Change has been slow to come in Franconia but it’s picked up speed lately, with the Franconia Triangle Study, which is focused on a triangle of land bordered by Franconia Road, Beulah Street and Grovedale Drive.
Currently there are gas stations, small houses, a church, and a government building that houses the Franconia District Supervisor’s office and the district police station, and the Franconia Museum. Next summer, Supervisor Rodney Lusk (D-Franconia) is moving to a new government building that’s under construction about two miles away. The current aging building is being eyed for 120 affordable apartments.
Other additions for the Franconia Triangle include 63 townhouses, 30 multi-family units and retail sites facing Franconia Road.
This was all laid out at a community meeting Tuesday, Dec. 10 at a community meeting in the John R. Lewis High School cafeteria, where residents gathered to hear the plan. It was also available via Zoom. Katrina Newtson of the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development fielded questions from the audience along with Supervisor Lusk.
This meeting is following the initial consideration from April 11, 2023, when the Board of Supervisors authorized the consideration of a Plan amendment for Recommendation Area #3 of the S-9 Beulah Community Planning Sector, the county website said.
Currently, this triangle of land supports many community services that are needed in a well-rounded residential area. That includes restaurants, dry cleaning, veterinarian services, childcare, fire station and more. Some of these services will be included in the new configuration, but some will not and will require traveling outside this immediate area.
According to Supervisor Lusk the area will need wider sidewalks along Franconia Road followed by intersection improvements at Beulah Drive.
The next step for this plan is with the Board of Supervisors where they will look at the plan language. There are many more steps after that before it is implemented.
For more information, look under Plan Amendment SSPA 2023-IV-2S on the county planning website.