The Board of Supervisors on Monday approved a change in design for the Park Reston complex, just outside the Reston Town Center.
The old design is sometimes called a “Texas Doughnut.” The plan calls for a circle of seven-story buildings with parking in the center of about 5.7 acres at Reston Parkway and Temporary Road.
The new plan presented by developer Athena Renaissance would alter the design of the building, making it a pair of 14-story buildings with underground parking. The plan calls for maintaining the same number of residential units, 362.
The board approved the plan unanimously with Board Chairman Gerry Connolly (D) absent. Most of the discussion about the project took place during the March 21 meeting of the Fairfax County Planning Commission.
During that meeting, Ernest Grady, a nearby resident, said that the plan for a new high-rise building was more than just a change in design.
The change, said Grady, was representative of a shift in Reston, away from a typical, suburban neighborhood into an urban, concrete jungle.
“We may be losing something,” said Grady, a member of the Wainwright cluster board. “What concerns us even more is the totality of Reston is changing.”
During the Planning Commission meeting, Mark Looney, attorney for the developer, said that the new plan is better.
It will provide for 13 additional “affordable dwelling units” for the county.
Also, since the new building complex will have less impervious surface, there will be less impact on water quality. “The county is getting a better deal, quite frankly,” Looney said.
One way that the developer can achieve this reduction in paved area is by putting the parking underground, which Looney said costs $35,000- $40,000 per parking space.
Since that makes the building, and therefore the units, more expensive, he said that they will need to offer prospective buyers extra amenities. “The way we will be able to attract them is to offer them views,” Looney said.
But county planners disagree with Looney. The building is too tall, matching the heights of the buildings in the town center on the opposite side of the Reston Parkway, said Andrew Hushour of the Department of Planning and Zoning.
Neighbors would rather see the building be one story shorter so that it steps down from the town center.
Alice Abrash, another nearby resident, agreed with Grady. She said that the focus of the development should not be in comparison to the high-density town center, but in comparison to the neighborhoods nearby. “Look at Park Reston from North Shore Drive,” she said.
The Planning Commission sided with the developer. Tall buildings have always been part of the character of Reston, said Commissioner Frank de la Fe (Hunter Mill).
“Right from the beginning, this kind of high-rise development was part of Reston,” he said.
Commissioner Walter Alcorn (at large) said he also favored the new proposal. “I think the high-rises look better, personally,” he said.
Commissioner de la Fe went on to say that the Reston’s design review board also reviewed the plan, and they approved it when the proposal called for a 16-story building.
“It is a significant improvement and will add great value to the community,” de la Fe said.