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Reston Heights approved
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved the JBG Cos.' Reston Heights development off of Sunrise Valley Drive, a plan that has undergone several iterations at the behest of the county and Reston residents.
But a primary concern about the Reston Heights development – connectivity to the anticipated Reston Parkway Metro station – is looking like a moot point as the death knell tolls for the rail extension.
Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) said the board's approval came with the expectation that a traffic analysis will be done on the site and that JBG will work with community groups in the surrounding areas to ensure pedestrian access.
“One of the critical parts that needs to be done is traffic demand management to help reduce the amount of vehicle traffic from the site,” she said.
The approval paves the way for a mixed-use development that would raze many of the current buildings and retail.
The approved plan comprises 9.9 acres, upon which JBG hopes to build 498 multi-family units, 428,225 square feet of office and 145,000 square feet of “minor commercial uses.”
Hudgins said JBG has pledged 12 percent of the residential development to be affordable housing units, a proffer that the company was not compelled to make since the site is not being rezoned.
Art Hill, a nearby resident and vice chairman of the Reston Association's Planning and Zoning Committee, said a chief concern regarding the development remains the sheer size.
“It should be proportional to what's already up there east of the Sheraton, and it's not. It exceeds it by about 300,000 square feet, which is a lot,” he said.
Hill said he anticipates from conversations at P&Z meetings that JBG's plan may change in the coming months now that it has been approved, primarily to include more retail.
More importantly, Hill said JBG will be affected by what several other Reston developments will have to face if the rail project falls through.
“I think a lot of these people are going to have to rethink what they're going to do,” he said.
The P&Z Committee will hear from Dulles Corridor Rail Association President Patti Nicoson on Feb. 4 about what to expect in the coming year should the extension be postponed or killed.
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