Fairfax County supervisors will take up a measure this month that would lay the groundwork for a massive redevelopment project at Springfield Mall, a decaying regional shopping hub hoped to lead the revitalization of the broader area.
The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote Nov. 17 on changing the county’s overarching land-use blueprint to incorporate the 80-acre mixed-use project, which would set the stage for a rezoning approval expected in March. The county’s Planning Commission recommended the change be approved last week.
With other hoped-for redevelopment projects falling apart around Springfield, officials are pinning their best hopes on the overhaul of the mall, at least in the near term. They say the underused property — close to both Metro and major highways — surpasses even Tysons Corner in its potential.
“I don’t think there is a single project in Fairfax County that is more important than the redevelopment of Springfield Mall,” said Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay, who represents the area.
At its full build-out, which could take 10 or 15 years, the mall could contain 5.7 million square feet of retail, office, residential and hotel space. About 1.86 million square feet of development sits there now.
Vornado Realty Trust, the mall’s owner, already has begun some early work on utility relocation and interior improvements, according to Mark Looney, a land-use attorney representing the firm.
The overhaul will be accompanied by improvements to the local transportation network. Vornado is proposing to rebuild much of the road network around the mall, add bike and pedestrian improvements between it and the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station, and pay into a regional road fund.
The pressure on Vornado to turn the mall into something more than a symbol of Springfield’s stalled economic development has grown recently, especially as the sagging economic claimed other major projects like Kettler’s Midtown Springfield and JPI’s Kings Crossing.
“Obviously, it makes it all that much more important that we get the rezoning done,” Looney said. “One of the most frequent questions I get when I go to community meetings is how fast can you get it done … or why haven’t you started it yet.”
