Update on West Ballston metro entrance

[Henry McFarland]

I checked with the County Government on the plan to put a west entrance to the Ballston Metro on the south side of Fairfax Dr. between Utah and Vermont Streets. The project still is on hold due to a delay in the developer’s plans for that property. The new entrance would be funded in large part with a contribution from a developer who hopes to put a new condominium development on the site and would be built at the same time as that development. That project has been on hold for some time, and the developer has filed an application for an amendment to its site plan. I am not sure just what the amendment consists of, but the developer will need an extension as the original approval has expired. The developer might now want to do a rental property rather than a condominium.

That application is not yet moving forward. Once it does, the County will try to ensure that the construction of the new entrance goes on simultaneously with the new development to reduce construction costs. The timing of the project, however, remains unclear.

The County got a promise of funding for the new entrance from Virginia’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation. That money was spent on a second entrance for the Rosslyn Metro instead, because the long delay on the Ballston project meant the County had to either lost the money or use it for a similar project. The County, however, will ask for additional state funds for the Ballston project again when that project is closer to moving forward.