County officials present development plan for Reston Town Center North

by Gene Powell, Staff Writer

Map of RTCN district proposed plans from FFX County

A development plan for Reston’s Town Center North District (RTCN) was presented to the public June 23 by a team of county officials and representatives of Inova Health Care Services.

The district is bordered by Baron Cameron Avenue on the north, Dominion Parkway on the south, and is between Town Center Parkway and Fountain Drive.

Future development of RTCN is to include a relocated and larger county library, a new community shelter, a county health and human services building, and a large recreation and entertainment area currently called the “Central Green.”

The next step in the multi-year project is a “land swap” in which several scattered parcels in the district owned by the county and Inova will be exchanged. The “swap” of equal amounts of land–expected to be completed in mid-2026–will align county property along the area’s west side, and Inova-owned land along the east side.

Major features within the district were outlined during the meeting:

• A “Central Green” with a large grassy field, performance space, restroom building, bike racks, and tree-lined walkways and sitting areas.

• A relocated and larger Reston Regional Library, west of Town Center Parkway.

• A relocated Embry Rucker Community Shelter, north of its existing location.

• An area set aside for a possible new Fairfax County public school, on the district’s north side and near a playground area.

• A county recreation center and athletic field, to be built at the site of the existing regional library and community shelter.

• Residential space for about 1,000 homes, all required to be part of the private Reston Association and pay its annual fees.

• Several Reston streets would be extended to cross the district, and the plan calls for wide sidewalks, and for bike lanes on interior roadways. The Inova portions of the area are expected to be zoned and developed eventually for residential, retail, medical, and commercial uses.

County Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who sponsored the public session, said the library and new shelter are a priority. The new library is expected to be the first project in RTCN. It will be financed by $58 million in existing county bonds and already is included in the county’s capital improvement program and in the 2023 revised master development plan for the Reston area.

Alcorn, in an interview after the session, noted that some RTCN public projects–such as the athletic field and recreation center–can be financed from various county funds. He cautioned that three other planned county “rec centers” are likely to be constructed before the Reston center.

Planning for the area has been underway since 2010, and future development will roll out across RTCN over many years, officials said. An Inova representative said it would resemble the years taken to fully build out Reston Town Center.

Already in the area, along with the library and Rucker shelter, is the North County Governmental Center, which opened in 2016, and which houses the Reston District Police Station, Hunter Mill District Supervisor’s office, and a large room used for voting and public meetings. Also, an Inova Emergency Services facility operates on the northeast corner of the RTCN district.