Apartments, Grocery Store at Columbia Pike Site
NEWS | February 12, 2021
Arlington, VA
Last summer, the public caught wind of upcoming plans to redevelop the Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center on Columbia Pike in Arlington. Now, UrbanTurf has learned what will come to that site.
A rezoning application has been filed to apply Columbia Pike-specific zoning to the property at 2601 Columbia Pike (map) in order to deliver The Elliott, a six-story building with 248 apartments with a new CVS pharmacy and a grocery store on the ground floor. Property owner Fillmore Center, LLC is partnering with Insight Property Group on the development.
The replacement CVS would be roughly 9,500 square feet and the grocery store would be about 30,000 square feet. The development would also have three levels of below-grade parking, including 162 shared and retail spaces and 250 residential parking spaces.
The unit mix at The Elliott would span from studios to two bedrooms, and the development would also have three courtyards, a pool, and a rooftop terrace. MV+A Architects is the designer. Additional renderings are below.
DESIGN BRIEF | February 2021
2020 Year in Review
Awards Received: 3
Projects Completed: 4
Projects Under Construction: 9
New Employees: 4
Babies Born: 2
Virtual Book Clubs: 3
Pets Adopted: 3
African Outposts: 1
MV+A is grateful to have accomplished what we did in 2020. The firm as a whole grew professionally as we added new projects and completed existing ones, while receiving much appreciated recognition and awards in the process. Personally, the MV+A team grew to understand the necessity of patience and understanding as we, along with everyone else, worked hard, adapted, and simply tried our best. Below highlights some of our work as we valiantly trudged through 2020, along with what we look forward to in 2021.
2020 Awards
Whole Foods Market – The Boro
Tysons, VA
Working with general contractor, L.F. Jennings, Inc., MV+A received The Associated Builders and Contractor’s (ABC) Best Retail/Interiors award for Excellence in Construction in the Metro Washington area.
Whole Foods Market – West Broad Street
Richmond, VA
The Greater Richmond Association for Commercial Real Estate (GRACRE) awarded the Whole Foods, located in The Sauer Center development near the Fan District, the 2020 Project of the Year Award. More details regarding both new Whole Foods locations can be found here.
Check out last month’s Design Brief for MV+A’s other award-winning project, Chapman Stables. The project won the D.C. Preservation League’s 2020 District of Columbia Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation.
Completed in 2020
Liberty Place
Fredericksburg, VA
Whole Foods Market – Florida Avenue
Washington, DC
Expected 2021 Completion
Faraday Park East and West
Reston, VA
Crossroads at Towson Row
Towson, MD
Halley Rise – Block F
Reston, VA
Riverdale Park Station – Building 5
Riverdale Park, MD
In addition to 2020 consisting of substantial construction activity, there was also considerable planning and entitlement processes happening behind the scenes. Keep an eye out for a future Design Brief featuring recent MV+A projects securing entitlements.
Looking back on 2020, it is hard to believe it has almost been a full year since the office has (fortunately) been working remotely. As we continue to work from home, we value our clients, consultants, and partners, and appreciate the opportunity to stay busy during this tumultuous time. As for 2021 – the show must go on!
NEWS | February 1, 2021
Fairfax County, VA
Tysons Reporter | Board of Supervisors Green-Lights Merrilee Apartment Building
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved the construction of an apartment building with ground-floor retail in Merrifield.
The project replaces a 1980s-era, three-story office building at 2722 Merrilee Drive with a seven-story, 85-foot-tall residential building with retail and recreational amenities.
Proposed by Elm Street Development under the name Merrilee Ventures, the apartment building will have 239 residential units and 30 units for retail use.
On Tuesday (Jan. 26), supervisors approved the developer’s request to reduce the site’s existing parking by 18% because it is close to the Merrifield-Dunn Loring Metro Station.
The Merrilee building will have 294 parking spaces, including 264 set aside for residents. Merrilee Drive and a planned private street will also have on-street parking.
Elm Street Development is providing 20,000 square feet of passive and active open space, including a retail plaza, an outdoor fitness area, and an expanded streetscape along Merrilee Drive.
“One of the opportunities for Merrifield is to simply link the [Dunn Loring Metro station] to the extensive retail amenities in the established urban core,” McGuireWoods managing partner Greg Riegle, a representative for Elm Street, said on Tuesday.
He further described the project as “an opportunity to promote that connectivity and set a template for the walkable streets, pedestrian amenities, and reasonable street-level retail that will make it an increasingly interesting and amenitized walk.”
During the meeting, Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik lauded the project because it will enhance the pedestrian experience and provide open spaces, including a much-needed dog park.
“I am pleased it resulted in a high-quality urban design that maximized indoor and outdoor amenities and publicly accessible spaces,” she said.
Elm Street Development is still working with Providence District to find .45 acres of space to develop into an urban park. The company is unable to meet a standard in Merrifield’s comprehensive plan that requires urban park space in new developments.
Staff calculated that .63 acres of on-site park space would be required, but Elm Street Development said only .17 acres fit on the site. So, the developer is looking to make up the remaining .45 acres elsewhere. If it can’t find that space, the developer will contribute $500,000 to Fairfax County Park Authority for future urban park spaces.
Those who worked on the project told the supervisors that the project revealed challenges in the urban park standards within the Merrifield Suburban Center Comprehensive Plan.
When approving the Merrilee project, Palchik asked Fairfax County staff to find new ways to achieve the plan’s vision for urban parks.
“The challenge of meeting the urban park standard within the application brought to light needs that, when addressed, will help realize the comprehensive plan’s vision for additional park resources here in Merrifield,” she said.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously approved the project on Dec. 9 after deferring the decision for a week over concerns about the urban park space requirements.
Although concerns over parking and stormwater management were raised during the planning commission’s public hearing in December, no public speakers came forward on Tuesday.