Harris Teeter Plans Detailed at Joint Meeting

Falls Church residents got a good glimpse Tuesday night of what the new Harris Teeter in the city would look like.

Patrick Kearney, principal for Rushmark Properties LLC, said the six-story building would not only bring a Harris Teeter to busy West Broad Street, but it would also bring 282 apartments and, along with the new structure, an estimated net fiscal impact of $1.32 million.

The new housing units would include 265 market rate apartments and 17 designated for affordable housing.

Over a 20-year span, that net fiscal impact of the arrival of the Harris Teeter and other possible retail stores is estimated at $22 million.

There was no estimated start date for construction available.

“It’s a more urban master plan development,” Kearney said during the meeting.

More than 20 residents packed the Dogwood room in City Hall for the joint City Council-Planning Commission meeting. City Manager Wyatt Shield said he thought the city should let the citizens hear the changes Rushmark made to accommodate the residents.

Kearney said some things were changed to limit noise and prohibit the new building from being right on top of neighboring homes. The idea of bringing the supermarket chain to the city was announced to the public in October.

The 372,000 square feet mixed use building with three levels of underground parking, would sit on two lots totaling 1.3 acres along West Broad Street. Rushmark wants to buy the land from the city for $4.3 million. Rushmark submitted some revisions to their original plan, which included a five-story building and 294 apartments. Kearney said they listened to the concerns of the residents and are now looking to build up and not out.

“This project doesn’t solve every problem in Falls Church,” Kearney said. “In the greater scheme of things, it brings more to the city.”

There are still plenty of steps Rushmark must go through before they can begin work on the project (see attached PDF). According to a release from the city, Rushmark may not find out if the project was approved or not until May or June and must still be granted a special exception by the city.

The project drew criticism in October when restaurant goers were up in arms over word that the owner of the property where Anthony’s Restaurant is wanted to sell the building to make way for the Harris Teeter. Mayor Nader Baroukh urged Rushmark to work with the owners of Anthony’s on some kind of relocation ideas.