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Falls Church officials are weighing a sweeping transformation of the Gordon Road Triangle, with preliminary ideas ranging from new housing and trail-oriented businesses to safer pedestrian crossings and a modernized city operations center.
Mayor Letty Hardi offered an early look at the possibilities in her Feb. 7 constituent newsletter after participating in an Urban Land Institute Washington forum on housing and economic development. She shared a slide of preliminary recommendations for the site, noting that more details were expected in the coming months.
The roughly 15-acre planning area sits at the city’s western edge, bounded by West Broad Street, the W&OD Trail, and Shreve and Gordon roads. Falls Church’s West End Small Area Plan identifies it as “Planning Area of Opportunity 4.”
The property now contains the Robert L. Goff Operations Yard, which houses the Department of Public Works Operations Team, Office of Emergency Management, fire marshal and police functions. Falls Church City Public Schools and police also use the yard to store staff vehicles. The Falls Church Homeless Shelter is on Gordon Road.
Housing, shops and public space under consideration
Preliminary concepts envision a gateway into the triangle from West Broad Street, along with space for existing small businesses, maker spaces and shared parking.
The plans also contemplate multifamily housing with retail, including market-rate homes for seniors. Other possibilities include enhanced streetscapes, a shared gathering area and green amenities near West Broad Street and Gordon Road.
Near the homeless shelter—or potentially in a reimagined use of that property—the concepts identify affordable housing, support services and a training, trade and industry incubator program.
Planners have emphasized that redevelopment should serve both new and existing residents without displacing current stakeholders. Their housing goal calls for options across the demographic spectrum, from market-rate multifamily homes to a reworked hypothermia shelter.
Safer routes to Metro, schools and trails
Transportation improvements are central to the early vision. With students crossing West Broad Street to reach school campuses and other pedestrians traveling toward the West Falls Church Metro station, planners are considering realigning Gordon Road with Birch Street and creating a safer crossing.
Bike and pedestrian connections could also be strengthened at Gordon Road and along Shreve Road, linking the area more directly with the W&OD Trail.
The Gordon Road corridor could eventually feature businesses catering to trail users, such as a brewery, coffee shop, bicycle store or cafe. The wider transportation goal is to better combine automobile, bicycle and pedestrian access while improving connections to Metro.
Green infrastructure is another priority. Concepts include increasing the tree canopy, creating natural public spaces and improving access to the W&OD Trail. Tall fencing and landscape buffers could be added around the city’s recycling center.
Aging operations yard drives redevelopment discussion
Any redevelopment must address the city’s need for a new or renovated operations center. The current facility was built in 1965, lacks centralized heating and air conditioning, has insufficient space and does not comply with accessibility standards.
Although the operations center does not produce revenue, it remains essential to city services. The Urban Land Institute panel said the city could explore a public-private partnership that introduces new uses and generates income while maintaining necessary operations.
The panel’s two principal objectives were to identify reinvestment strategies—including whether a public-private financing structure could support redevelopment of the operations yard—and to expand walking and biking connections using the existing W&OD Trail and nearby Metro station.
The preliminary recommendations followed an intensive two-day evaluation conducted at the Hilton Garden Inn. Hardi had previously called for a more creative vision for the triangle than simply expanding the city operations center.
The effort aligns with Falls Church’s West End Small Area Plan, which seeks to turn the area near the Metro station and Interstate 66 into a vibrant, economically viable district that is walkable, bicycle-friendly, environmentally sustainable and resilient.