With County Approval, Lake Anne Redevelopment to Begin With Road Work, Affordable Housing, Grocery In Early 2016

After a series of public hearings, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors gave final approval to the massive Lake Anne redevelopment during a meeting last night. Groundbreaking is anticipated to begin early next year. Give us some good blockquote, BFFs from Reston Now:

“Lake Anne redevelopment has been a very long long process,” Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins said when introducing the motions for decision at the board’s meeting. “I am pleased today to reach a conclusion.”

The vote came after some last-minute tweaks to the plan, including reducing the number of parking spaces. The developer says that initial work to begin in early 2016 includes realigning Village Road and building the midrise affordable housing -- nice that this is actually first -- plus the grocery building (not to be confused with the grossery building), the first townhouses, and a "recreation trail."

“We still have a lot of work to do, but today’s approval is a major milestone in achieving the vision for a renewed Lake Anne,” said Stacy Hornstein, senior vice president and director of acquisition and development for Republic Land Development, an LADP partner, said in a statement. “We genuinely appreciate all the support and feedback we’ve received over the past 10 years, and will continue our dialogue with county officials and the community as we move forward and get closer to construction.”

Because we love us some sweet architectural renderings, please to be enjoying these new (to us) images from the county planning staff report (at 349 pages, you might want to print it now to have something to curl up with during our next dance with the Snow Miser).


One of the (seriously) great things about this project is how it blends thoughtfully with the existing architecture of Lake Anne Plaza. The only problem in this picture? NO BIKE RIDING IN THE PLAZA. Read the signs, you darn kids!


Here's an example of the public art we can look forward to. We'd stop and stare at this inscrutable object too.


Huh. Not sure the whole "vary the materials on the facade to make big buildings look less big" trick they teach folks in architecture school really helps here.


The outdoor amphitheater. Let's just hope it doesn't face the building pictured above.


"Oh, just strolling home with a baguette tucked under my arm. That's how you know I'm edgy and urban and paying market rates for my apartment."


Cool tot lot. Or, depending on what that thing on the left really is, tot prison.


In case you've been on the fence about this project because you weren't sure that signage will feature translucent LED panels, your worries are over.


Here's a children's treasury of all the little details we have to look forward to (we especially like this trash can offering passersby a smaller trash can, Aliens style). But NO BOLLARDS, fanciful or otherwise. And the county approved this anyway? We've been burned before, after all.