Davies Property

The Davies Property project involves a rezoning from RM to CU (retaining the TOD overlay) and a General Development Plan with proffers for a mixed-use building at 4131 Chain Bridge Rd on 2.69 acres. The proposed development includes 276 apartments, approximately 6,319 sq ft of retail, approximately 4,188 sq ft of office, and structured parking. A work session was held at the January 13, 2025 Planning Commission meeting, where staff presented a report that was incorporated into the record. City Council approved the proposal at its July 22, 2025 meeting, as reported by Planning Division Chief Paul Nabti at the July 28, 2025 Planning Commission meeting. Following approval, the Davies property's approved plan has become a recurring reference point in subsequent discussions of an adjacent development (discussed July 7, 2026), particularly regarding interparcel connectivity, shared greenway infrastructure, sidewalk continuity, and open space comparisons — with the assessed value of the existing structure on the Davies property noted as $262,000 and the site's access points described as located along the north side of the building.

Proposal at a glance

Tax map parcel(s): 57 4 02 040

Extracted from the city's submitted documents; each figure traces to the text it came from.

• Dwelling units (existing) — "a single-family home is built on the parcel (Davies Property)"
• Dwelling units (proposed) — "Residential: Upper Story Residential/Multifamily Residential with up to 276 dwelling units"
• Retail (proposed) — "RETAIL 6,608 GSF"
• Office (proposed) — "approximately 4,188 square feet of office use"
• Parking spaces (proposed) — "Applicant proposes to provide a total of approximately 423 parking spaces"
• Site area (proposed) — "approximately 2.69 acres"

Official record

The applicant is proposing to replace a single-family home with up to 276 apartments, up to 6,608 square feet of retail, up 4,188 square feet of office, and 424 spaces in structured parking on approximately 2.69 acres. The subject property is located in the Old Town Transition Overlay District (TOD) and the Old Town Small Area Plan.

• Requests: The applicant is requesting a Zoning Map Amendment (Rezoning) from RM Residential Medium to CU Commercial Urban in the Old Town Transition Overlay District and Special Exceptions to permit less than 75% ground floor non-residential use in a mixed use building, to permit more than 24 dwelling units per acre, to permit height greater than forty-eight (48) feet, to eliminate the requirement for landscape strip and street trees along the access drive, to eliminate the requirement to provide vehicular access to abutting non-residential properties, to eliminate the requirement for a sidewalk on the northern side of the proposed access drive while providing it on the southern side, and to modify transitional yards. This application is subject to the City's Affordable Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance and a Major Certificate of Appropriateness for architecture and landscaping.
• Address: 4131 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, VA 22030
• Applicant: The Hill, A Davies Family LLC David Houston, Attorney Bean Kinney & Korman, PC 2311 Wilson Boulevard Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201
• City record

2024-09-23 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Agenda item 10: Staff Report. (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Staff reported on recent and upcoming City Council meetings and planning items, including the Urban Agriculture Text Amendments public hearing, Courthouse Plaza redevelopment work session, Comprehensive Plan Review public hearing, Mantua Professional Center Townhomes work session, Green Building Policy, Capital Improvement Program, 4131 Chain Bridge Road (Davies Property) application, Urban Forest Management Plan stakeholder interviews, and a second public meeting for the Urban Forest Management Plan on October 17 at the Sherwood-Willard Center.
• [10] Staff noted a new application submission for 4131 Chain Bridge Road, Davies Property, as an upcoming item.
• Status after: proposed

2024-12-09 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Agenda item 10: Staff Report (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Staff reported on recent and upcoming City Council meetings and Planning Commission agenda items.
• [10] A post-submission work session for the Davies Property at 4131 Chain Bridge Road was noted as a future agenda item for the January 13, 2025 Planning Commission meeting; Chair Feather noted he had reviewed the staff report and saw improvements to the proposal.

2025-01-13 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Agenda item 8a: Work Session – Zoning Map Amendment and General Development Plan for the Davies Property at 4131 Chain Bridge Rd (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Work session held; staff report presented by Jason Sutphin and incorporated into the record. No vote taken.
• [8a] A work session was held on the proposed rezoning from RM to CU (retaining the TOD overlay) and a General Development Plan with proffers for a mixed-use building of 276 apartments, ~6,319 sq ft retail, ~4,188 sq ft office, and structured parking on 2.69 acres; staff report presented and incorporated into the record.
• Status after: in_progress

2025-01-28 — City Council Meeting

Agenda item 12a: Discussion on a request of The Hill, A Davies Family, LLC for the redevelopment of 4131 Chain Bridge Road (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Discussed during the work session. No vote taken.
• [12a] The City Council discussed a request from The Hill, A Davies Family, LLC for the redevelopment of 4131 Chain Bridge Road during the work session; no action was taken.
• Status after: in_progress

2025-02-10 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Agenda item 10: Staff Report (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Planning Division Chief Nabti briefed the Commission on recent and upcoming City Council meetings and other planning items, including the Davies proposal work session, the Ox Block B pre-application briefing, Gatewood Plaza, accessory dwelling unit zoning text amendments, the Pathway Homes proposal, the Christopher at Fairfax proposal, the Two-Year Transportation Program, Chain Bridge Road/Eaton Place transportation project, Fairfax County comprehensive plan review, and the Certified Planning Commissioner Program.
• [10] A work session presentation on the Davies proposal was held at the January 28, 2025 City Council meeting, as reported to the Commission.

2025-05-12 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Agenda item 10: Staff Report (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Staff reported on recent and upcoming City Council meetings, project updates, and Planning Commission scheduling items.
• [10] The Davies property redevelopment application at 4131 Chain Bridge Road was mentioned as a forthcoming item before the Planning Commission.
• Status after: in_progress

2025-06-23 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting

Agenda item 6a: Rezoning Application Z-23-00073 – The Hill, A Davies Family, LLC – 4131 Chain Bridge Road (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Motion to recommend approval failed 2:4. Motion to recommend denial was approved 4:2, on grounds that the proposal is not in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan and other adopted City goals and policies as currently presented.
• Vote (failed): Motion to recommend approval of Rezoning Application Z-23-00073 (RM to CU) and General Development Plan with proffers. — Feather: yes, Coleman: yes, Briggs: no, Cunningham: no, Lockhart: no, Rice: no
• Vote (passed): Motion to recommend denial of Rezoning Application Z-23-00073 (RM to CU) because the proposal is not in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan and other adopted City goals and policies as currently presented. — Briggs: yes, Cunningham: yes, Lockhart: yes, Rice: yes, Feather: no, Coleman: no
• [6a] The applicant's proposal for a 276-unit mixed-use building with ground-floor retail/commercial and a 3-level below-grade parking garage received a Planning Commission recommendation for denial 4:2.
• Status after: denied

2025-07-14 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Agenda item 9: Staff Report (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Staff provided updates on recent City Council meetings and upcoming agenda items, including the NOVA Transportation Authority Bus Transit Action Plan recap, Move Fairfax discussion, Pickett Road Trail update, and upcoming public hearings on The Davies proposal, Courthouse Plaza redevelopment, and zoning text amendments.
• [9] A public hearing on The Davies proposal was noted as scheduled for the upcoming July 22, 2025 City Council meeting.

2025-07-22 — City Council Meeting

Agenda item 7a: Public hearing and Council action – Davies Property Rezoning, General Development Plan, Special Exceptions, and Certificate of Appropriateness at 4131 Chain Bridge Road

• Outcome: All three motions (rezoning/GDP approval, special exceptions, and Certificate of Appropriateness) approved 4-3 with Mayor Read and Councilmembers Amos, Bates, and Hardy-Chandler in favor; Councilmembers Hall, McQuillen, and Peterson opposed.
• Vote (passed): Approve rezoning application Z-23-00073 (Ordinance 2025-05) to rezone 4131 Chain Bridge Road from RM Residential Medium to CU Commercial Urban, retaining the Old Town Fairfax Transition Overlay District (TOD), and approve the general development plan with proffers. — Read: yes, Amos: yes, Bates: yes, Hall: no, Hardy-Chandler: yes, McQuillen: no, Peterson: no
• Vote (passed): Adopt Resolution R-25-23 approving special exceptions pursuant to City Code Section 110-6.7 for 4131 Chain Bridge Road (Davies Property), with conditions including tree canopy coverage increase or up to $10,000 contribution for offsite plantings. — Read: yes, Amos: yes, Bates: yes, Hall: no, Hardy-Chandler: yes, McQuillen: no, Peterson: no
• Vote (passed): Approve Certificate of Appropriateness per City Code Section 110-6.5.6.B for 4131 Chain Bridge Road (Davies Property), with conditions including conformance with plans, securing permits, Urban Forester review of landscaping, and standing seam metal roof along University Drive. — Read: yes, Amos: yes, Bates: yes, Hall: no, Hardy-Chandler: yes, McQuillen: no, Peterson: no
• [7a] Council approved the rezoning, general development plan with proffers, special exceptions, and Certificate of Appropriateness for the Davies Property mixed-use development (up to 276 multifamily units and ~10,796 sq ft ground-floor commercial) at 4131 Chain Bridge Road.
• Status after: approved

2025-07-28 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Agenda item 9: Staff Report (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Planning Division Chief Paul Nabti reported on recent City Council actions and upcoming Planning Commission items, including: approval of the Davies property proposal at the July 22, 2025 City Council meeting; deferral of the Courthouse Plaza development decision to October 28, 2025; approval of zoning ordinance text amendments; a scheduled September 9, 2025 discussion with City Council on opening commercial corridors for residential development; and upcoming items including Zoning Ordinance amendments for Small Area Plans and Citywide Level of Service Standards.
• [9] City Council approved the proposal for the Davies property at its July 22, 2025 meeting, as reported by staff.
• Status after: approved

Open questions

No unresolved questions recorded.

Member commentary

• Mr. Tossos — At the July 13, 2026 meeting, Tossos referenced the Davies property in the context of connectivity themes emerging from small area plans, noting that the Davies project and others had brought to light how these plans are fundamentally about interparcel and pedestrian connectivity.

Screening-level estimates of the economic and fiscal effects of Davies Property. Figures are decision-support context with named assumptions and sensitivity ranges — not predictions. The full analysis has the interactive assumptions panel and maps; methods documents every formula.

Headline estimates

• New residents: 472 (range 373 – 589) — households x persons per multifamily unit (Rutgers CUPR bedroom-mix multipliers)
• Annual capture: project's own ground-floor retail: $32k (range $18k – $43k) — Huff model over individual retail POIs: joint destination+mode choice, P(j,m) ~ A_j * w_m * exp(-b_m t_mj), CES category spend; clusters are a reporting rollup; own retail competes as a destination
• New annual spending arriving on foot: $902k (range $152k – $4.5M) — walk-mode share of the joint destination+mode Huff choice, summed over businesses; walking loses to driving with walk time, so the remainder of the mode-split budget arrives by car
• Real estate tax increase: $1.1M (range $1.0M – $1.4M) — projected minus current RE tax
• Net annual fiscal impact — naive per-capita method: −$1.5M (range −$2.5M – −$236k) — incremental new recurring revenue minus service cost (upper-bound cost framing; allocates fixed citywide costs)
• Net annual fiscal impact — marginal framing: $93k (range −$1.2M – $1.2M) — incremental new recurring revenue minus service cost (only services that scale with new residents)

Method notes, caveats, and non-headline metrics live on the analysis page.