The 47.9-acre Reston Town Center North redevelopment cleared its last planning hurdle on July 22 and now heads to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for a final vote on Sept. 15. If approved, land swaps between the county and Inova Health System could allow site preparation to begin before the end of the year.
But full buildout of the 11-block project won't wrap up until around 2050.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission voted 11-0 to recommend approval of the joint rezoning application, which would transform a cluster of aging county facilities and Inova-owned parcels bounded by Baron Cameron Avenue, Town Center Parkway, New Dominion Parkway and Fountain Drive into a mixed-use civic district.
What gets built first
Phase 1 prioritizes three public anchors: a new Reston Regional Library, a relocated Embry Rucker Community Shelter and an initial 3.5-acre Central Green park. The library is expected to open in early 2030, with the shelter following several months later, according to Patch. The existing library and shelter will remain operational until their replacements are finished.
Inova will build the Central Green to an interim condition during Phase 1. Under the rezoning terms posted on the Hunter Mill District website, that initial park must be delivered and dedicated to the Board of Supervisors before the first new building on the site is occupied.
"The urgency that is on everybody to deliver that library and that shelter is acute," Timothy Sampson, the joint application's legal representative, told commissioners at the July 22 hearing, as reported by the Connection Newspapers. "With the plan that is proposed now, we have a framework for going into site plan and public improvement plan, which the county intends to do this fall."
The land swap that makes it possible
Fairfax County and Inova currently own a patchwork of properties across the site. A separate real estate agreement will allow the two partners to swap parcels so that future buildings, roads, parks and public facilities land in the most appropriate locations. The county has not disclosed dollar values or parcel sizes for the exchange.
Inova's later phases
Beyond the public facilities, Inova is committed to building up to 1,000 residential units concentrated on three blocks (Blocks 2, 4 and 6) along Fountain Drive, across from the Spectrum Shopping Center. Those same blocks may also include up to 150,000 square feet of office, medical or retail space.
The plan also reserves a 4.4-acre parcel for a potential future elementary school, though no school project has been approved. Ten acres of total open space are included, encompassing the Central Green, Edgewater Park, tree-save areas, streetscapes and an athletic field.
A framework, not a building permit
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said in a statement after the vote that the rezoning is a necessary precursor for future site-specific rezonings for the new library, the replacement shelter and several other critical county facilities.
Each of the 11 blocks will still require its own site-specific rezoning before construction can begin. The current approval establishes the road network, density ranges, land-use limits and development guardrails.
Hunter Mill District Planning Commissioner John Carter, who is retiring from the commission, noted at the hearing that the timeline slipped a year at the last Capital Improvement Program cycle, pushing projected completion from 2049 to 2050.
What's next
The Board of Supervisors public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 15. Residents can testify in person or submit written comments through the county's online speaker sign-up system. If the board approves the rezoning, the county plans to begin site plan and public improvement plan work this fall.
