Franconia Governmental Center Redevelopment Project

Proposed redevelopment of the Franconia Governmental Center property on Franconia Road in Alexandria, VA, is to build an affordable multi-family housing complex. The Franconia District Office and Police Station currently housed there will be moving to a new facility on Beulah Road in 2025. Local residents objected they were not sufficiently notified about or consulted on the future use of this publicly-owned property. Multiple groups formed both in support of and against transferring the property to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA). The transfer was approved on May 21, 2024, and the FCRHA is making a decision on the interim agreement in October.

Table of Contents

    What’s Happening Now

    The Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) is met October 10 (to “execute” interim agreement) and October 17 (for public comment). Both meetings were open to the public. The FCRHA subsequently approved the agreement.

    Lusk to Convene Advisory Group

    The Coalition requested on update on Dec 9, 2024, from Supervisor Lusk on the advisory group on the redevelopment of the current Franconia Govt site.

    According to the August 30, 2024, Supervisor Lusk Report, “Should the FCRHA approve the interim agreement, my office will convene a citizen advisory group to directly engage with the selected private development partner for the multifamily residential development proposed to serve working families. The advisory group and the selected development partner will participate in two discussion sessions currently scheduled for Friday, October 18, 2024, and Wednesday, October 30, 2024, both from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM. The advisory group meeting location will vary and is expected to include an off-site tour as a component of the first meeting.

    The sessions are intended to provide an opportunity for a group of approximately 10-12 stakeholders representing diverse perspectives to advise the development partner by sharing opinions, land use concerns and other suggestions about the proposed development that were identified during the community conversations held in Spring 2024. Membership on this advisory group will include existing community residents, adjacent property interests, representatives of future residents and representatives from the Fairfax County Affordable Housing Advisory Council. The advisory group will disband following its second meeting.

    During the next phase of the process, the Franconia District Land Use Committee will conduct its land development review role in conjunction with Fairfax County staff and the selected development partner, which will serve as another venue for community engagement. Robust citizen participation throughout the land use planning and development process is encouraged.”

    It is not yet clear how or if the convening of this advisory group is being incorporated into the County’s planning and development process.

    What’s Next?

    IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE citizen advisory group being convened by Supervisor Lusk, the County has said there will be multiple opportunities for public input at the various stages of Planning and Development. See image below.

    Comprehensive Plan Amendment Review (aka SSPA)

    The next stage is the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Review Process 
    (aka Site-Specific Plan Amendment [SSPA] Process). This is Fairfax County’s process for reviewing proposed land use changes (proposals are called “nominations”) to the County’s Comprehensive Plan (changes are called “amendments”) for individual sites (not County-wide). These nominations and amendments are bacially exceptions that are made to the Comprehensive Plan.

    The timeline for this stage varies and can range from very quick (months) to very lengthy (years). The SSPA process can also run concurrently with the zoning review process, which makes outside monitoring even more challenging and further confuses the public. We will learn more about what’s ahead and keep you up-to-date.

    Community Input

    Prior to Public Hearings, the County staff will hold “community engagement” or “outreach” events which are not yet scheduled. These are typically held in the affected District at a local school or virtually.*

    *Virtual Information Sessions: At the direction of the Board of Supervisors, the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development staff recently held three virtual Q&A sessions to allow residents to ask questions and express their concerns about the “by right” placement of data centers in Fairfax. These one-hour virtual sessions served as educational forums for the public to better understand the complex land use review process in the County.

    The Rose Hill Coalition suggests such virtual information sessions be offered for the Franconia Governmental Center (and other key land use proposals) going forward.

    In contrast, for Public Hearings the legal notification period is two weeks and it must be published in a local newspaper. Fairfax County posts all Public Hearings in The Washington Times legal notices section. (To our knowledge, the County does not publish legal notices anywhere on its website, however, you can search for legal notices via https://www.publicnoticevirginia.com/

    What Happened?

    September 12, 2024, the Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) held a Public Hearing to review the interim agreement with the developers to redevelop the property as affordable housing.

    This Public Hearing was not recorded or broadcast. Minutes are published on the FCRHA website.

    On May 21, 2024, The Board of Supervisors voted* to transfer the property to the Fairfax Redevelopment and Housing Authority for affordable housing.

    *The vote to transfer the property had previously been deferred based on community objections that residents were not sufficiently notified about or consulted on the transfer or future use of the public property. Franconia Supervisor Lusk then held three community meetings in April and May 2024. See Community Meetings below.

    Board of Supervisor’s Discussion and Vote
    (audio and transcription by the Rose Hill Coalition LLC)

    Community Letters

    Based on public statements made by Supervisor Lusk at the May 6, meeting that acknowledged alternative uses for the site, the Rose Hill Coalition LLC, the Kingstowne Residential Owners Corporation (KROC), and several civic groups separately wrote Supervisor Lusk to object to the transfer and to request new public meetings (see below).

    Community Meetings

    Community meetings were held in April and May 2024 by Supervisor Lusk to get public input on the future of the site. A “Summary Presentation” was given on May 6 (see below).

    The first two “community engagement” meetings held by Supervisor Lusk to discuss the future of the Franconia Governmental Center site were on April 13 and 22, 2024. These presentations and directed discussions were primarily geared towards the conversion of the site to affordable housing and input on the desires of the community for the district overall. Nevertheless, residents took the opportunity to voice their ideas on the redevelopment of the site for other uses.

    Supervisor Lusk held a facilitated summary presentation on May 6, that included presentations by the Fairfax Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Fairfax County Fire Dept (not the Franconia Volunteer Fire Dept.), an environmental expert on chemicals related to the removal of the site’s fuel tank, and staff from the Planning Commission. Attendees (100+) were asked to share their “favorite aspect of their community”, submit questions on index cards*, and vote on their priority of improvements in community amenities not related to the redevelopment of the governmental center site.

    *Over 40 questions were submitted, but due to time limits, fewer than 10 were addressed. Answers to all the questions are posted on County website as FAQs. (See https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/topics/Franconia-Governmental-Center-Site)

    At the conclusion of the May 6 meeting, Supervisor Lusk acknowledged the community’s interest in making the site available to the Franconia Volunteer Fire Department currently located around the corner and adjacent to the governmental center. Lusk stated that additional research and “conversations” with Fairfax County would be necessary to determine the viability of the site for alternative uses. The Fairfax County Fire Department later determined the site to be unsuitable for a new fire station.

    Summary Presentation (May 6)

    Audio Recording and Transcript: 
    https://share.descript.com/view/10vxqVHWEBd
    (audio and transcription by the Rose Hill Coalition LLC)

    Presentation Slides:
    https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/topics/sites/topics/files/Assets/Documents/PDF/Franconia%20Community%20Conversation%20May%206%20FINAL%20-%20Copy.pdf (Fairfax County)

    Table Notes* (Fairfax County):
    May 6, 2024, Table 7 Notes (PDF)
    *additional notes are being requested via the Freedom of Information Act

    Timeline of Events

    • 3/9/21: Public hearing and vote (virtual) in March 2021, to convey board-owned property at the Franconia Governmental Center to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority. No public comments were submitted, and in 2023, the Virginia courts invalidated the virtual hearing and vote.
    • 2/3/22: Governmental Center Redevelopment Proposal (PDF, 379 pages)
      submitted on February 3, 2022, upon request to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority by NFP Affordable Housing Corp, Good Sheppard Housing and Family Services, and SCG Development Partners LLC. This was the only proposal requested and submitted.
    • 1/23/24: Second BOS Public Hearing and deferral of procedural vote on January 23, 2024 (hours 8:03 – 11:05) to “Validate and Convey Property at the Franconia Governmental Center to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority”
    • 1/25/24: Letter from Community Leaders on February 25, 2024
    • 3/4/24: Response from Supervisor Lusk on March 4, 2024, and scheduling of community engagement meetings for April and May
    • 3/5/24: Deferral on March 5, 2024, by the Board of Supervisors of the procedural vote to convey the property until May 21, 2024. Supervisor Lusk requested a deferral of the Board review and vote on the conveyance. The deferral was based on community objections that residents were not sufficiently notified about or consulted on the transfer or future use of the public property.
    • April-May 2024: Franconia District community engagement meetings held by Supervisor Lusk on April 13, April 22, and May 6, 2024.
    • 5/9/24: The Rose Hill Coalition LLC contends that new public meetings and hearings are required to consider alternative uses, and the vote to transfer the property to the Redevelopment and Housing Authority is no longer valid.
    • 5/3/24 and 5/13/24: Supervisor Lusk met with Chief Fleming of the Franconia Volunteer Fire Dept on May 3 and May 13, 2024.
    • 5/15/24: the Kingstowne Residential Owners Corporation (KROC) wrote a letter to Supervisor Lusk opposing the property transfer.
    • 5/21/24: The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted on May 21, 2024, to convey the Franconia Govt Ctr property to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority. There was no public comment period at this meeting.
    • 9/12/24: The Redevelopment and Housing Authority Public Hearing on the interim agreement with the developer.
    • 10/10/24: Redevelopment and Housing Authority meeting to “execute” the interim agreement with the developer.
    • 10/17/24: Redevelopment and Housing Authority meeting to hear public comments (?)

    >> See more detailed Timeline (March 2021-January 2024) (pdf)

    Surveys and Feedback

    If you would like to provide feedback at any point, you may email Supervisor Lusk at Franconia@fairfaxcounty.gov.

    For contact information for the Chairman and other District Supervisors, see Sample Emails.

    For several weeks in April, Fairfax County posted a survey online for residents to answer questions on the redevelopment of the Franconia Governmental Center site for affordable housing. The survey questions and results had little to do with the redevelopment of the site other than for affordable housing and local community amenities.

    During the May 6, community meeting, a “live” survey of the attendees was conducted to determine the top three “preferred community amenities to include if this is a housing redevelopment on this site”. Only one question addressed the community’s ideas for alternate uses despite extensive discussions of alternatives during the April 13 and 22, 2024, community engagement meetings.

    A petition opposing the transfer was posted by the Franconia Coalition as well as an email campaign in favor of affordable housing by Ventures in Community (YIMBY) in April.

    Redevelopment Project

    Franconia Governmental Center Redevelopment (Fairfax County):
    https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/topics/Franconia-Governmental-Center-Site

    The Franconia Governmental Center Redevelopment project is sponsored by the Fairfax County Redevelopment & Housing Authority (FCRHA) under the provisions of the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002, as amended (PPEA). The Franconia Governmental Center located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia (Lee District). The FCHRA is seeking a qualified developer to design, develop, construct, own, and operate (at no cost to the FCHRA) an affordable multifamily community under the terms of a long-term, nominal fee ground lease from the FCRHA. The total number of units on the property would not exceed 120. For more information, see the Procurement Portal: Franconia Governmental Center Redevelopment

    • Franconia Government Center Interim Agreement.pdf (349.42 KB)
    • Notice of public Hearing – Franconia government center.pdf (37.85 KB)
    • Final Submission Franconia Governmental Center RFP SCG-NFP-GSH 04142022_Redacted.pdf (32.82 MB)

    New Franconia Governmental Center and Police Station (2025):
    https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/capital-projects/franconia-governmental-center-and-kingstowne-regional-library-project

    In The News

    8/30/24 Supervisor Lusk Report (announcement of advisory group)

    8/28/24 Notice of Public Hearing: Franconia Governmental Center Redevelopment

    5/10/24 Letter to the Editor Highlights Housing Needs (The Connection; see also Ventures in Community)

    4/25/24 VA, DC Renters Paying More For An Apartment Than A Year Ago (Kingstowne-Rose Hill Patch)

    1/24/24 Fairfax Co. Defers Decision On Franconia Governmental Center Property (Kingstowne-Rose Hill Patch)

    12/1/23 Franconia Government Center Public Hearing Gets Pushed Back To January (Kingstowne-Rose Hill Patch)

    Key Documents

    Franconia Governmental Center Redevelopment Concept
    Franconia Governmental Center Redevelopment Concept

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