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Fairfax County supervisors have unanimously approved a revised concept for McLean Crossing, advancing a sweeping redevelopment of the Commons of McLean apartments near the McLean Metro station.
The plan allows property owner LCOR to begin preparing final proposals for an 11-building, mixed-use complex at 1640 Anderson Road. The project could bring as much as 2.72 million square feet of residential, commercial and retail development to the Tysons site.
Filed in 2022, the newly approved application replaces a 2013 plan for the 18.7-acre property along Anderson Road, near Chain Bridge Road, the Commons Shopping Center and MITRE’s office campus. That earlier concept called for 2.6 million square feet of development, including seven residential buildings with as many as 2,571 units.
Depending on which design option LCOR ultimately selects, McLean Crossing could include up to 2.5 million square feet of residential space and 2,536 homes. Between 231 and 319 units would be designated as subsidized workforce dwelling units.
Buildings could range from 75 to 225 feet tall. The plan also permits up to 600,000 square feet of office space and 350,000 square feet of retail, with options for a 250,000-square-foot continuing-care facility and a 200-room hotel.
About 32% of the property would remain open space. LCOR has proposed 6.8 acres of publicly accessible urban parks, including Goodman Field, a full-size artificial-turf athletic field that was part of the previous plan but would now sit atop a parking garage.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said the project would deliver substantial community amenities, highlighting the open space and workforce housing commitments.
Attorney Robert Brant, representing the property owner, told supervisors that the proposal improved during its lengthy review because of community feedback.
The McLean Citizens Association and Fairfax County Planning Commission supported the project. Palchik credited both groups with investing significant time and effort in the review.
Ken Fowler, a director of the nearby Union Park at McLean condominium association, was the only speaker during the public hearing before the vote. He expressed enthusiasm for the redevelopment, particularly its parks, but urged LCOR to build Goodman Field sooner.
LCOR initially committed to completing the field no later than 2040 but agreed to move the deadline to 2037. Fowler argued that even the revised date could leave thousands of future residents waiting years for one of the project’s central amenities.
Brant described 2037 as a worst-case deadline and said LCOR hopes to finish the field much earlier. The developer would retain ownership, while either the Fairfax County Park Authority or the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services would operate it.
Parking, traffic management and other unresolved details will be reviewed when LCOR submits a final development plan.
The approved concept contains roughly 100,000 square feet more development than the 2013 proposal. Although it reduces the total parkland envisioned under the earlier plan, nearly one-third of the site would remain open space.