Developers move forward with smaller Reston National redevelopment plan

by Gene Powell, staff writer

Reston National Golf Course owners are now looking to redevelop only part of the course with 300 new homes. Photo by Benjamin Burgess

Owners of Reston National Golf Course are seeking county approval to build about 300 homes on just under 15 acres of the 166-acre course.

A recent application filed with Fairfax County asserts that a 1966 zoning decision designated the section as “medium-density residential development.” County officials, who have not yet accepted the decades-old zoning claim, will review the application. Staff from Fairfax County’s Department of Planning and Development and the Planning Commission are expected to consider it later this year.

The ownership group highlighted the zoning designation last year during public hearings on proposed redevelopment of all or part of the 18-hole course, which opened in 1970 as “Reston South.” At that time, a larger plan was proposed: replacing the entire course with residential housing on 86 acres and creating a publicly owned “linear park” on the remaining 80 acres.

Proposals for residential development on the course’s south side have circulated for more than a decade, drawing strong community opposition. Last year, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to exclude the larger redevelopment plan from the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program. A representative of the owners said that plan is “no longer an alternative.”

Owners say operating the course is no longer financially sustainable. Mark Looney, the owners’ attorney, told The Letter that the course “hasn’t had any major capital investment in the property” and said revenue from the planned 14-acre housing project would fund upgrades to the course as well as programs such as youth golf education.

Opponents argue that Reston’s original planning documents call for the golf course to remain and do not allow residential development. They also raised concerns during last year’s hearings about traffic and the potential impact on local schools.