West Falls - Gorove Slade

A Decade-Long Transformation of Transit-Oriented Development

Description

West Falls represents one of the most comprehensive transit-oriented developments in the region, transforming three interconnected sites over more than a decade. A single high school redevelopment project evolved into a catalyst for revitalizing the entire West Falls Church Metro area, creating momentum that extends far beyond its original scope.

Gorove Slade has been the transportation engineering partner throughout each phase of this complex, multi-stakeholder development, working with the City of Falls Church, Falls Church City Public Schools, Fairfax County, VDOT, WMATA, and multiple private developers to create a truly integrated, multimodal community. The formerly underutilized WMATA metro station—historically among the system’s lowest in ridership—is now undergoing a period of transformative revitalization that promises to reshape the entire corridor.

Falls Church High School and Economic Development Site

This project launched with a strategic public-private partnership to redevelop the former Falls Church High School site. The City pursued a P3 model to develop the land where the old high school stood and lease it out to fund a new, expanded high school facility.

Our Role:

Initial rezoning traffic studies
Curbside management planning
Transportation demand management (TDM)
Traffic signal design
Parking solutions for adjacent neighborhoods
Design of three (3) new traffic signals
VDOT plans to relocate the I-66 variable tolling sign,
Loading access and AutoTurn analysis
Maintenance of Traffic plans
School bus access review
Extensive community engagement through multiple public hearings

Key Challenge: Managing a complex stakeholder environment with the City of Falls Church, surrounding Fairfax County jurisdictions, VDOT, WMATA, school officials, parents, and neighbors while expanding the high school to accommodate an additional 400 students.

Impact: This first phase “unlocked” the metro area, setting the stage for increased access to the station, promoting additional ridership and development around the previously underutilized West Falls Church Metro station.

WMATA West Falls Redevelopment

Building on the success of school site redevelopment, WMATA launched its own P3 initiative to redevelop the mostly unused land around the station to induce greater ridership. Rushmark Properties, EYA, and Hoffman & Associates partnered to win the competitive bid for this transit-oriented development.

Our Role:

Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Rezoning Traffic Impact Analyses (TIA)
Transit planning with integrated bus components
Park and ride analysis
Signage and striping design
Temporary and permanent bus bay design
Multi-phase maintenance of traffic (MOT) planning for both public and private construction
Parking garage access design
Innovative parking solutions

Unique Challenges:

Applying WMATA design standards alongside Fairfax County and VDOT requirements
Retrofitting the existing parking garage with updated gate control systems and license plate reading technology
Coordinating an offsite commitment to build a shared-use path on an existing I-66 bridge, working with VDOT and the county to narrow driving lanes and add pedestrian facilities

Community Impact: The shared-use path project became a community-championed initiative, directly addressing neighbors’ longstanding connectivity needs.

Converge West Falls

The third phase, developed by Rushmark Properties and HITT Contracting–the latter of which is relocating its headquarters to the site–represents the most architecturally ambitious component of the project. The complicated site has frontage along a VDOT-controlled arterial roadway, a WMATA private street, a roadway that provides bus access to the schools, and the new multi-modal spine road through the entire area.

Our Role:

Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Rezoning Traffic Impact Analyses (TIA)
VDOT waiver analysis and approval for Haycock Road
Access coordination with City of Falls Church, Fairfax County, and VDOT
Comprehensive parking planning
Loading access and AutoTurn analysis
Coordination with evolving parking, design, and development standards

Innovation Highlight: This phase benefited from evolving parking policies over the project’s 10-year timeline. Reduced parking minimums implemented during development allowed the team to utilize lower parking requirements, significantly reducing construction costs.

Sustainability Features: The development showcases green building practices including solar arrays that provide both energy generation and shading, along with other sustainable design elements and a prominent promenade walkway.

Transforming Regional Connectivity

The comprehensive nature of our work across all three West Falls sites positioned Gorove Slade as the go-to transportation consultant for broader area improvements. Fairfax County directly engaged us to conduct a specialized traffic study focusing on prioritizing pedestrians and bicycles over vehicles at key intersections—reducing vehicle capacity to provide safer facilities for active transportation modes.

A central theme throughout the West Falls Project has been “unlocking” multimodal access. Previously, walking or biking to the Metro station was unsafe and uninviting. Through strategic grant funding secured by the City and County, we’ve helped create shared-use path connections linking nearby trails directly to the Metro station, fundamentally changing how residents access transit.

The project timeline allowed us to take advantage of evolving transportation and development policies, including updated parking requirements that provided real cost savings to developers while supporting more sustainable development patterns. These cost savings to the project actually support more affordable housing costs by decreasing development and construction costs.

Major Infrastructure Achievement: We designed and implemented a new traffic signal on Route 7 to serve the local community and provide access to the metro station, which also helped solve VDOT’s challenge with one of Fairfax County’s most dangerous intersections at Chestnut Street. By relocating the intersection and truncating Chestnut Street before Route 7, we addressed both high crash rates and neighbors’ concerns about cut-through traffic, while coordinating the relocation of massive tolling signage in partnership with Dewberry, the project’s civil engineer.

In addition to adapting to changing policies, our team has had the opportunity to engage with numerous local stakeholders. Over the project’s decade-plus timeline, we’ve successfully maintained strong collaborative relationships regardless of staff transitions at VDOT and other agencies, demonstrating our commitment as true partners.

The West Falls Project demonstrates how thoughtful, long-term transportation planning can transform underutilized transit infrastructure into vibrant, connected communities that serve residents, students, commuters, and businesses alike. Our sustained involvement across multiple phases and collaborators showcases Gorove Slade’s dedication to seeing complex projects through from initial vision to final implementation.

Details

Client: Client: FCGP Metro, Rushmark Properties, Hoffman, EYA
Location: West Falls Church, VA
Sustainability: LEED ND Gold at the neighborhood level with Silver, Gold, and Core for the residential, office, and hotel components
Awards: APA Virginia 2025 Red Clay Award for Development of the Year

“Working with Gorove Slade on Converge West Falls has been exceptional. Their deep understanding of transit-oriented development requirements and ability to navigate complex multi-jurisdictional challenges made them invaluable partners. What impressed us most was their commitment to staying with the project through multiple phases over many years, adapting to changing regulations and stakeholder needs while maintaining the highest technical standards. Together, we’re creating the connectivity that makes this a truly walkable, transit-accessible community.”

Neal Kumar

Vice President, Rushmark Properties