The 706 garden apartments at Merrifield at Dunn Loring Station could grow to nearly 2,975 units after the Fairfax County Planning Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday, July 22, to recommend a comprehensive plan amendment for the 35-acre site at 8130 Prescott Drive, FFXnow reported.
The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Tuesday, September 15.
Malkin Properties, which has owned the complex since the late 1960s, would replace the existing low-rise buildings in phases with high-rise and mid-rise towers reaching up to 150 feet, up from the current 115-foot height limit.
The site sits in the Merrifield Suburban Center near the I-495/I-66 interchange, with Gallows Road to the west and the Orange Line's Dunn Loring Metro station nearby.
Displacement worries dominate testimony
Current rents at the complex range from $1,884 to $3,645 a month, making it one of the few relatively affordable market-rate options near Metro in that part of the county. Residents and advocates pressed commissioners on what happens to the hundreds of families living there now.
"These are families," Sully District Commissioner Evelyn Spain said at the July 22 hearing. "There's an emotional component that's going to be associated with tearing down a home where one has lived for a period of time."
Torie Foss, a two-year resident of the complex, told commissioners she and others are deeply concerned about displacement, noting many neighbors have lived there a long time.
Kelly Posusney, a DLA Piper land use attorney representing Malkin Properties, said the company plans to continue owning the site and work with tenants through the phased demolition. She acknowledged the firm does not yet have all the answers but called tenant impact a top priority.
Setback revision and remaining concerns
Providence District Commissioner Jeremy Hancock won colleagues' support for a revision requiring a 75-foot setback on the northwest side of the parcel, matching the buffer already planned for the south side. Hancock said the change would treat all surrounding neighborhoods equally, though he acknowledged many details remain to be worked through during the rezoning phase.
Commissioners also flagged pedestrian connectivity to the Metro station and the potential strain on local schools from thousands of new residents. Neil Hamlett, an 18-year Merrifield-area resident, supported the concept but warned that crossing Gallows Road is already dangerous for pedestrians.
What comes next
The September 15 Board of Supervisors hearing covers only the comprehensive plan amendment. A separate rezoning application must still go through its own hearings, which have not been scheduled. The development team's projected timeline puts rezoning votes in 2027, site plan work in 2028–2029, and the first phase of construction beginning in 2030.
Residents can submit comments to the Board of Supervisors ahead of the September 15 hearing. The plan amendment is filed as SSPA 2023-I-2J with the county's Department of Planning and Development.
