Brookfield Properties has proposed a new conceptual development plan that will improve the planned street grid for the under-construction Halley Rise mixed-use neighborhood in Reston. Although plans for three of the development’s eight blocks have not been finalized, the property owners intend to build the submitted new street grid concurrent with ongoing construction so that it is operational by the time the first building is completed.
Fairfax County approved the initial development plan for the neighborhood in 2018, and last year advanced several amendments that altered the layout of the blocks and streets. Construction on the first building—block “F”—began in late 2019, with completion estimated for 2022. This midrise building will be home to 380 apartment homes over a Wegmans supermarket and restaurants. Two additional blocks, “D” and “G,” are currently in the site review process and awaiting building permits. The three blocks together form what the developer has described as the “critical mass” of the project, and Brookfield intends to have buildings on these blocks operational by 2023.
As part of the approved final development plan for block “D,” the location of the north-south road (private road “E”) forming the west border of block “D” was modified to cut through block “E” alongside the existing parking structure. This change decreases the footprint of block “E” and expands block “D” to include two buildings, a 28-story residential tower and a 6-story office building, split by a pedestrian-only walkway or “mews.” The resulting new road location would no longer run straight through the development, but would instead create two offset T-shaped intersections along Hopper Street, Halley Rise’s main east-west road.
This would have the unfortunate side effect of increasing the number of the intersections on Hopper Street, complicating traffic and pedestrian flow through the development, and increasing the likelihood of accidents. In order to correct this issue, the latest plan submission from Brookfield Properties attempts to rectify the issue by moving the north segment of private road “E” to align with the south segment, thereby restoring the four-way intersection with Hopper Street.
This is not a perfect solution, however. The approved 19-story highrise office building on block “G” was designed with two vehicle entrances on the west side for parking and loading, which under the current plan would be accessible from private road “E.” Because the building is in the process of the final review prior to building permit issue, it is not possible to redesign the building to reposition those two entrances without significantly delaying the process.
As a result, the choice was made by the developer to keep the vehicle access through a small dead-end alley that will run between building “G” and the building that will eventually be built in the space created by the proposed street grid modification. This unnecessary alley will reduce the amount of usable public space in the project, which could be mitigated through changes to building footprints that would either decrease available gross floor area for the buildings, or keep the same floor area but increase the construction cost. Either of these measures would have a negative effect on the profitability and viability of the development, but it should be expected that Fairfax County staff will pursue mitigation prior to approval of the amendment, in order to preserve the proffered amount of public space available at Halley Rise. This should be something that the owners are prepared to accept, or the proposed amendment probably would not have been submitted.
Because it would be contrary to Reston’s comprehensive plan to reduce density in a Transit Station Area, the preferred mitigation measure is to reduce the building footprint while maintaining the planned gross floor area. This could be achieved by increasing the height of any of the planned buildings, or alternatively by moving structured parking underground, or a combination of both. Typically, increasing building height is the more cost-effective option, but the pedestrian experience is usually better served by moving parking underground so that it is not visible to visitors.
Fairfax County officials have not yet set a date to consider the plan amendment application, but Brookfield has requested an expedited review so that construction can begin as soon as possible. When it comes to development plan applications, county staff review could take as long as a couple years, depending on a number of factors, but a small change like this is likely to be handled by early 2021, especially if Brookfield Properties is motivated.
Once county staff have finished working with the applicant, the County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and make a recommendation before the Board of Supervisors votes on a final decision.
November 19 Update: Fairfax County has scheduled a tentative Planning Commission public hearing date for May 5, 2021. Assuming the hearing happens on that date, the Board of Supervisors might consider the application as early as May 18.