Bailey's Crossroads Office Building to Be Converted Into Work/Living Space

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- An office building that has stood empty the past four years in Bailey's Crossroads will be repurposed into live/work units called "e-lofts," according to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

On Tuesday, the supervisors approved the reuse of an existing office building at 5600 Columbia Pike (see map below), chipping away at the 18-plus million square feet of vacant office space in Fairfax County. The approval acts on one of the strategies that the Board endorsed Oct. 18, to address filling vacant office spaces, the county said in a news release announcing the new endeavor.

The board’s action Tuesday allows for the 10-story 1960s-era office building to be converted into more flexible live/work units. Developer Novus Residences will transform the building into what it calls e-lofts. The 173,000 square foot building will be turned into 157 flexible live-work units.

“E-Lofts are a terrific loft style apartment in which every unit has the ability at all times to be rented as a place to live, a place to work, or a place to live and work,” said Novus CEO Rob Selden, in the news release.

The county points out that the new use for the office building demonstrates the three general approaches the county is taking to deal with its 16.2 percent office vacancy rate:

• Building Repositioning: Make improvements to a building to retain its current use. These may include upgrading building materials, systems, spaces, and/or providing amenities that enhance the tenant experience.
• Building Repurposing/Reuse: Change an existing’s building’s use, such as from office to residential use, or office to institutional use.
• Emerging Trends: Accomodate and encourage emerging uses, like flexible live-work spaces, co-working spaces, food incubators or maker spaces.

See a video below released by the county that gives residents an idea about how the e-lofts will work:

Driven by technology and teleworking, companies are reducing the amount of office space leased per employee, the county points out. The average square feet per employee is expected to shrink. It was 225 square feet in 2010, and is expected to drop to 140 square feet by 2017.

The federal government is following suit with a goal of offering 136 square feet per worker. Its policy has already resulted in a 15 percent reduction in leased office space in the D.C. region.

PHOTO from Fairfax County video shows what an e-loft might look like; rendering courtesy of Novus Residences