Some 17 new townhouses in Centreville took a step closer to becoming a reality when they were approved recently by the Fairfax County Planning Commission. Next stop is the county Board of Supervisors.
Envisioned as being mostly brick and upscale with garages, the homes would be built on 2.48 acres at Route 29 and ODay Drive. And one of the most exciting parts of the proposal is that, if it's approved, the ALD Group will contribute $30,000 toward improvements at the Barros Circle recreation area, across the street from the new neighborhood.
"Ordinarily, [developers] give $995/unit for recreation," said Sully District Planning Commissioner Ron Koch. In this case, it would have amounted to about $17,000 total. Instead, said Koch, "We got almost twice that amount."
ALD will clean up and re-pave the basketball court and put in a tot lot where children can play four square, tetherball and other games. ALD will also erect a fence between the recreation area and Route 29, as well as between that area and the woods to the east, to prevent errant balls from getting lost in the trees. Barbecue grills and benches will also be added.
Currently, the play area contains two basketball hoops — and nothing else. "I took [ALD representatives] over and showed them the condition of the present facilities, and they agreed to help." said Koch. "They'll lower one of the existing basketball backboards so the little ones can play. And we asked them to add lights so the children could play basketball later at night, and they said they will."
The issue came before the Planning Commission on Nov. 13 and got a thumbs-up from the commissioners. Those speaking on behalf of the developer included a resident of that area, eighth-grader Marcus Mahoney, who came to the hearing with five friends who also live there. He told how much these changes are needed and said how thankful they are that their community will be improved.
Also speaking was Centreville resident Carol Hawn, representing the Community Action Advisory Board (CAAB) — the county board that advocates for low-income people. Barros Circle is owned by the Fairfax County Redevelopment & Housing Authority, and a Barros Circle representative to CAAB had told Hawn that, when the children played basketball there, the balls were rolling toward Route 29, and residents were worried that they'd chase them into the busy highway.
They said a fence was needed there, and Hawn mentioned it to Koch, who acted on it. So she was pleased that the ALD Group came through for the community in such a big way. "What they're proposing is above and beyond what I'd hoped for," she said. "CAAB wanted to let the Planning Commission know how appreciative we were of what ALD was going to do — and also thank ALD for its contribution. That's not something we often see from developers."
"This is a perfect example of a public/private partnership because, obviously, the [county] Housing Authority doesn't have the funds to do something like this," agreed Koch. "It's very nice of [the ALD Group] to do it. Once they learned of the need, they stepped up to the plate."
The final step in the procedure is for the ALD Group to obtain permission from the supervisors for a rezoning. To achieve the housing density the proposal requires, the property would need to be rezoned from its currently approved one home per acre to eight homes per acre. The supervisors are slated to decide on Jan. 6.