Mixed-use redevelopment could one day come to the Foodstar site and other commercial parcels in Baileys Crossroads thanks to new land use guidelines recently approved by Fairfax County lawmakers.The Board of Supervisors signed off on a comprehensive plan amendment Nov. 21 for a 13-acre tapestry of separately owned commercial parcels in single-story, 1960s-era buildings and a 90-unit affordable garden apartment complex. The parcels sit less than a mile from Skyline Center, an office complex currently undergoing its own revitalization.The new guidelines would allow up to 1,300 additional multifamily units and 65,000 square feet more retail. Buildings could reach 14 stories along Leesburg Pike, but would transition down to about five stories along Seminary Road.expandThe red outlined area, mostly commercial uses, in Baileys Crossroads could become residential mixed-use.Fairfax CountyThe previous comp plan allowed 500 more units, 93,000 square feet of retail and 21,000 square feet of office/institutional space.County Supervisor Penny Gross, D-Mason, whose district includes the parcels, told me in an interview she hopes the area’s densification with new residential someday might serve as a “catalyst” for similar projects at other strip shopping centers in the area.Gross initiated the comp plan amendment last year on behalf of Bailey’s Star LLC, which owns the 4-acre Foodstar building at 5521 Leesburg Pike, formerly a Toys R Us, and its parking lot facing Leesburg Pike.That entity acquired the properties in 2019 and, per a county staff report, prepared a concept plan to redevelop them with 810 residential units — including 400- to 500-square-foot “micro-units” — and 40,000 square feet of retail across three buildings.A representative of Bailey’s Star LLC, which is affiliated with Ron Chun, CEO of a Korean-language media company in Fairfax, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.While the owners of the other commercial parcels around the Foodstar haven’t yet expressed the same redevelopment interest, Gross told me, the new comp plan amendment might generate new interest.Parcels east of Foodstar, across Gorham Street, currently home to a Denny’s restaurant and Autozone auto parts store, among other things, “would be well-served to be part of a future development,” Gross said at last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting.“I think that they will see that it will benefit them to look at redeveloping, also,” she said.The comp plan amendment adopted last week only provides a land use guide. Any redevelopment would require the Board of Supervisors to vote on separate rezoning applications, and proposals would also request project-level approval.Redevelopment of the Foodstar and surrounding commercial parcels would complement the mixed-use revitalization of Skyline’s multibuilding office park, which partnerships with D.C.’s Madison Marquette and Scottsdale, Arizona-based The Wolff Co. have recently undertaken, similarly by adding over 1,000 new residential units.The new comp plan amendment includes the Carousel Court Apartments, but owner AHC Inc., an Arlington-based affordable housing developer, has “no near-term plans” for the property, a spokesperson told me in an email.
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