could have become residential. The developer was asking to add an option allowing a future developer “to allow multifamily or independent living facility up to 102 units with building heights up to 70 feet.” The facility would have been aimed at seniors in need of affordable housing.
Further down Richmond Highway, in the Gum Springs area, a proposal called for converting multiple properties between Sherwood Hall Lane and Douglas Street on the east side of the highway. “Replanning the property for residential use at 8 to 12 dwelling units per acre." The project would have been near the future Gum Springs Bus Rapid Transit station.
In addition, the County's Board of Supervisors did not recommend a nomination for an independent living facility on 20 acres along Sheridonna Lane. While a developer could still move forward with the project, it is not part of this specific Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program.
Other Nominations Move Forward
Other nominations in the Mount Vernon District and elsewhere in the Alexandria area are moving forward. This includes:
Cityside Huntington - Cityside Exchange owns almost 15 acres of land on the west side (southbound side) of Richmond Highway just south of Huntington Avenue. Right now, the property has four high-rise residential buildings, called the Cityside Huntington Metro Apartments. The nominator purchased the property in December 2021 with financing that included an investment from Amazon for affordable housing.
IMP Building - The nomination for the IMP Building has been incorporated into an already-pending study around 8800 Richmond Highway. The building is at the corner of Jeff Todd Way at 8850 Richmond Hwy. An underused office building is on the site now, and the nominator is proposing tearing down that building to develop 245 residential units, possibly with retail on the ground floor of the buildings. The buildings would top out at three stories high.
Days Inn - Currently, the Days Inn Motel and the Hawaiian Pool & Spa company are on a property in the 6100 block of Richmond Hwy. ”The Nominator proposes to completely redevelop the Property with an upscale multifamily building that contains approximately 400 units, configured in a six-story structure (taking advantage of the significant drop in elevation between the Fairhaven community and Richmond Highway), that is oriented toward Richmond Highway, with structured parking in the rear and a robust vegetated buffer for the adjacent single-family community,” according to county documents. The property is adjacent to the Moon Inn property.
In the Franconia District, the Rose Hill Shopping Center is also moving forward in the face of opposition from many residents. There, owner Combined Properties is seeking to demolish the Rose Hill Shopping Center and replace it with a mixed use, retail-and-residential complex with underground parking. In response to resident opposition, Combined Properties is making changes to its plan for the shopping complex but the project has not been canceled.
