Whether or not to build a 2 million-square-foot apartment complex and a new Harris Teeter grocery store will be the subjects of twin public hearings at Monday afternoon’s Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Atlantic Realty has proposed the grocery store plus smaller retail and office space on 35 acres in the Sully District on Route 50 at Fair Ridge Drive. Lincoln Properties has proposed the apartment complex on 67 acres of formerly EDS Corp.’s property at Centreville and Wall roads.
Both projects have the support of the county’s planning commission.
“There was very strong support for a grocery store at that location,” said Ron Koch, Sully planning commissioner.
Neighboring residents drew the line, however, at creating an entrance to the retail center on Alder Woods Drive, said Keith Martin, representing Atlantic Realty.
“They were absolutely opposed to it. We knew that would be a deal breaker,” Martin said.
Atlantic Realty agreed to create safer turning lanes on both east- and westbound Route 50 as part of the project.
Lincoln Properties has filed an application to allow an apartment complex on land formerly owned by the EDS Corp., formerly called Electronic Data Systems. The land is now zoned for offices, hotel and conference space, said Lindsey Mason, a Fairfax planner.
The accompanying rezoning application is “actually at a lower intensity than is currently allowed on the plan,” Mason said.
The hotel and commercial options “will still be there, but everyone realizes it will be residential,” said Koch, who added the county is giving designated office and industrial space a second look in order to “keep up with the demand for housing.”
Supervisor Michael Frey, R-Sully, has been working with the applicants to keep or rebuild some of the ball fields currently on the old EDS property, said Howard Bernstein, president of Chantilly Youth’s Little League Baseball.
There are 10 soccer and baseball fields on 20 acres, Bernstein said. He said he hopes the supervisor and developers will agree to about half of whatthey currently have.
“We knew at some point they were going to sell it,” said Bernstein, whose organization built the fields with EDS’ permission several years ago. “Fields are always on the low end of the totem pole.”
