Proposed Huntington development goes before planning commission this week

Option B for the proposed 62-unit development off of Huntington Avenue. (Fairfax County image)

A plan to build a new 62-unit multifamily development near the Huntington Metro station is set to go before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on Thursday.

A developer has put forward two designs for the 6.32 acre property, which is located off of Metroview Parkway between the Midtown Alexandria Condominium and Cameron Run (see map). The land is currently vacant and zoned for office use, and the developer, Northpoint Services, has applied to get the property rezoned for residential use.

Staff at the county’s department of planning and zoning has recommended approval of the rezoning and development, subject to various proffer agreements.

“The proposed development represents a transitional use between the medium-rise apartments to the west [The Parker apartments], the high-rise apartments to the south [Midtown Alexandria], and the single family attached dwellings to the east,” the county’s staff report on the project said. “The proposed development will provide the residents in the proposed development with convenient access to external pedestrian connections and roadways to the Huntington Metro Station.”

(Fairfax County image)

The two options being put forth are each four stories tall. One consists of dwellings that are configured in a back-to back-layout, while the second option would have units in a 2-over-2 stacked layout. The buildings would have a maximum height of 45 feet.

The first option (“option A”) would include 108 total parking spaces, while the second (“option B”) would have 112. Each option exceeds the county’s 100-space recommendation, and all units would have a one-car garage regardless of which design is picked.

Beyond the buildings, the developer plans to leave 4.5 acres of open space around the project. That space will include an urban park and a “recreation lawn,” as well as a narrow grass trail that connects to Huntington Avenue.  A 10-foot wide trail would also be built along Cameron Run to connect with the trails built on the neighboring properties to the east and west.

The county’s staff report also addresses various stormwater and environmental concerns, noting that some of the property falls within the 100-year floodplain for Cameron Run, as well as in a county-designated resource protected area (RPA). None of the buildings would fall in the floodplain or RPA. The developer has pledged to preserve the existing tree canopy and plant additional trees to meet county requirements.

Vehicle access to the residences will be from two dead-end streets that connect to Metroview Parkway.

The development would not have to include any affordable housing units, but the developer has agreed to have 12 units priced at “workforce” rates.

A Fairfax County Public Schools’ analysis in the county’s staff report said the development would yield approximately 21 new students — six high schoolers, three middle schoolers and 12 elementary. These students would attend Edison HS, Mark Twain MS, and Cameron ES.

A previous proposal for the site, which called for a 360-unit apartment complex, was abandoned in 2017. According to the staff report, the property had actually been zoned residential until 1991, when Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning request to allow for office and retail use.

If the project is approved the by planning commission, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on it at their Sept. 25 meeting.