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A Wegmans-adjacent site in Fairfax County previously planned for office could soon welcome hundreds of new housing units.
Toll Brothers and JLB Realty filed an application Wednesday with Fairfax County to build a five-story, 372-unit apartment building and 86 townhouses at the Commonwealth Centre development in Chantilly.
The new housing would be built on a 9-acre parcel on the western portion of the 101-acre Commonwealth Centre site, located at the intersection of Route 28 and Westfields Boulevard.
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The western portion of Commonwealth Centre, referred to as Land Bay A, already houses two office buildings totaling 325K SF and a parking garage. The remaining land was previously planned for a third office building, but Wednesday's application calls for a pivot to residential.
"The integration of this multifamily building and the additional multifamily stacked townhomes into Commonwealth Centre will further provide housing opportunities for young professionals and empty nesters who are attracted to walkable, vibrant places that enhance one's quality of life within a mixed-use community," said the application, signed by Hunton Andrews Kurth land-use attorney John McGranahan Jr.
The Wegmans opened at the development in June 2018. It is part of the retail portion of the site, owned by Regency Centers and branded as The Field at Commonwealth, which also features a Cava, Chipotle and several other retailers.
On the eastern portion of the site, referred to as Land Bay D, Toll Brothers in 2017 received approval to build 550K SF of residential development, consisting of over 200 townhouses. That portion is still under construction, according to the latest application.
A Toll Brothers spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The application is the latest in a series of proposals in Northern Virginia to build residential on properties that have been planned or developed as office, a sign of the relative strength of the housing market. Last month, the developer of One Loudoun applied to switch a planned office parcel to residential. And Fairfax County last month approved an application to convert three office buildings at the Skyline development to 720 live-work units.
