Coalition Urges Supervisor Rodney Lusk To 'Fully Reject' Rose Hill Plaza Redevelopment

FRANCONIA, VA — A group of Franconia residents sent Fairfax County Supervisor Rodney Lusk a copy of a new "Rose Paper" on Friday that lays out the reasons why they oppose plans to redevelop the Rose Hill Plaza shopping center.

The residents, part of the Rose Hill Coalition, asked Lusk to "fully reject" the site-specific plan amendment nomination to redevelop the shopping center as part of Fairfax County’s Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on adopting the 2023 Work Program at its meeting on Tuesday.

Last Thursday, Lusk, who represents the Franconia District on the board, said in a statement posted on Facebook that Combined Properties Inc., the owner of the shopping center, should reach out to the community for more feedback about the proposed redevelopment of the shopping center because the current proposal is "unacceptable."

In an email that accompanied a copy of the Rose Paper it sent the supervisor, the coalition said they appreciated Lusk's agreement with the Fairfax County Planning Commission to defer the Rose Hill Plaza redevelopment nomination.

But the Rose Hill Coalition, formed last November in opposition to the shopping center's redevelopment, also noted that the nomination "is strongly opposed by thousands of residents in the surrounding communities who visit Rose Hill Plaza daily."

READ ALSO: Supervisor Lusk Seeks Deferral Of Rose Hill Plaza Redevelopment Plan

The proposed mixed-use redevelopment of Rose Hill Plaza contradicts Fairfax County's Comprehensive Plan that was updated in 2017 as well as all current retail and housing trends, the group argued.

"Contrary to initial forecasts, the need for physical shopping centers will continue to thrive, even in today's digital world," the authors of the Rose Paper state. "The digital world certainly has improved consumers’ options and grown economies worldwide. However, it is important to understand that it has augmented shopping, not replaced the need and desire for local, physical shopping options."

As part of the redevelopment, Combined Properties plans to demolish Rose Hill Plaza and replace it with a four- and six-story residential rental complex with up to 400 units. The shopping center would still include a grocery store, according to Combined Properties. But the number of other businesses would be greatly reduced under the proposal.

"The best solution is to urge [Combined Properties] to update the Plaza and invest their considerable resources elsewhere in the County where it will be more profitable, better support Fairfax County's goals, and align with the surrounding community's needs," the coalition said in its email to Lusk. "Please reconsider your upcoming vote on April 11, from deferral to deny."

Combined Properties, which owns several strip malls in Fairfax and Arlington counties, contends now is the perfect time to begin working on getting approval from the county for revitalizing the shopping center. Many of the leases signed with the businesses in the shopping center are scheduled to expire in a few years.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on which nominations should be added to the “work program” for formal planning and study. The vote will not be an endorsement of any plan or redevelopment application, Lusk emphasized last week.

The supervisor noted in his April 6 statement that he remains committed to continued conversations with Combined Properties and residents, with the goal of "arriving at a proposal that will best serve the Rose Hill community and the surrounding neighborhoods."

"I am hopeful that we will be able to reach that conclusion," Lusk said.

A draft of the Rose Paper also was sent to the Fairfax County Planning Commission prior to its March 29 vote on the nomination. At that meeting, the commission voted to recommend the nomination be added to the 2023 Work Plan as a "Tier 3" amendment but deferred to allow Combined Properties to "further engage" with the community.

Sharada Gilkey, founder of the Rose Hill Coalition, asked Lusk to clarify what he means by "deferral" and "further engagement" with the community about the proposed redevelopment.

"Finally, if you are, in fact, stating that Combined Properties needs to ‘resubmit their application,’ according to the Planning Commission, that process requires a two-year waiting period," Gilkey said in a statement Friday. "A deferral also has a one-year limit after which it expires, and the process resumes as part of the Work Plan."

Many residents have questioned how the project will benefit residents of Rose Hill and the surrounding communities if it reduces nearby retail shopping options and increases traffic congestion on Rose Hill Drive and Franconia Road.

Other residents support the proposal as long as the final plan retains a variety of retail options beyond simply a grocery store. They also welcome the developers’ intentions to build the five- or six-story apartment buildings and a four-story garage in an area of the site away from the single-family homes in the Rose Hill community.

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