At least one development project near the Herndon subway station is moving forward.
The City of Herndon is currently reviewing a site plan and architectural designs for a mid-rise residential building at 555 Herndon Parkway. This is the first of two approved phases of a mixed-use development to replace the low-rise, vacant office building on the site.
After the City Council approved a rezoning in December 2022, the project was referred to the Herndon Architectural Review Board (ARB) on July 10, where a work session focused on the building’s design and its compliance with the City’s Herndon Transit-Oriented Core (HTOC) neighborhood guidelines.
Although the work session was not recorded, Herndon’s Community Development Department said it was an informal but productive discussion.
“The board provided a positive review with some specific suggestions regarding the design of the facade, scale, variation and structure, and the integration of the balconies into the design,” community development staff told FFXnow via email.
In a memo to the board, staff stressed the importance of “breaks” in the building’s facade to reduce its visual mass and suggested more work needed to be done on the east side. Metal panels proposed as a privacy screen for a parking garage were initially given the green light because they would add “interest and structure to an otherwise large, blank facade,” according to renderings provided by developer Fairfield Residential.
However, the south wall of the garage is expected to feature similar pedestrian-friendly elements as other parts of the site, staff said, even though it will ultimately be covered by a possible 24-story office building that will be approved in the second phase of the development.
More attention should also be paid to the south facade of the residential building facing Dulles Toll Road, as employees believe it receives less attention than the area facing Herndon Parkway.
“The goal of the HTOC is for it to serve as a gateway to Herndon from the Dulles Toll Road and the Metro,” the memo states. “Part of the creation and development of this urban gateway to the city is that all facades/perimeters are equally emphasized as urban, publicly accessible facades with pedestrian-friendly bases.”
The development plan for 555 Herndon Parkway was originally submitted to the city by Penzance in 2017 and went through several revisions. Compatibility with Herndon’s identity was a particular concern, as this was the first mixed-use project submitted after the city adopted an HTOC development plan in 2012 in advance of Metro’s Silver Line extension.
A plan was given the green light in 2019, but Penzance returned in 2021 with a slimmed-down proposal that removed a residential building and eliminated about 125,000 square metres of office space.
The latest development plan, approved in 2022, calls for a 400-unit apartment building, 460 square meters of ground-floor retail space, and an 18,500-square-meter office building. The residential building could be six to ten stories high, with a maximum height of 33 meters.
When fully built out, the parking garage will have at least 821 spaces and a private outdoor rooftop area. The plan calls for a central plaza on the Herndon Parkway side, where retail would also be concentrated.
According to Fairfield Residential’s presentation to the ARB, the first phase of the project will create the public plaza, which will feature outdoor seating, public art, a green lawn that could host events, and a covered area for food trucks and other activities. Other amenities include a publicly accessible courtyard with a fire pit and grilling stations, and a temporary green space with a dog park and bocce and pickleball courts.
The developer has also agreed to build an 8-foot-wide bike path and sidewalk along Herndon Parkway before the city issues the first residential building permit.
Fairfield Residential – which purchased the property from Penzance for $18.25 million on Nov. 30, 2023, according to Fairfax County records – did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
According to the Department of Community Development, the project will return to the ARB for a final design decision after staff completes the site plan review.
“We cannot provide an exact timeline as it depends on the responsiveness of the applicants,” said Herndon spokeswoman Anne Papa. “The site plan is in the final stages of design and review; we expect the ARB to formally review the project this fall.”
According to city officials, Herndon currently has five mixed-use redevelopment projects that have been approved or are under review in the HTOC. These include the properties along Herndon Parkway that directly border the tollway and the Herndon Metro station.
Other projects include the Parkview project at 593 Herndon Parkway. Lerner Enterprises’ plan, also expected to be approved in 2022, calls for 1 million square feet of office, residential and retail space in three high-rises while also allowing space for a future promenade from the Metro station entrance.
“Together with these other projects, (555 Herndon Parkway) will transform this part of the city into a vibrant urban environment with diverse land uses, higher density, publicly accessible open space and multimodal transportation improvements,” staff said.
