Old Wendy’s and other buildings in Penn Daw set to be demolished

The abandoned Wendy's and other old businesses on Richmond Highway in the Penn Daw area
The site of the future Kings Crossing development is seen earlier this month.

Preliminary work on a planned residential development in the Penn Daw area is finally getting underway.

Contractors working for Fairfield Residential, the site’s owner, have been securing permits to demolish four vacant buildings along Richmond Highway to make way for the Kings Crossing development.

Kings Crossing, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2017, will be built on 5.3 acres of land between the Richmond Highway/Fairview Drive intersection and the Kings Crossing Shopping Center (Walmart). It was approved as a 350-unit complex.

It is not clear when the exact demolition of the buildings will begin, but crews have been capping utilities at the site over the past two weeks. A jersey wall barrier has also been put up, blocking off the site and the service road that runs in front of the vacant businesses.

Map with section outlined showing where development will go
(Google Maps image)

Property sale

When Kings Crossing was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2017, it was owned by Novus Kings Crossing, a subsidiary of Cafritz Interests. Novus had worked with the county and neighbors for years on the redevelopment project, but the developer did not move forward with it after approval.

Fairfield Residential has since purchased the property, with the $12.3 million sale finalized in November, according to Fairfax County property records. Cafrtiz had purchased the property for $5.4 million in 2007.

It is not clear when construction of the new complex is set to begin. A site plan has been submitted to the county, but is not approved yet. A representative from Fairfield Residential could not be reached for comment. The company’s website says the project is expected to be completed in 2021.

Over the years the four buildings on the site were home to a Pizza Hut and a Wendy’s, and two of the structures had multiple tenants in the past few decades, including a martial arts school, a title loan business, Lum’s family restaurant, and Ranch House restaurant. The buildings have all been vacant for more than two years, with Wendy’s and the martial arts schools closing their doors in November and December 2017, respectively. The Pizza Hut has been closed since 2014, and the title loan business moved across the street in 2016.

During the past two years the property has faced issues with illegal dumping, littering and overgrown landscaping, with multiple code violations filed by the county. Eventually a couple of the buildings were boarded up. Homeless citizens have also used areas on the site for shelter.

Change in Penn Daw

Kings Crossing will be the latest major redevelopment project in the changing landscape of Penn Daw. Right across the street the massive South Alex project is under construction. Located at the intersection of Richmond Highway and North Kings Highway (see map), it will eventually be home to a 440-unit apartment complex with retail on the ground level, including an Aldi grocery store.

There is also a 41-townhouse development at the rear of the South Alex property, with many units already completed.

South Alex is next to the 240-unit Shelby Apartments, which are located at the corner of North Kings Highway and Poag Street (see map). Completed in 2014, South Alex was the first high-density residential development built in Penn Daw, which is one of the six (CBCs) envisioned in the Embark Richmond Highway plan.

On a much smaller scale, the long-empty Jerry’s Subs building across the street from Kings Crossing is also undergoing a renovations at last. A chicken and waffles restaurant has leased the space; it’s unclear when the new business plans to open.

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