County real estate tax reduced - Soft demo begins at JCPenney location in Springfield Town Center - Red Cross to downsize its footprint at Northern Virginia chapter HQ
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Welcome to Fairfax Real Estate Insider, providing can’t-miss insights about what’s being built, bought, and bulldozed in Fairfax County. We make sure you’re staying ahead of the news your clients care about most. Send news tips to austinbwright@gmail.com
County
The real estate tax will be reduced by a quarter penny, to $1.12 per $100 of assessed value, per Tuesday’s markup of the FY27 budget. For the average Fairfax County homeowner, this lowers the projected increase in annual real estate taxes from $357 to $337. Last year, the Board of Supervisors also reduced the real estate tax by a quarter penny, and Chairman Jeff McKay indicated more cuts to come: “I will continue to work and build off this momentum and further the trend of lowering the real estate tax rate,” he said in a statement following the markup.
The county will invest an additional $8.8 million in affordable housing, for a total investment of $52.7 million.
The planned upgrade of the Audrey Moore Rec Center will be a complete rebuild, with construction beginning in spring 2028 and a reopening of the 76,000-square-foot facility expected in 2031. This is sure to create a stir in the neighborhoods off Braddock Road in Central Fairfax, where residents depend on the facility for summer childcare, swim lessons, drop-in fitness classes, and more.
Commercial Real Estate
A permit has been filed to begin soft demo work at the location being vacated by JCPenney at the struggling Springfield Town Center–the first step toward redeveloping the mall’s anchor space. We’ve reached out to the property owner, PREIT, to inquire about new tenants, and we’ll let you know what we hear. JCPenney is closing May 24 after 53 years due to “lease challenges,” as Northern Virginia magazine reported in February.
The American Red Cross is downsizing its footprint at the headquarters of its Northern Virginia Chapter at the intersection of Arlington Boulevard and Prosperity Avenue, near the Mosaic District. We emailed the Red Cross after noticing several permits indicating renovations and received the following statement:
After a recent reassessment of space needs, the American Red Cross has made the decision to lease a portion of its 45,806 square-foot building at 8550 Arlington Boulevard in Fairfax, Virginia.
A tenant has signed a multi-year lease to rent a portion of the Red Cross-owned building, and permits are being sought for renovation work to customize the rented space for the new tenant on two floors.
The American Red Cross will continue to operate at the Arlington Boulevard location, including the blood donation center on the third floor. We do not anticipate any interruption to Red Cross services provided from the Fairfax location; CPR and other lifesaving classes will continue to be offered, staff will work out of offices there and the blood donation center will remain open and unchanged.
Dependent on the permitting process, renovations could begin later in 2026 with a tentative target move-in date for the new tenant in 2027.
The Fairfax location will remain the home of the Northern Virginia chapter of the American Red Cross and the hub for our lifesaving work in local communities. We are grateful to all who have – and will continue to – come through our doors to volunteer, take a class, donate blood or support our mission.
Data Center Watch
Two office buildings in Tysons could be replaced by a data center, FFX Now reports. The California-based operator Serverfarm has applied for a special exception to build “Vienna Cloud,” described as a “completely modernized” data center to replace the “groaning,” 1970s-era buildings at 7990 and 7980 Quantum Drive. “Serverfarm designs and delivers bespoke facilities to meet the specific needs of its customers in each of the areas it serves,” says an April 24 filing from land use attorney Jill Parks. “Moreover, while each facility is strategically located in major metro hubs and high-growth edge markets to support growing demand, they are designed to live within the precise neighborhoods they support.”
The Coresite data center in Reston has filed a permit to install three 50,000-gallon underground diesel fuel storage tanks to power energy generators, presumably to keep the center running during power outages. The 533,000-square-foot facility is one of three interconnected Coresite data centers in Reston.
Residential Real Estate
Vienna’s teardown-rebuild cycle continues with three demolition permits being filed last week, including two on the same street – signaling continued builder confidence in Vienna’s $2M+ new construction market. The demos are for 102 Moore Ave SW, 217 Moore Ave SE, and 2422 Jackson Pkwy.
Dream Finders Homes has filed a permit for another townhouse at Sunset Station, its new development right by the W&OD Trail near the Reston Town Center. Dream Finders lists one town home as “move in ready” and three others as “under construction,” with price tags ranging from $1.1 million to $1.2 million– a real test of how deep demand runs in Reston’s new construction market.
Leaderboards
*Covers 4/20-4/26; data from Redfin
Top Sales by Price
1175 Crest Ln McLean, $12,450,000 | Listed by Mark Lowham of TTR Sothebys International Realty; bought with Sherif Abdalla and Ali Farhadov of Compass
6929 River Oaks Dr McLean, $3,700,000 | Listed by Mark Lowham and James Bell of TTR Sothebys International Realty; bought with Jonnie Jamison of J2 Real Estate
8340 Springhaven Garden Ln McLean, $3,650,000 | Listed with Sahar Anwar of Redfin; bought with George Koutsoukos of Compass
1207 Towlston Rd Great Falls, 3,400,000 | Listed by Sherif Abdalla of Compass; bought with Ali Farhadov of Compass
1859 Beulah Rd Vienna, $3,000,000 | Listed by Billy Samson of Samson Properties; bought with Samer Naji of Keller Williams Realty
Top Sales by Price Per Square Foot
6526 Byrnes Dr McLean, $1,250,000, 1,188 sf | Listed by Jay Caputo of EXP Realty with the buyer unrepresented
521 Lost Acre Ln Great Falls, $1,750,000, 2,316 sf | Listed by Matias Leiva and Eileen Hanley of Keller Williams Realty; bought with Matias Leiva of Keller Williams Realty
1610 Brookside Rd, McLean, $2,895,000, 4,250 sf | Listed by Lizzy Conroy and Colleen Stoltz of Serhant; bought with Cara Pearlman of Compass
5909 Ridge View Dr, Alexandria, $720,000, 1,075 sf | Listed by Zabrine Stair and Laura Stratmann of Compass; bought with Li Zhang of UnionPlus Realty
10811 Orchard St, Fairfax, $831,320, 1372 sf | Listed by Dina Braun and Jay D’Alessandro of eXp Realty; bought with Donna Moseley and John McNamara of Sothebys International Realty
Openings & Closings
Yemeni restaurant Sheeba has received a permit to begin operating a new restaurant in Vienna, replacing the now-closed Le Bistro. This will be Sheeba’s first foray into Virginia–it has several franchise locations in Michigan and one in New York City. | 111 Church St NW, Suite 101, Vienna, VA 22180
A new brewpub is opening in Herndon’s Arrowbrook Centre called NH44 Indian Brewing Company, named for an Indian highway that spans the country north to south. | 2336 Silver Arrow Way, Ste 113, Herndon, VA 20171
Tysons Galleria will soon feature a children’s play cafe, called Tiny’s Corner. Parents enjoy coffee and pastries while children play (think upscale Chuck E. Cheese). It’s a growing concept nationally, and putting one inside a luxury mall is an interesting bet on what can draw foot traffic in 2026. | 1961 Chain Bridge Rd, Mall D9U, McLean, VA 22102
Woodbridge-based Korean fusion restaurant Dosirock is looking to open a new restaurant in the Twinbrook shopping center off Braddock Road, near Lake Braddock High School. The Braddock Road corridor has seen a surge in Korean and Pan-Asian dining. | 9567 Braddock Road, Fairfax, VA 22032
The fast casual chain German Doner Kebab, first opened in Dubai and now rapidly expanding across the U.S., has filed permits indicating interest in opening a location in Falls Church. | 7121B Leesburg Pike STE R2, Falls Church, VA 22043