Reston Connection

    Supervisor Walter Alcorn reads his board matter regarding the Crescent Property.
  

Supervisor Walter Alcorn’s reading of his board matter marks what could be defined as Act Three of the Crescent Property saga. Like any storytelling tool, Act One is the setup; Act Two is confrontation, challenges, and conflict; and Act Three is the resolution, meaning achievement of the goal or failure. Time will tell for the Crescent.

Act One, February 2006-2012: The Board of Supervisors purchased the Crescent Property in 2006 to further the county’s mission of preserving and producing affordable workforce housing and to catalyze the revitalization of the Lake Anne Village Center. 

According to the Feb. 9, 2012, Request For Proposal (RFP2000000125) released by the Department of Housing and Community Development and Office of Community Revitalization & Reinvestment, the county aims to do so through the Crescent Property redevelopment. 

The 2012-issued RFP seeks a qualified firm to redevelop the 16.5-acre County of Fairfax-owned Crescent Apartments, located in Reston and within walking distance of Lake Anne Plaza, the historic heart of Reston. 

Act Two, 2013-2015: In 2013, the county chose Lake Anne Development Partners (LARP), a division of Republic Land Development, to redevelop the Crescent Apartments and Lake Anne Plaza area.

LARP received final approval in March 2015 from the Board of Supervisors for its ambitious 1.7-million-square-foot revitalization project plan for Crescent Apartments and the Lake Anne Plaza area. According to a staff report, the plan called for a central outdoor amphitheater, office and retail space, a grocery store, and a realignment of Village Road. The developer was required to provide 185 replacement affordable apartments and designate 20 percent of the other units as affordable and workforce housing.

In December 2015, Lake Anne Development Partner informed the county that their redevelopment project was “no longer considered economically viable,” according to a Reston Association announcement.  Cathy Hudgins, the Hunter Mill Supervisor at the time, sent Crescent Apartments residents a letter advising them of the developer's action and added, “The county is not prepared to predict when or how we will proceed with redevelopment of the project.” The project collapsed as a significant blow to the county, Crescent Property residents, and the local community. 

Act Three  (2016-TBA): In 2021, the Supervisors adopted the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan Policy Plan Housing Section. It states, “The county should increase the supply of affordable housing units each year by an amount equal to at least 12 percent of the total housing production in the county for the previous year. These units should serve the full range of incomes of households needing affordable housing and include units for the disabled and handicapped.” [Source: Housing and Community Development]

On Jan. 14, 2025, Supervisor Alcorn read his board matter aloud, saying, “Preserving and increasing the supply of affordable housing continues to be a high priority in Fairfax County.” He then set strict directives to achieve the goal of a positive future for the Crescent.