A new, freestanding restaurant building with a drive-through will be coming to the Pike 7 Shopping Center in Tysons.
Fairfax County supervisors on March 8 unanimously granted a special exception sought by Federal Realty OP LP to build the 3,600-square-foot restaurant, which will be located at 8365 and 8371 Leesburg Pike in the shopping center’s southeast corner.
The application did not list a specific tenant.
The site is a 1.38-acre portion of the 12.92-acre shopping center, which is located at Leesburg Pike and Gosnell Road.
The restaurant will be visible from Leesburg Pike, but its front façade and primary entrance will face northwest into the shopping center’s parking lot, county staff said. There will be an outdoor-seating area along the front façade. The applicant also will provide bicycle parking and install a landscaping mix of deciduous trees and other plants to meet the 15-percent open-space requirement.
The applicant will provide pedestrian access to the Greensboro Metro station, located about 250 feet away.
The site’s zoning allows for mid- and high-rise multi-family and office uses. While the new Tysons comprehensive plan discourages freestanding buildings with drive-throughs, county staff concluded the application is in harmony with existing uses at the shopping center.
“This new drive-through restaurant is needed in response to structural shifts in the retail economy that are really increasing the reliance on pick-up options as a part of retail operations,” said Michael Van Atta, a land-use planner who represented the applicant at the hearing.
The applicant worked with county staff on the site’s layout to ensure sufficient vehicular circulation and maximize the pedestrian experience along Route 7 and within the shopping center, Van Atta said.
In accordance with the Tysons comprehensive plan, the application will seek Silver certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, he said.
Pike 7 Shopping Center is successful and likely will not be the subject of redevelopment in the near future, Van Atta said. While adding a quality asset in the near term, the new restaurant would not preclude more-intensive redevelopment in the future, he said.
The developer will build stairs and a handicapped-accessible ramp down from the existing sidewalk on Leesburg Pike. Pedestrians also will be able to access the restaurant from within the shopping center.
The applicant also will build a sidewalk from Leesburg Pike to the restaurant’s entrance and another walkway that will connect, via a crosswalk, to the shopping center.
The restaurant’s proposed operating hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Between 10 and 15 employees would be on site for each shift, and the applicant expects the restaurant to draw about 450 people per day.
The restaurant’s drive-through area, with a stacking capacity for 11 or 12 vehicles, will be located on its west side. A shared area for loading and trash will be placed on the site’s southeast section, with the trash area screened by a door.
There is no minimum parking requirement for the shopping center, county officials said. The site currently has 738 spaces and will have 674 after the restaurant is built on part of the existing parking area.