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Pre‑application briefing: Fairfax Square concept proposes nearly 300 units and phased mixed‑use plan
Summary
Staff presented a conceptual, non‑application mixed‑use redevelopment at Fairfax Square Professional Center proposing about 293 units on roughly 10.47 acres and modest increase in commercial square footage; staff emphasized required transportation studies, stormwater/phasing considerations, affordable‑dwelling unit modifications, tree preservation and pedestrian design as issues for formal application review.
At a July work session the Planning Commission reviewed a pre‑application concept for mixed‑use redevelopment at the Fairfax Square Professional Center (9840–9946 Main Street).
Mr. Sutton (staff) described the briefing as conceptual — not a formal application — and outlined early staff feedback provided to the property owner. The concept would retain two existing buildings (a bank and a renovated office) while demolishing others in phases to make room for new commercial and residential buildings. “What’s proposed here is 293 units on 10.47 acres, which comes out to roughly 28 dwelling units per acre,” Sutton said while presenting site plans and massing images.
Staff highlighted key technical areas the applicant must address with a formal submission: transportation and parking (including a shared‑parking study), pedestrian connections and streetscape improvements along Main Street, fire‑apparatus access through tight internal turns, tree preservation and canopy retention, stormwater and utilities sequencing for phased construction, and conformance with the comprehensive plan. The applicant is considering a dedicated building for affordable‑dwelling units that could exceed the city’s minimum percentage, which would require a modification of the ADU provisions and a major certificate of appropriateness for new buildings and landscaping.
Commissioners probed phasing details, pedestrian connections to adjacent shopping centers across difficult grade changes, the balance of on‑street versus fronting parking, photometric and lighting impacts from existing commercial buildings, and how amenities for new residents would be provided and whether they would be shared with neighboring complexes. Staff said the applicant intends to retain as many existing tenants as feasible and that transportation, stormwater, and parking studies would be required before the application could proceed.
Staff said a City Council briefing is targeted for September 2, with subsequent next steps depending on the property owner’s decision to file a formal application.
