City Center South Set for Revival in Falls Church

A nine acre, 1 million s.f. mixed use development in Falls Church that four years ago had been touted as a revival agent, City Center South is coming back to life, confirms the Planning Division of The City of Falls Church. The revival of a sagging downtown has been a city aspiration since at least 2000, yet has been slowed by the economic downturn as well as the scope and size of such an ambitious development.



"We have had indication from Atlantic Realty Companies that they are ready to move forward with their plans," said Becky Witsman, Planning Officer for Falls Church. "We take that as good news."

The Tysons Corner based Atlantic Realty Companies, which owns the land, confirms the project's revival. Jonathan Ross, Development Coordinator for the company, said Atlantic Realty will likely break ground nine months from now. "We don't have far to go in terms of approval with the site plan," he said. "We are in the final stages of approval and financing."

As the case has been for so many large development projects around the area, lack of financing had stalled City Center South after Fall Church City Council's surprisingly unanimous approval of the $317 million project in February of 2008. Plans languished and WDG Architecture abandoned the project. LeMay, Erickson and Willcox Architects of Reston was hired to take over in 2009, but the design will stay the same as that approved in 2008, Ross says.

The two-phased plan is slated to take five years to develop the 8.7 acre area bounded by West Broad Street, Gibson Street, Big Chimneys Park and South Washington Street. Phase one entails a 73,570 s.f. office building with 16,250 s.f. of ground floor retail at West Broad Street; a 140,400 s.f. hotel at South Maple Street and West Annandale with 180 rooms and ground floor retail; a retirement community with 134 apartments; a new Bowl America, garage, and a drive-thru bank.

Phase two encompasses a 58,850 s.f. Harris Teeter (which has signed a Letter of Intent); 16,750 s.f. of retail at Annandale Road and South Maple Streets; as well as 412 residences and 16 town homes at the intersection of Gibson Street and Big Chimney Park.

Falls Church, VA Real Estate Development News

First Step for Falls Church Affordable Project

The Falls Church Housing Corporation, which provides affordable housing opportunities, currently awaits a formal staff review of its project at 350 South Washington Street, where it plans to demolish its recently purchased office building and a neighboring office building, and replace them with a seven-story, 'affordable' apartment building. The non-profit is preparing for their meeting with Falls Church City Council on May 12, officially beginning the public review process, in which organizations like the Architectural Advisory Board, the Planning Commission, and Zoning can have their say. FCHC hopes to get a final approval from the Council by the end of June so the arduous financing process can begin, all to begin construction by summer of 2009.

The properties to be redeveloped are owned by FCHC and Homestretch Inc., working together to bring down their separate office buildings and provide affordable housing. Homestretch, like FCHC, is an non-profit organization that serves lower-income families. But while FCHC is an affordable housing provider, Homestretch serves the community by renting transitional housing and offering services to families that are at risk of homelessness. The duo will work with Atlantic Realty Companies, the master developer, and the City of Falls Church. Virginia-based architect Butz Wilbern is designing the new building.

Homestretch acquired their building roughly six years ago, and rents out some of their building to local businesses, using the remainder for administrative functions. FCHC just purchased their building in February, with the goal of redeveloping it, and now leases two-thirds of the space. Carol Jackson, Executive Director at FCHC, pointed out that the firm has no interest in being a commercial property owner: "If we get turned down any step of the way [in the development process], we will be selling the building." Both firms use their respective commercial leases to subsidize the outstanding mortgages.

The two 1970's office buildings currently on the site will be cleared away to make room for a mixed-use 150,000-s.f. building which will hold office space for both firms on the ground floor, and offer 172 rental units for families earning 60% of the Area Median Income, or about $40,000. According to their November '07 pitch to the City government, the project will serve to restock the affordable housing supply in Falls Church, which has recently been depleted. "By the City’s own estimate, Falls Church: lost nearly 200 affordable rental units between 2001 and 2006; [has] a shortage of 262 affordable housing units in 2007 – not including 650 additional units that may still be lost through conversion or redevelopment; [and] suffered a 60 percent loss since 2001 in the number of for-sale units affordable to households earning less than 120%."

FCHC has referred to the development as turning "an isolated area of obsolete office buildings into well-located, quality affordable housing for a vital local workforce...who will otherwise be unable to remain in Falls Church." Said Jackson, "Like many of the older 'inner ring' suburbs, Falls Church is transitioning into an expensive, newly urban environment where property values have left behind 75% of the local workforce who are unable to live in the city where they work and contribute to the balanced economy Falls Church desires to foster."

Centex Development in Falls Church Stalls

A combination of astronomical asking prices for land and recent residential market trends has Centex Homes reconsidering whether to move forward with its planned role in the development of Falls Church’s City Center village project, to be located at the intersection of South and North Washington Streets and W. Broad Street. The City Center project will contain a public town square, along with a hotel, new grocery store, retailers, office space, and a mix of residential options, including up to 1,000 condo units, over the next decade (though this, too, is now uncertain). However, the job of purchasing the needed land for this project has proven problematic, as landowners are asking between $2.5 and $5.7 million an acre on the north side of W. Broad – the location of the first two blocks of the project that Centex (teaming with Federal Realty) is tasked to develop. Given the significant distance to the nearest metro station, Centex is re-evaluating the worth of this project, and is now in discussions with the city and landowners on the next step, if any. Meanwhile, while the north side of W. Broad is up in the air, the south side of this project, which is being developed by Atlantic Realty, appears to be moving forward, as most of this land has already been bought or acquired.