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TextCommunity Information Meeting on University Mall Renovation Held
Over 40 Braddock and Springfield District residents from North Hills,
Kings Park West, Country Club View and the Kelley Drive area gathered at
Oakview Elementary School on February 23 to hear an update from College
Town Associates on its plans to renovate the University Mall at Braddock
Road and Route 123.
Rick Wolff, President of Rucker Realty, took the community through the
updated layout, showing how the applicant had attempted to meet previous
concerns voiced by residents and staff. Wolff also announced that Giant
Food had agreed to completely renovate the interior of its existing
store, and was studying the potential for expansion. Supervisor Cook
noted that issues that appeared to be still unresolved after the meeting
included the height and lighting of three accent towers proposed for the
site, and the future egress from the parcel onto Route 123.
The Planning Commission is scheduled to make a decision on this case on
April 6. A public hearing before the Board of Supervisors has yet to be
scheduled. County Staff proposes to issue an amendment to its earlier
report, incorporating new development conditions, plans and proffers. A
link to those plans will be available late next week.
The current staff report dated January 5 can be read at this link: http://ldsnet.fairfaxcounty.gov/ldsnet/ldsdwf/4338597.PDF
Wal-Mart Coming to Braddock
Long vacant, the site of the Home Depot Expo at 11181 Lee Highway will
soon become the home of a Wal-Mart store. This store will use the chain’s
newest prototype - a smaller store that focuses on providing focused
services, but will also include a grocery that features fresh produce,
dairy, fresh meats and frozen foods. There will be a pharmacy,
electronics and apparel, but no garden center or gas station. One new
feature of this prototype will be a kiosk from which customers could
order anything carried by the chain and have it delivered to this
location for pick-up at no cost.
This store will be built within the existing footprint (90,000 square
feet), and is considered to be a “by right” use in the C-8 Commercial
District where it is located. Building plans have been reviewed and
approved by the County. The chain is subleasing this space from Home
Depot Expo, as allowed under its own lease with the landowner. Access is
provided by an existing traffic signal and parking meets all County
standards.
The new store is scheduled to open in September, 2011 although the exact
date will be determined over the next few months. The store will create
approximately 200 new jobs for County residents, about two thirds of
which will be full time.
It will also feature a number of green building features, including a
daylight harvesting system which can reduce the amount of energy used
during daylight hours by up to 75 percent. The system can save up to an
average of 800,000 kilowatts annually - enough energy to power 73 single
family homes for an entire year. The system uses computer-controlled
daylight sensors and skylights.
The prototype will also feature LED lighting for exterior building
signage, and many refrigerated food cases will use light emitting diodes.
LED technology is up to 52 percent more energy efficient than fluorescent
lights and are projected to last at least six years beyond conventional
lighting.
Plans Received for the Steamboat Landing and Bryce Subdivisions
The Supervisor’s office receives copies of all subdivision plans that are received for construction projects in Braddock District. Two have recently been received in this office for review by interested citizens.
County Staff is currently reviewing the Steamboat Landing Subdivision Plan (7066-SD-001-1) to construct three homes on this lot for compliance with the subdivision ordinance. VDOT has been asked to look at the line of sight issues on the curve in Steamboat Landing Lane which came out of a community meeting held on the site in Mid-December.
Subdivision plans have also been received for the Bryce subdivision (1736-SE-023-1) on Burke Lake Road. This is a project for a nine house subdivision that was the subject of a recent rezoning. Interested citizens are invited to review these plans during normal working hours or can arrange to check them out overnight.
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