Thursday, October 6, 2011

NEW DEVELOPMENT BEULAH STREET & FLEET DRIVE

New Construction Will Be Townhouses

Beulah development will cover 3.68 acres

* By Mike Arlinsky FROM THE KINGSTOWNEPATCH

You may have noticed the construction near Beulah Street and Fleet Drive. Will it be a new office building? A parking lot? A hospital? Patch has learned that approximately 30 new town houses are schedule to be built at the site.

The plan was first proposed back in 2007 to redevelop the area. The application was finally accepted on June 28, 2010 after the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning approved. The new homes will encompass 3.68 acres of land and the community will be called Fosters Crest.

The developer, Fleet LLC, originally proposed 49 units back in 2003.

When asked by the Patch about the new development, Lee District Supervisor McKay commented, “This small development was overwhelmingly approved by the Lee District citizen Land Use Committee. It's consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and surrounding development. There are a number of proffers dealing with transportation, open space, school donations, etc. The surrounding communities see this as a plus that will clean up some blighted properties that plagued this small land area.”

After reviewing the zoning application, several proffers were offered that allowed for construction to proceed. Proffers are additional conditions builders must meet in the surrounding area to help the deal become approved. Many of the proffers are contributions to various funds and the proffers system has been in use in Fairfax County for many years. Examples for the Fosters Crest community include sidewalks, noise-reducing construction, tree preservation and archaeological studies in case historical artifacts are discovered at the site.

The street access to the new development will be from two points both off of Fleet Drive. Many residents of Franconia already use Fleet Drive as a short cut off of Beulah Street on their way to the highways. A sidewalk next to the community has been proposed.

It should make for an interesting entrance/exit for residents driving in and out of Fosters Crest as cars turning left off of Beulah onto Fleet Drive are coming fairly rapidly not to mention the various sized trucks using that road for the adjacent industrial park.