McLean’s busiest shopping center could get a whole new look if a redevelopment plan gets approved.
The owner of the Giant-anchored Chain Bridge Shopping Center submitted a site plan to Fairfax County in January that would overhaul the strip mall at 1446-1454 Chain Bridge Road by repositioning the buildings to back up along Beverly Road.
According to the plan, which remains under county review, McLean Properties intends to keep the site as a commercial, retail shopping center, but the redesign will scramble the current layout, pushing Giant to the back of the lot and moving the other stores from the east side to the west along Ingleside Avenue.
The proposed Giant building would be 77,430 square feet in size and close to 40 feet tall. The adjacent strip of retail stores are over 26 feet in height with a total gross floor area of 26,805 square feet.
Reconfiguring the parking lot layout with the addition of more islands, the site plan provides 551 parking spaces, exceeding the 476 spaces required for the property. That includes 14 spots that meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
The plan also includes a standalone, 14,491-square-foot, nearly 30-feet-tall pharmacy with a drive-thru and mezzanine at the corner of Chain Bridge and Ingleside. There is currently a CVS in the shopping center.
The drive-thru would accommodate six vehicles.
McLean Properties, which FFXnow was unable to reach for comment, previously filed a site plan with the county to redevelop the Chain Bridge Shopping Center last summer, but county records show that it was disapproved on Sept. 27.
That plan included even more parking, with 583 proposed spaces.
During a discussion of the rejected site plan on Nov. 30, members of the McLean Citizens Association’s planning and zoning committee debated the amount of parking that the property owner was seeking and whether a plaza or green space could be provided.
They said it was unclear whether existing tenants other than Giant and CVS would stay, including Greenberry’s Coffee, Capri Ristorante Italiano, and Pure Barre.
“They said they hope these tenants will find other space in McLean,” committee member Kent Holland said. “McLean Properties own a lot of other places in McLean, so they said they will be looking for places these current tenants could move.”
McLean Properties also owns the McLean Shopping Center on the other side of Chain Bridge Road and the Old Dominion Shopping Center, which is on the opposite side of Redmond Drive.
With Fairfax County’s revitalization plan for downtown McLean in place, development could become a more common sight in the approximately 230-acre area, which is now allowed to have up to 3,850 residential units and roughly 3.2 million square feet of non-residential uses.
The county is currently working to update its design guidelines for the Community Business Center, with a virtual community workshop scheduled for March 23.
Photo via Google Maps