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A sweeping redevelopment proposal would replace the 706 garden-style apartments at Merrifield at Dunn Loring Station with as many as 2,975 multifamily homes, transforming the 1960s-era community into a dense, mixed-use neighborhood near Metro.
Malkin Properties filed a rezoning application with Fairfax County on Monday, June 1, for the 34.7-acre property at 8130 Prescott Drive. The proposal also includes 25,000 square feet of neighborhood-oriented retail.
The roughly 3-million-square-foot project represents a significant expansion from the concept Malkin submitted through the county’s site-specific plan amendment process in 2022. That earlier version envisioned 1.5 million square feet of development, including 2,300 homes and up to 700,000 square feet of commercial space.
Some nearby residents questioned the original proposal’s scale. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors nevertheless authorized staff on April 11, 2023, to consider a comprehensive plan amendment allowing mixed-use residential development. The county has scheduled a virtual community meeting for June 25, although a draft amendment has not yet been released.
The plan amendment and rezoning application will now be reviewed together. Malkin is seeking to change the property from a residential zoning district to the Planned Residential Mixed-Use District.
Construction would unfold in phases
The existing community contains more than 50 buildings constructed in 1968. Malkin plans to replace them over multiple phases, with the timing dependent on market conditions.
Homes and amenities outside active construction areas would remain available during the redevelopment. The applicant says it will notify residents about construction schedules and coordinate preferred relocation arrangements, including possible housing elsewhere on or off the property.
Seven development blocks would contain the replacement apartments. Buildings would range from five stories and 55 feet tall to 13 stories and 150 feet tall.
Most of the retail would occupy four buildings in Block B along Gallows Road. The application describes the shops as conveniences for residents and neighbors rather than a regional destination competing with the Mosaic District or businesses near the Metro station.
Block B would also feature a linear park with an open lawn, seating and concrete paths along Gallows Road. A pedestrian promenade with benches, planters and gathering space would lead toward the ground-floor businesses.
Parks, cycle tracks and a new road
The proposal includes 7.8 acres of urban park space. Planned areas include Heatherton Park north of Block B, North Park near the Westbriar Plaza Condominiums and a linear park beside a new Ring Road.
Malkin also proposes expanding the Fairfax County Park Authority’s planned Hartland Green Park by 1.3 acres. A master plan approved in 2012 called for features such as a basketball half-court, playground, rain garden, open lawn and skateable art on the roughly 1-acre parcel along Hartland Road, west of Interstate 495.
The enlarged park could offer multipurpose lawns, sports courts, walking paths and seating, with pedestrian and bicycle access from the surrounding community.
The Ring Road would provide a new north-south connection between Hartland Road and Park Tower Drive. Plans show one 11-foot travel lane in each direction, on-street parking, 6-foot sidewalks and a 10-foot cycle track separated from traffic by landscaped panels.
Project representatives say the road would improve circulation and strengthen walking and biking connections to nearby neighborhoods and the Metro station. During 2023 hearings, however, the homeowners’ association president for the nearby Vienna Crossing townhomes raised concerns that it could direct additional traffic into that community.
Other transportation changes would realign Prescott Drive with Lauren Elizabeth Lane, add sidewalks and establish rideshare pickup and drop-off areas along major east-west streets, including Prescott Drive and Heatherton Lane.
The application presents the project as part of Merrifield’s continuing shift toward denser, transit-oriented development. Residential projects are also under consideration at the nearby Prosperity Business Campus and Alliance Center commercial condominiums, while construction began late last year on the Elms Dunn Loring apartment and retail project at 2722 Merrilee Drive.