Flashbacks:
The RNGC Caddyshackpocalypse
Bollards!
The long, often interminable wait for the redevelopment of the Lake Anne Village Center, first proposed in 2009, may finally be coming to an end. After issuing an RFP to redevelop the county-owned Crescent Apartments complex in early 2012, Fairfax County has finally selected a developer, Republic Land Development, LLC, which will operate under the moniker Lake Anne Redevelopment Partners LLC as it readies its plans to bring bollardy, vowel-free goodness to Reston.
But there's more! What wasn't pointed out in the initial coverage of the deal is that the redevelopment proposal that Republic will now work on will also include plans to realign Village Drive -- and, quite possibly, additional construction in the current village center parking lot and the gas station property across the street. The deal with the county requires the developer to file plans for the Crescent Apartments complex and "Land Unit A," as seen in the helpful map to the right. Connecting new development to the original Village Center in a more coherent way was one of the county's goals from the onset of the process, and reading between the lines, it might have been what held up the RFP process for this long.
According to the county, eight proposals were received in response to the Crescent RFP, presumably including the one that got the most attention during the long, long wait for news.
In response to concerns about losing one of Reston's largest affordable housing complexes, the county has included a stipulation that 181 replacement affordable units will be "part of the first phase of development." The agreement also "requires a relocation plan for the residents of the Crescent apartments that... provides the option for current residents at the time of redevelopment to be able to live at the Property at affordable rents provided that they meet eligibility requirements."
No county money will be involved in the redevelopment. The county's Board of Supervisors is expected to approve the agreement at a meeting on July 9, after which more formal development agreements and plans will be drafted and go through the usual approval process.
Republic has been involved in the development of Gerogetown Park, Market Square, Washington Harbour, and the Portals. In a statement given to the Washington Business Journal, president David Peter calls the agreement "truly an historic opportunity."
Our entire team is fully committed to realizing the County's mission for the Crescent residences, as well as the principles of Bob Simon, who pioneered the concept of a "live-work-play" community that provides housing opportunities for all income levels. We all grew up learning about the significance of Lake Anne Village Center and Reston in our educations, so this is a real honor for us to be chosen to be part of this important development.We're happy to see progress being made. Now we just have to see what that progress winds up looking like in practice.
Where the fuck is Gerogetown?
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know the details of the "relocation plan." Will the alternative apartments have to be all in one place? Do they have to be to the liking of the residents being "relocated?" Do the "relocated" residents get to decide whether they approve/like the place offered to them? What makes ANYONE think these people are not going to be mad as hornets about having to move for an unspecified time?
ReplyDelete1. The county should not own apartments.
2. The county in "managing" other people's lives instead of letting the free market work, now has the problem of keeping them happy.
I'm extremely late to this thread, but if they increase the number of affordable units at Crescent, I would really like to see the nearby Cedar Ridge complex torn down and redeveloped as mixed-income housing as well. The county-owned Cedar Ridge is old, dilapidated, and apparently a fire risk (judging by the fire responses I've seen over the years).
ReplyDeleteThis would probably reduce the number of affordable units at that site and shift some people to Crescent, but as a former C.R. resident (in the 1990s) I would have much preferred being in new construction by Lake Anne amenities rather than those old units on a dead-end street near nothing in particular.
Natch, if the county even considered this prospect, it would probably slow down Lake Anne redevelopment even further since our elected leaders seem to have trouble working on even one project at a time.