Cranes and bulldozers are rolling again in the southeastern portion of Springfield as the town center is gearing up for a hotel and apartments, while further south along Loisdale Road, construction continues for another car dealership and an Amazon facility.

The Franconia Land Use committee has a plan for the area highlighting four sections that includes a spot at Springfield Boulevard and Amherst Avenue that used to be home to one of the earliest McDonald's restaurants; another spot on Frontier Drive next to the Home Depot; a spot they call “Franconia Triangle,” at the intersection of Franconia Road and Beulah Street; and a spot on the end of the GSA property off Loisdale Road.

This map shows areas around Franconia that are slated for redevelopment. 

 

According to the timeline in the presentation, there will be public hearings with the planning commission this spring or early summer.

VDOT has a project on the books in this area as well called the "Frontier Drive Extension and Braided Ramps in Fairfax County," that will extend Frontier Drive through the Metro station and link with Loisdale Road near the area where the recent construction was occurring. According to VDOT, the project aims to relieve congestion and improve access to the Franconia-Springfield Metro station, the Springfield Town Center area, the General Services Administration complex, the Northern Virginia Community College Medical Education Campus and the new Transportation Security Administration building on Springfield Center Drive. This $221.7 million project has no right-of-way acquisition date listed and no construction date yet.

The Amazon Data Center is going in closer to the intersection of Loisdale Road and Newington Road. The first data center building is up but there is additional land being cleared for more development. This is impacting 23 acres of land in the Springfield Planning District.

Another site is a vacant piece of property on Springfield Center Drive, adjacent to the NVCC medical education campus. This site is owned by Inova and is subject to an ongoing Comprehensive Plan amendment to consider residential mixed use and/or a continuing care facility, said a Fairfax County spokesperson.

The new FBI headquarters was slated for this area as well but instead is moving to a site in Maryland near the Greenbelt Metro station. According to the General Services Administration, Greenbelt was determined to be the best option for the FBI. 

In the fall of 2020, the Transportation Security Administration moved its headquarters from Arlington to Springfield in an area off Loisdale Road but in close proximity to the Metro station and the town center. The TSA building is at the rear of an industrial looking area and is not readily visible from Spring Mall Drive.