A long-awaited overhaul of the Springfield mall has taken a major step forward, with a developer filing plans for a new blueprint for the Fairfax County shopping hub.
The mall, owned by Vornado Realty Trust, is widely seen as one of the county’s prime targets for redevelopment.
The exact details of the Springfield Mall Town Center rezoning proposal filed Jan. 11 were unclear Thursday because the county has not yet reviewed them and the application itself couldn’t be accessed by press time. Vornado did not return multiple phone calls.
Hopes run high, however, that the now-lackluster mall on Frontier Drive can be converted to a more vibrant locale. Another major mall revamp of the Tysons Corner Center saw approval from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this week.
“What we want to see, clearly, is increased retail and a couple new big-box retailers to help anchor them all,” said Jeff McKay, chief of staff for Fairfax County Supervisor Dana Kauffman. “We obviously want to see some new office space and a hotel to bolster it as a real mixed-use project.”
Kauffman’s office has not yet received a copy of the proposal, he said.
Unlike the Tysons Corner project, the Springfield mall does not have simple access to rail, which is a key tenant of the development strategy of the county. The nearest Metro station is Franconia-Springfield on the blue line.
“We’ve made it clear to [Vornado] that there is going to have to be a significant investment in moving people from the station to the mall,” McKay said.
