If all goes as planned, six new restaurants and a day spa will eventually be coming to Westfields. Brian Self, with developer Long Properties, gave details at the Jan. 18 meeting of the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee.
"It's very upscale and high-end," he said. "It's a mix of restaurants and fast food."
THE SITE is at Westfields Boulevard and Route 28, and proposed are three buildings totaling 20,000 square feet, plus a freestanding
Applebee's Restaurant. Access is off Stonecroft Boulevard through Westone Plaza.
The southernmost of the three buildings will house an Eggspectations, a Canadian franchise that's a full-service, sit-down restaurant. The middle building will contain a dry cleaners, a day spa and a Camille's Sidewalk Cafe. Based in Chicago, it's similar to Panera.
Planned for the northernmost building are Scotto's Italian Grill, Mo's Southwestern Grill (similar to Chipotle's), Quiznos subs and a Cingular Wireless store. And next door to this retail complex, near the existing Texas Roadhouse restaurant, will be Applebee's. Said Self: "We just signed the lease."
The building will be brick, with the rear facing Route 28. Self said more glass will be added to make the back more attractive, and WFCCA's Mary Coyle recommended having awnings on the back, as well. Self also noted that Eggspectations will have an outdoor patio area, and the other two buildings will have some outdoor dining space, as well.
"This is a long time coming," said WFCCA's Ted Troscianecki. "I'm happy to see retail making a contribution to the community start to come on line." Committee member Carol Hawn asked if this meant the Applebee's near the Dulles Expo Center is going to close, but Self said he didn't know.
She also expressed disapproval with Texas Roadhouse's exterior, boasting flags and lighting, and hoped the multi-tenant restaurant buildings wouldn't be that "gaudy." She said they looked "busy" in the drawings Self had shown the WFCCA.
Then At-Large Planning Commissioner Jim Hart explained how, through the years, WFCCA has tried to be protective of the streetscape along Route 28. "We don't want a Las Vegas, lighted, type of look," he said. Agreeing with Hawn, he said, "There's a difference between visibility and garish and, to me, the lit-up roof of Texas Roadhouse would fit right in with Route 234 in Manassas."
HART HOPED there wouldn't be "roof-mounted spotlights, pennants, flags and clutter" on Applebee's roof, and he asked for as much brick as possible to be used in the buildings. Then Bill Keech, president of the Westfields Business Owners Association and the Westfields Architectural Review Board, took the floor.
He said the new Westfields Boulevard overpass will look down on the site, and he noted that the same area also contains the existing AmeriSuites Hotel, BP gas station and Goddard School. "We have another child-care center planned [for that vicinity], too," he said. "We need all the day care we can get in this area."
Regarding Texas Roadhouse, Keech said he'd take another look at the lights on top of it, based on the WFCCA's comments. He also said they'd consider adding more landscaping to the site of the proposed new buildings.
"We've always called this the Westfields Restaurant Plaza, and we have letters of intent and/or leases signed for everything," said Self. "Right now, within the Westfields Business Park, there's no place for anyone to eat lunch; Texas Roadhouse isn't open [then]."