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May 25, 2012

Bluemont neighbors held a tense but cordial discussion over the potential redevelopment of the Safeway site at 5101 Wilson Blvd. Only about 40 people showed up to the meeting in what is geographically one of the county’s largest civic associations, so it’s a little tough to draw conclusions about “what the civic association wants” based on this sample size.

However, the discussion centered around what the community wants and does not want on the space. Legally, Safeway could develop the parcel “by right,” meaning that they could put any building there that matched current zoning laws. This allows for a building up to 35 feet.

Some in th audience wanted to hold Safeway to that, which is a three-floor building.  Others were willing to go to four floors.

A representative from JBG Companies was there, and his basic assessment was that he thought Safeway would sit on the property, unimproved, if the company could not find the right developer. Using back of the envelope calculations, he added that most developers would want as many as five floors total to make the project profitable.

In a request for proposals, Safeway is asking that the project include a 58,000 to 65,000 square foot Safeway store with 170 parking spaces below the building. For that, the company is willing to sell the “airspace” above the building for residential development.

In a survey completed a couple years ago just over 50 percent of the neighbors said they would want a building that was three floors or fewer.

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May 25, 2012

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Early stages of a long process

Redevelopment of the Safeway site offers Bluemont the biggest challenge and opportunity we've seen in a long time.

I think most folks would like a better grocery store and perhaps a couple additional small storefronts, which would help strengthen the Bluemont community, be convenient (particularly for residents with mobility challenges), and boost property values. It might also spur new investment and revitalization of Bluemont's fairly tired commercial district (which thankfully sparkles with a few gems).

My impression is most folks want to maintain Bluemont's residential feel (with Westover, not Clarendon, as a model) by limiting the height, density, and number of residential units to minimize traffic impacts. Sufficient parking will also be needed to avoid increasing pressure on residential streets.

Redevelopment might also provide an opportunity to accelerate improvements to dangerous neighborhood sidewalks (particularly on Wilson between George Mason and Woodrow, though many other areas are in dire need) and add impetus to a Western entrance to the Ballston metro.

The neighborhood would like the aforementioned benefits within the current by-right zoning laws, but this may not be financially viable for Safeway and a developer. As such, Bluemont needs to consider our willingness to make some tradeoffs. While we wait to see if Safeway accepts a developer’s proposal, BCA will work to educate folks about the lengthy site planning process and get a better sense of the community’s desires.

My understanding is that Safeway essentially wants a new, larger store for free, which means a developer needs to build residential (and perhaps other commercial) units to make a profit. JBG emphasized it had not run the numbers, but offered a back-of-the-napkin estimate that 200 residential units (about four floors above the ~20' tall Safeway) might be required. This would put total height at ~60' (part of Safeway could perhaps be done below grade). Concentrating massing along Wilson to enable tapering toward the residential areas at the back of the site might push heights to around 70' on Wilson (Safeway +5 floors) to enable more modest 50' heights (Safeway +3 floors) toward 8th Road N (all underground parking with escalators for shopping carts, etc.).

My sense is that any proposal along those lines (or larger) will not fly with the community. Time will tell, but I’m guessing the absolute maximum Bluemonters *might* tolerate is somewhere around 50’ along Wilson (Safeway +3 floors), tapering to townhouse-scale heights of around 40’ toward 8th Road N, (Safeway +2 floors). If JBG is right, smaller-scale scenarios probably require Safeway to pay part of the cost of its new store. This seems reasonable to me but may not be palatable to Safeway execs.

I hope we can find a workable compromise for all parties, and am looking forward to a series of interesting and civil discussions in the weeks and months ahead.

John more than 1 years ago

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