Fairfax Reviews Gordon Road Triangle Plans
Summary
On April 9, 2025, the Fairfax County Planning Department held a virtual community meeting to start its Site-Specific Plan Amendment Process for the properties in and abutting Falls Church City’s Gordon Road Triangle and the City’s Property Yard, collectively a 22-acre area formed by Route 7, Shreve Road, and the W&OD Trail.
The application, prepared by Andrew Painter of Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh, P.C. for several Beyer Family properties and the Animal Hospital parcel owned by NVVA-Falls Church Real Estate, LLC, envisions multifamily residential and ground-floor retail along W Broad Street and Shreve Road. The schedule anticipates that the Fairfax Planning Department will conclude its deliberations regarding this amendment to its Comprehensive Plan for the Gordon Road Triangle site by early June. If then approved by the County Board of Supervisors, the amendment would clear the way for increased density at the City’s west end.
SSPA screening process
Fairfax’s Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) is a countywide process for reviewing proposed changes to the County’s long-range Comprehensive Plan for individual sites. Considered proposals include potential changes to land use recommendations. The community meeting initiated this screening process for the Beyer–Gordon Road Triangle application (CPN-2025-I-PR-046); no decisions have been made thus far.
Beyer land straddles Fairfax – Falls Church boundary
Approximately 2.4 acres of the properties within the Gordon Road Triangle under consideration in the application from Beyer I Limited Liability Company are within Fairfax County. An additional 4 acres owned by various Beyer limited liability corporations are within the City of Falls Church and were subject to the Urban Land Institute Technical Assistance Panel (ULI TAP) analysis earlier this year. [See Pulse post, City Explores Redeveloping the 15-Acre Gordon Road Triangle, Including Its Property Yard, February 18, 2025.]
The County’s adopted Comprehensive Plan provides for “Mixed Uses at the baseline and recommended to develop as neighborhood-serving commercial uses up to 0.25 FAR [floor area ratio], with substantial screening to minimize any adverse visual or noise impacts to adjacent Residential uses north of Shreve Road. The concept for future development recommends “Suburban Neighborhoods” designation that is compatible with nearby stable residential neighborhoods.”
Existing conditions for these properties include: “Low-rise retail, restaurant, veterinary service, vehicular sales and services.”
Application focuses on proximity to Metrorail
The application was prepared by Andrew Painter of Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh, P.C. The application materials state that “Over the past five years, the [Beyer company] has considered the future of the Properties and their long-term redevelopment in light of the Properties’ proximity to Metrorail, recent development in the vicinity of the Property, and changing planning precepts.”
The application intends to consolidate the Beyer and NVVA Falls Church Real Estate parcels in the City and County, and provide for mixed-use development up to a 3.0 FAR with multifamily residential and ground floor retail along Route 7. While no specific site plans were put forth as part of the application, a general concept was presented as shown below.
The application “serves to advance a number of the County’s goals and objectives in the adopted Policy Plan and Comprehensive Plan,” Mr Painter wrote in conclusion. “The introduction of higher densities and a mix of uses (including residential) in the Triangle would help activate the Route 7 corridor, drive the demand for nearby retail and office users, and provide greater flexibility and appropriate transitions to residential uses along Shreve Road.”
“By concentrating new residents in [a] transit-rich location, the proposed [SSPA] would recognize changing consumer preferences for safer, walkable transit-oriented development in proximity to the West Falls Church Metrorail Station,” Mr. Painter asserted. “It will capitalize on the tremendous public investment the County has made in the Metrorail system and will help drive ridership while reducing auto dependency and maintaining commuter accessibility.”
Next Steps
The Fairfax Planning Commission will hold a workshop on this site-specific plan amendment on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in the Board Auditorium of the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Pkwy, Fairfax, VA, 22035, and a mark-up of the entire 2025 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program on Thursday, May 22 also at 7:30 p.m. in the same location. If needed, the Commission will hold a further mark-up of this and other SSPAs on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at 7:30 p.m.
The Board of Supervisors will then review Planning Commission and staff recommendations and determine what to add to the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program. This review will take place at their June 10, 2025 meeting.
The public can provide input to the Beyer proposal at https://engage.fairfaxcounty.gov/2025sspa or via email to DPDSSPA@fairfaxcounty.gov. The SSPA webpage can be found here.
