Stanley Martin Homes wants to build 1,074 homes on the vacant former T-Mobile campus next to the Herndon Metro station, replacing three office buildings constructed in the 1980s with a new residential neighborhood on 36 acres.

The Reston-based developer was scheduled to present the latest version of its "East Link" plan at a community meeting Monday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m. at the Reston Association conference center at 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive, FFXnow reported.

The plan filed with Fairfax County calls for 881 multifamily units and 193 townhouses at 12500 Sunrise Valley Drive, according to FFXnow. One building with 147 units would be exclusively affordable housing. The developer is also committing to 108 workforce dwelling units across the project, FFXnow reported.

Stanley Martin is seeking county approval of an alternative option as well: 868 homes paired with a seven-story office building. The developer's preferred option is the all-residential plan.

Both options would keep an existing one-story amenity building on the site and convert it into a recreational facility dedicated to the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA). That marks a shift from the community center the developer proposed in its original rezoning application filed in December 2025. The development would also include about 3.3 acres of publicly accessible parkland.

County staff flags design concerns

Fairfax County planning staff gave the project mixed marks in an Oct. 14 memo. Suzie Battista, Community Design Section director in the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), praised Stanley Martin's "ongoing efforts to incorporate additional sidewalks and crosswalks into the proposal, and the widening of pedestrian connections between the park spaces."

But Battista's memo also listed changes the county wants before the plan aligns with the comprehensive plan and Reston Design Guidelines. Staff recommended placing the tallest multifamily buildings closest to the Metro station, adding pedestrian connections to the Fairfax County Parkway and Herndon Metro, improving townhouse facades, relocating stormwater sewer lines to allow street trees, and better screening for parking garages.

"With continued coordination and attention to these elements, the application can more fully achieve the design goals and recommendations outlined in the Plan and Reston Guidelines," Battista wrote.

The project requires rezoning the property from I-4, a medium-intensity industrial district, to PDH-30, a planned development housing district. The Reston Association's project page lists the residential option at up to 1,041 units, while the most recent plan reported by FFXnow puts the total at 1,074. The discrepancy may reflect different counting methods or a lag in updating the RA page.

A final staff report will be released before the Fairfax County Planning Commission holds a public hearing on the rezoning on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m.