Image courtesy of Huntwood L.L.C. via Fairfax County
A new restaurant building may be coming to Alexandria along Route 1 near the Beltway.
At the June 7 Fairfax County Board of Supervisor’s meeting, members of the board voted to approve site modifications to build a new 6,000 square foot retail building on land located at the intersection of Richmond Highway and Fort Hunt Road.
The new building will likely be used for a restaurant. The 4.67 acre site is owned by Huntwood L.L.C. and an 8-story office building is currently located on the site adjacent to the proposed restaurant.
According to the application, “this new building will feature an outdoor dining area and an outdoor plaza area that will connect the existing office building with the proposed retail building. The existing surface parking and drive aisles between the retail building and the office building will be reconfigured.” The building will be constructed with glass, metal paneling and other quality materials and will be no more than 25 feet high. There will also be extensive landscaping of the site and pedestrian improvements.
Image courtesy of Huntwood L.L.C. via Fairfax County
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck explained why he approved the project in an email he sent out to constituents last week. “After many discussions with the community, the applicant and County staff, I moved this project forward as it is consistent with our Richmond Highway redevelopment and revitalization efforts, supports the property owner and brings new dining options to the area,” Storck said.
In his email, Storck acknowledged that many residents in the area are concerned whether the new restaurant will impact the already-congested traffic at that intersection, particularly when making a right from Fort Hunt Road to Richmond Highway. To that end, he moved that the Board of Supervisors direct Fairfax County Department of Transportation and the Virginia Department of Transportation to come up with short-term and long-term solutions to congestion at the intersection. A short-term solution could be the installation of flexi-post bollards on Richmond Highway to help prevent merge issues at the 1-495 ramp.
The new restaurant building is one of many project underway to redevelop that portion of Richmond Highway known as the North Gateway. Medical cannabis store Beyond Hello is opening across the highway at 5901 Richmond Hwy. and Ethos Vet is opening a new 2,000 square foot state-of-the-art emergency and specialty veterinary hospital at 5904 Richmond Hwy.
A construction timeline and tenant for the new restaurant building have not been announced.
Image courtesy of Fairfax County
