Condo Tower Project Killed Near D.C.

According to the Washington Business Journal, plans to add a $50 million, 13-story, 58-unit condo building to a parcel near Reston Town Center was voted down by Fairfax County, which it reports is holding out hope for something larger. Reston is about 20 miles west of downtown D.C. Local developer Norton Scott submitted the plans for the .84 acre parcel but lost in a 9-0 decision by the county’s board of supervisors. One supervisor abstained from the vote, citing concerns over the county running into legal trouble.

Norton Scott wanted to build on an 0.84-acre parcel it owns behind the Reston Regional Library for the project, saying that the neighborhood has a real need for housing other than the copious apartments rising around its two Metro stations. But the county’s ambitions for the property convinced supervisors to block the necessary zoning changes to allow those plans.

County leaders want 47 acres of land from New Dominion Parkway to Baron Cameron Avenue redeveloped. The project would require changes to a host of buildings in the area, including a county police station, an Inova emergency room and a Sunrise assisted living facility.

Norton Scott’s property adjacent to the library is a key part of that vision, commonly dubbed “Reston Town Center North.” Fairfax officials hope to completely overhaul the library and the nearby Embry Rucker Community Shelter, and they’ve been hoping that some developer would pitch a plan to do just that, while adding other uses to the site.