Parking Reduction For Fairfax County Malls Approved

FAIRFAX, VA — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to reduce parking requirements at malls, opening opportunities for empty parking space to be repurposed for redevelopment.

The action reduces parking requirements at Fairfax County's shopping centers with at least 800,000 square feet of space. The 2.5 spaces per 1000 square feet of gross floor area adopted by the Board of Supervisors is down from the previous 4.0 space per 1,000 square feet requirement. The only shopping centers with 800,000 square feet or more are Springfield Town Center, Fair Oaks Mall, Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria.

The process had spurred concerns from the McLean Citizens Association and others about the impact on Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria. According to Antonio Calabrese, an attorney representing Fair Oaks Mall owner Taubman, the policy does not impact the two Tysons malls. In a presentation to the Board of Supervisors, he cited the lower Planned Tysons Corner parking rates the malls can opt into, since the malls are within Transit-Oriented Development districts. Tysons Corner Center, perhaps the region's busiest mall, has over 11,200 parking spaces.

Dranesville Supervisor John Foust said he would support the measure given that it does not negatively impact the Tysons malls.

The Springfield Town Center and Fair Oaks Mall owners expressed support for the change ahead of the board vote. Fair Oaks Mall has over 7,600 parking spaces, but a study found only 56 percent of parking spaces were used in the lead-up to Christmas in 2018 and less in other months. Springfield Town Center has over 7,500 spaces and projected 58 percent are utilized in December.

The parking requirement change gives the malls a chance to pursue redevelopment. Fair Oaks Mall's owner has no immediate plans for redevelopment but would consider uses such as residential, hotel, office, retail, restaurants, open space and pedestrian connectivity. The mall is working with county staff on a comprehensive plan amendment, but the parking policy change was needed before rezoning, private investment and redevelopment could happen.

"Redeveloping the mall with a host of appropriate complimentary uses is a multi-year, multi-phase process," Calabrese told the board.

According to Washington Business Journal, Springfield Town Center is eligible for lower parking requirements because of its location near the Franconia-Springfield Metro and is working on redevelopment plans. The mall already leases some parking space to car dealerships and part of a garage for commuter parking.

The parking requirement change took effect on Dec. 4.