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| A concept for new development at the Inova Center for Personalized Health. Gallows Road is at the bottom. |
Inova’s plans for the Gallows Road property include a massive amount of development along with improvements to Gallows Road the preservation of some open space to make the project more acceptable to the community.
That concept was presented at a public meeting Sept. 5 at the Inova Center for Personalized Health (ICPH).
Meanwhile, the Merrifield SuburbanCenter Task Force, which completed its work on Sept. 4, proposed some changes to the county’s staff report for the ICPH and Fairview Park sites. Their biggest change is recommending that the maximum number of new housing units in Fairview Park be reduced from 1,060 to 840.
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| A preliminary concept plan for the proposed plaza area at Fairview Park. |
The task force, consisting of representatives of community associations, HOAs, and the Greater Merrifield Business Association, held 26 meetings since October 2018, where they raised numerous concerns about the impact of development at both sites on traffic, the environment, and other issues.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on a comprehensive plan amendment for both sites on Sept. 11. The Board of Supervisors’ hearing is scheduled for Sept. 24.
Inova’s vision for the 117-acre ICPH site is a “world-class center for research, education, and clinical care,” Tim Sampson, attorney for Inova Healthcare Services, told the audience at the community meeting.
The ICPH includes the already-open Schar Cancer Center, conference center, a sports medicine center and other health facilities in the existing buildings that formerly housed the ExxonMobil headquarters.
Inova’s plan for the rest of the currently undeveloped property includes 1.9 million square feet for its potential academic partners – the University of Virginia and George Mason University – for medical research, education, and student housing; 0.4 million square feet for retail and a hotel; and 0.6 million square feet of housing, which could be workforce housing, assisted living for seniors, or continuing care, as well as market-rate housing; plus other health related offices and businesses.
In all, would be 18 new buildings, an internal grid of streets, and eight acres of parks concentrated on the western portion of the site. The eastern portion would consist of 55 acres of open space, including 34 acres of tree preservation and a trail network.
The western section would be developed in two phases. The first phase would have 0.70 FAR, a measure of density, while the second phase, to be developed later, would have 1.0 FAR, allowing for a total of 5 million square feet of development.
Construction of phase 1 could start three years after the rezoning is approved and could be completed by 2030-35 at the earliest, Sampson said. Phase 2 could be completed by 2045. When completed, Inova estimates the project will add 3,000 to 5,000 jobs to the local economy.
Inova wouldn’t be able to start construction of the second phase until at least some of the transportation improvements are implemented.
Gallows Road would not be widened, but additional turn lanes would be added, along with medians to serve as a refuge for pedestrians.
There would be an eight-foot pedestrian sidewalk and a 10-foot two-way cycle track with a grassy median between them along Gallows Road.
Gallows Road would not be widened, but additional turn lanes would be added, along with medians to serve as a refuge for pedestrians.
There would be an eight-foot pedestrian sidewalk and a 10-foot two-way cycle track with a grassy median between them along Gallows Road.
A pedestrian bridge over the beltway would connect the ICHP site to Fairview Park.
The intersections at Gallows Road, Woodburn Road, Holly Road, Lutrell Road, and the beltway ramp would be reconfigured.
There would be a new “braided ramp” on the beltway with one ramp crossing and going underneath the other to improve traffic flow between Route 50 and Gallows Road.
Inova would provide some of the funding for the road improvements as part of the development conditions.
VDOT has not committed funds to the project, but Inova is hopeful that the magnitude of the project will attract funding, Sampson said. “If it doesn’t happen, this won’t get built. You can be sure the infrastructure will be there when the growth happens.”
The section of the plan amendment for Fairview Park is designed to increase the sustainability of the existing office park by adding housing, retail, and civic uses. The 86-acre site stretches along Fairview Park Drive between the beltway and Route 50.
The proposed plan amendment, as outlined in the Aug. 22 staff report, called for 2.4 million square feet of mixed-use development in Fairview Park, an increase of 300,000 square feet over the current development, which is nearly all office space.
The plan proposed an outdoor plaza just north of Route 50 with mid-rise multifamily development, first-floor retail and social and cultural amenities, such as waterfront recreation, an amphitheater, free-standing retail pavilions, an indoor community space, a network of trails, and streetscape improvement.
After the task force reduced the number of new housing units, some of the proposed amenities may no longer be feasible, however.
Proposed transportation improvements would address congestion at the Fairview Park Drive/Hyson Lane/Lee Highway; Fairview Park/Arlington Boulevard; Arlington Boulevard/Jaguar Trail; and New Providence Drive/Yancy Drive intersections.