More details emerge on Bailey's Gateway multifamily project

An illustration of the site, with Columbia Pike on the left.

The Bailey’s Crossroads/Seven Corners Revitalization Corporation on Dec. 16 endorsed the “Bailey’s Gateway” project, a proposed multifamily residential building at the corner of 5600 Columbia Pike and Carlin Springs Road on the Fairfax County/Arlington border.

A vacant 10-story office building on the site would be demolished and replaced with a seven-story, 433-unit building. About 70 percent of the units would have one bedroom and 30 percent would have two. Twelve percent of the units would have affordable rents under the  Fairfax County definition of “workforce dwelling units.” The rest would have market rate rents.

The existing office building on the site would be torn down.

Since we last reported on this project, the developer, Foulger-Pratt, has made a few changes to the proposal, including reorienting the entrance to Columbia Pike. A landscaped walkway with public art would extend across the front of the project along Columbia Pike. There would be three courtyards, one visible from the street and two interior courtyards just for residents.

An existing parking deck facing Carlin Springs Road would be retained, and there would also be underground parking with a total of 560 parking spaces – 1.3 spaces per unit – plus 20 to 30 spaces for guests. Bryant Foulger told the BC7RC that would be sufficient because the project is close to bus stops and residents could easily walk to stores and restaurants.

An aerial view of the site.

Foulger said he expects about 40 to 50 percent of the tenants to be millenials, with the rest made up of empty nesters and families with young children. Students would attend Glen Forest Elementary School, which is currently severely overcrowded, Glasgow Middle School, and Stuart High School – although by the time the building is complete, the boundaries could change.

The developer expects the building will have 29 elementary school-age children, seven middle school students, and 13 high school students, Foulger-Pratt would propose proffers of about $10,000 per student to expand the capacity at affected schools.

The termination of the Columbia Pike Streetcar won’t have a major impact on the Bailey’s Gateway project. Scott Adams, a land use attorney with McGuire Woods LLP, called it a “temporary setback,” noting that the streetcar “wasn’t a sure thing when we started.” The developer would likely offer a shuttle service to Metro.

Representatives of Foulger-Pratt plan to meet with residents of the nearby Carlyn Square community in January 2015 and hope to set up a meeting with residents of the Ardley Court townhouses.

The structure viewed from different angles.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing on an amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan Feb. 4. The Board of Supervisors will consider the amendment on March 3. A rezoning proposal would go before the Planning Commission in April and the Board of Supervisors in May.

The permitting process could be completed by the end of 2016 and construction would take another two years, Foulger said.