Article Text
A dance studio could bring new activity to an aging office complex near the Spring Hill Metro station, but Fairfax County must first approve a zoning change correcting a past permitting error.
The prospective studio wants to occupy 5,241 square feet at 8603 Westwood Center Drive, part of the Westwood Center property owned and managed by Atlantic Realty Company. The company submitted a final development plan amendment to the county in late February.
The space previously housed another dance business for years, although that use was not technically permitted under the property’s development plan. The application says a permit had been issued erroneously.
Westwood Center’s approved uses include restaurants, banks, health clubs, recreational facilities and repair shops. Specialized instruction centers, the zoning category that covers dance studios, are not specifically included.
Atlantic Realty is now seeking permission to allow the studio inside the existing building. In a Jan. 15 statement supporting the request, the company said the prior dance studio operated there without negatively affecting neighboring tenants or the surrounding community. It also argued that a new studio would serve Fairfax County residents and benefit the office park economically.
The former tenant appears to have been the Arthur Murray Dance Center of Tysons, which moved to 1953 Gallows Road in August 2024.
The potential replacement has applied for building permits but declined to identify itself because the approval timeline remains uncertain.
Plans call for classes and workshops serving as many as 70 students at once. The studio would employ three to seven people and operate at varying times between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays and between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekends.
No additional construction, floor-area expansion or parking-lot changes are proposed.
The two Westwood Center buildings at 8603 and 8605 Westwood Center Drive were constructed in the mid-1980s and renovated in 1999. The application says their variety of commercial tenants has supported the property’s vibrancy and economic resilience, but the complex still faces the occupancy challenges affecting many older office parks.
The supporting statement noted that attracting and retaining tenants is difficult for an older building without an anchor tenant, particularly amid a weak current and projected office market.
Businesses already operating at 8603 Westwood Center Drive include Paisano’s Pizza, bb.q Chicken and Bombay Tandoor Bar and Grill.
Fairfax County planners received the application Feb. 26 but had not formally accepted it for review as of the article’s publication.