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EYA Development is seeking Fairfax County approval to redevelop approximately 49 acres of Lake Fairfax Business Park in Reston with 1,017 homes and 27,900 square feet of retail and amenity space.

The two-phase proposal would rezone part of the 88-acre property at 1780 Business Center Drive from industrial use to planned residential mixed-use development. The site is near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station.

The residential program would include 385 multifamily units, 132 condominiums, 289 traditional townhouses and 211 stacked townhouses. The proposal also calls for making 12.5% of the for-sale units affordable, including workforce housing for households earning 60% to 80% of the area median income.

The article’s cited U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development calculation places Fairfax County’s 2025 area median income at $163,900 for a four-person household.

The redevelopment would replace seven office buildings. Six are fully vacant, according to the proposal, while the seventh is 40% vacant and has a lease expiring next year. Mark Looney, a Cooley partner representing EYA Development, described the business park as “kind of a ghost town.”

Fannie Mae was formerly a major tenant at the property before moving to consolidated space closer to the Metro. Looney said the shift reflects the broader value of locating office development near transit, saying, “By virtue of putting office development closer to transit you’ve encouraged office users who are not near transit to move to those locations.”

The gym, hotel, school and data center are excluded from the rezoning application, but they are included in a pending comprehensive plan amendment covering the entire property.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended the comprehensive plan amendment on July 16. EYA presented the redevelopment to the Reston Association Board of Directors on July 23.

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hear the comprehensive plan amendment on Aug. 25. The rezoning application is scheduled for Planning Commission review on Sept. 23 and is expected to be presented to the Board of Supervisors in October.

The proposal remains subject to Fairfax County review and approval. The rezoning’s final approval and implementation have not been confirmed.