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The largest mixed-use development in Falls Church history has entered its final phase, setting the stage for hundreds of homes, new offices and public green spaces beside the West Falls Church Metro station.

Local officials, Metro leaders and development partners gathered Wednesday, Nov. 19, to celebrate the groundbreaking for Phase III of the West Falls project. The work will transform 24 acres of surface parking into a walkable neighborhood connecting housing, transit and open space.

When all three phases are finished, the 40-acre development will stretch across jurisdictional lines from West Broad Street in the City of Falls Church to the Metro station at 7040 Haycock Road in Fairfax County. The entire project is expected to encompass about 3 million square feet.

Hundreds of homes planned

Phase III calls for 82 townhomes, including 13 affordable units and 10 live-work residences intended for small professional offices.

More than 570 homes are planned across two multifamily buildings, with a third building expected later. Plans also include an office building, parks, green spaces, dog parks, playgrounds, shared-use paths and other public improvements.

The phase is being developed through a public-private partnership involving Metro, EYA and Rushmark Properties. The developers say the new construction will connect the separate pieces of a mixed-use district that has been more than a decade in the making.

Phase I, now complete, created a gateway to Falls Church along West Broad Street and was designed to complement the nearby middle and secondary school campuses.

Construction continues on Phase II, which includes HITT Contracting’s new headquarters, 85 townhomes and a seven-story apartment building with 320 units. Virginia Tech is also involved in the development of the neighboring Converge West Falls property.

Parking lots give way to a new neighborhood

Construction cranes and a large American flag framed the groundbreaking ceremony in the Metro parking lot. Signs displayed around the site described a future district with housing, workplaces, stores, restaurants, parks, plazas and greenways connected to West Falls Station Boulevard.

Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke said the combined development would be roughly comparable in size to Fairfax County’s Mosaic District.

“What I’m most excited about is that we’re tying multiple parcels together,” Clarke said, calling the transition from the current site to a major center of housing and economic activity “monumental.”

Clarke said Metro’s real estate strategy seeks to place more homes and businesses near transit. Turning parking lots into housing, retail and office space, he said, can allow households to live with fewer cars while eventually adding riders to the transit system.

He described housing affordability as one of the region’s biggest economic challenges and said Metro’s role is to work with local governments and private developers to expand housing, tax revenue and economic activity.

Clarke also highlighted recent Metro gains, including increased reliability, six million credit- and debit-card taps since contactless payments began on rail in June and later expanded to buses, and more than $500 million in identified savings and avoided costs over the past several years.

Leaders point to housing and transit benefits

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay said the project’s many landowners, government bodies, jurisdictions and private partners made it unusually complicated.

That complexity, he said, made the groundbreaking especially significant.

McKay said mixed-use projects around Metro stations can strengthen ridership while addressing Northern Virginia’s housing shortage. He emphasized that West Falls will include both market-rate and affordable homes.

He also linked transit-oriented development to reduced traffic and greenhouse gas emissions. Metro and other transit systems in Northern Virginia generate an estimated $1.5 billion annually for Virginia’s economy, he said, excluding local revenue associated with transit.

Fairfax County Supervisor Jimmy Bierman, whose Dranesville District includes the station, said the project combines housing, economic development and a more vibrant community.

Rushmark Properties Vice President Neal Kumar said seven years of compromise and determination went into designing, approving and beginning construction across the Falls Church and Fairfax County sites.

The development involves the City of Falls Church, Virginia Tech and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Kumar joked that the process may have required 3,000 hours of legal work and 150,000 hours of Microsoft Teams calls.

EYA Executive Vice President Evan Goldman traced the redevelopment vision back about 12 years. The goal, he said, was to create a walkable community that embraced the Metro station instead of leaving it isolated and difficult to reach.

Goldman compared the Falls Church portion of the project to the district’s heart because of its retail and taller buildings. He called the HITT and Virginia Tech area its brain and described the Metro property and transportation network as its lungs and circulatory system.

Phase III, he said, will provide the pedestrian paths and open spaces needed to knit those parts together.

Officials warn of a difficult construction period

After the speeches, officials and development representatives put on hard hats and lifted ceremonial shovels of soil for photographers.

Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi called the groundbreaking the capstone of an effort spanning more than a decade. She said the project reflects extensive cooperation among Falls Church, Fairfax County and Metro.

Hardi said replacing an asphalt parking lot with homes makes better use of land surrounding a major transit investment. Housing near Metro, she added, can support transportation and climate goals at the same time.

She also warned residents to expect disruption during the next 18 to 24 months.

Construction will be difficult, Hardi said, but she urged the community to remain patient while the three parcels are connected into a more active 40-acre district with access to Route 7.

Metro Acting Vice President of Real Estate Nia Rubin said the development would unite three distinct projects into a new neighborhood and destination. Metro has pursued transit-oriented communities since 1976, she said, but suburban station properties have become increasingly important as central Washington has filled out.

Demand is now shifting toward suburban developments that offer urban-style, walkable spaces with convenient Metro access, Rubin said.

Falls Church City Council member Justine Underhill called West Falls a leading example of transit-oriented development because it places residents close to transportation and daily needs.

The additional townhomes and apartments will help meet the area’s need for housing, she said, while giving some residents the option to drive less. That could reduce emissions and remove cars from congested roads, benefiting both transit users and people who still need to drive.

After years of planning, Underhill said, the open land around the station is finally poised to become a productive neighborhood that could change how residents live and travel.