Politics & Government

Planning Commission OKs 23-Story Reston Tower

The Fairfax County Planning Commission recommends for approval construction of a 23-story tower on Reston Parkway.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission on Thursday recommended for approval the 23-story office tower planned for 1760 Reston Parkway.

Now it is up to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to decide whether  the RTC Partnership can demolish the existing five-story "Reston Times" office building and construct a high-rise, 418,900-square foot mixed-use office building in its place. A date for discussion at the BOS has not yet been set.

At Thursday's meeting, Hunter Mill representative Frank de le Fe said he was recommending approval even though a March staff report found many faults with the project and recommended that the commission deny it. Among the faults: a size that is incompatible with nearby buildings and high density that will be more than one-quarter mile from the planned Reston Parkway Metrorail station.

Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Three planners voted "no" on the project on Thursday.

"A building this large that is three-quarters of a mile from the Metro is really automobile-oriented," said James Hart (at-large). "This has some county-wide implications if we approve a building this large this far from the station."

Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The project has already been approved in concept by  Design Review Board and the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee. Reston Association's Board of Directors, however,

The RA board sent a letter to the county planning commission, saying the building is "incompatible with the existing and planned development in the vicinity of the site" and violates the Reston's principles.  

"RA believes the intensity and building height should be reduced to levels that would be more consistent with the character of the existing and planned developments in the surrounding Reston area," the board said.

Members of the Reston Citizens Association's Reston2020 advocacy group said earlier this year that  the Town Center Office Building proposal "violates many of the Planning Principles adopted by the Reston Master Planning Task Force on 15 March 2011." 

"It is the wrong building in the wrong place," Reston2020 says on its website. "This proposal places a 23-story office building in the midst of the proposed Lerner Spectrum development. The Spectrum plan, which calls for a mixed use community, embodies many of the Task Force’s principles.

Reston 2020 says a building of this density should not be located far from the future Reston Parkway Metro station, which will be more than a half mile away.

"The proposed building would be one of the highest in Town Center, containing over 1,500 office workers in a 4.05 FAR development.  Yet it is over one-half mile from the future Town Center station.  The Planning Principles say that the 'highest densities will be within approximately one-quarter mile' from the future stations. The principles also indicate development will be stepped down from the immediate station area."

The Association of Reston Clusters and Homeowners has similar concerns.

"The pending application, which would locate an approximately 2,000-worker job center beyond a half-mile from the Town Center Metro Station, defies Transit Oriented Development," ARCH members said in remarks to the Reston Planning & Zoning Committee.

ARCH urges developers and the planning committee to consider current office vacancy rates in Reston. 

"We are very concerned that citing a major employment center more than a half-mile from the transit center will siphon office demand away from the immediate transit center," ARCH members said.

ARCH also points out that anything that impairs the ability to redevelop areas closest to the Metro stations will increse traffic and could depress Metro ridership, which in turn would pass off increased costs to taxpayers.

Both Reston2020 and ARCH recommend that the proposal be amended to be in keeping with Reston's planning principles.

However, Richard Wealen, managing partner of RTC Partnership, said in February the features of the tower — a contemporary design by Reston's Polleo Group — will make it a desirable location, despite nearby office vacancy rates.

Plans for the building include five floors of retail and parking and 18 stories of offices above that.

There are plans for an outdoor 38,000-square-foot terrace and green roof on the sixth floor. Developers hope to also build outdoor seating from a restaurant on that floor.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here