Master Plan Phase 2: Site-Specific Plans Would Increase Density Near Forest Edge, Redevelop Fairfax Hunt Club

Hey, remember how one of the sneaky new elements of Phase 2 of the Reston Master Plan process was that it allowed people to submit proposals for redeveloping specific chunks of Reston? Yeah, that was awesome. Turns out three property owners did just that, and one was "not specific and disqualified" (no truth to the rumor that it was our application to build a very narrow 96-story mauvescraper in the backyard of Restonian World Headquarters).

The other two requests? One would increase density at the 48-acre Colvin Woods Apartments near Forest Edge Elementary, and the other could result in the Fairfax Hunt Club rezoning its property near Lake Fairfax for residential development.

The owners of Colvin Woods Apartments, seven garden-style buildings from the late 1970s, are proposing to build three additional low-rise buildings and 40 townhouses on the southern portion of the site.

"The site benefits from its unique location between two regional open-space amenities, Lake Anne and Lake Fairfax," the submission states, adding that the additional development would justify modernizing the complex and offering properties at a broader range of rental prices.

The Fairfax Hunt Club, best known for the old-timey log cabin right outside Lake Fairfax Park, said in its submission that it was "considering relocating its operations and desires to have the option for this property to be converted to residential as are the surrounding properties."

Our BFFs at Reston Now point out that the club's history and Reston's go back to the days of the drunken village of Wiehle:

The Fairfax Hunt has deep, if not active, roots in Reston. A. Smith Bowman – founder of the former Reston distillery bearing his name — also founded the Fairfax Hunt Club in 1928. He later gave part of his 4,000-acre property to the club, and the clubhouse, built in 1951, remains as a catering facility today. Eventually, much of the surrounding land was sold to build Reston and fox hunting moved farther into horse country.

The clubhouse contains part of a 200-year-old log house that was formerly located a few miles away in Vienna. The club’s still owns eight acres near Lake Fairfax Park to the south and housing subdivisions on the other sides.

We've seen worse ideas (and locations) for redevelopment in recent years, but this is yet another reminder that more ch-ch-ch-changes are coming down the pike.