A downtown Fairfax City project that was once on track to break ground this year is going back to the drawing board, and the developer is pointing to construction costs and interest rates as the reason.
A representative for Ox Hill Companies told the Fairfax City Planning Commission that the City Centre West mixed-use development needs numerous changes to be financially viable, FFXnow reported.
"When this application was approved in the summer of 2023, when the applicant subsequently filed a site plan, market conditions were different, construction costs were lower, interest rates were lower," Bob Brant, an attorney with Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh, told commissioners.
For contractors, it's a clear local example of how today's costs and financing are reshaping projects that already had approvals in hand.
How the project stalled
The City Council approved Ox Hill's application for housing and retail on a 1.7-acre site, three lots from 10501 to 10523 Main Street, in 2023. The city closed the application in September 2025 for inactivity, even though two buildings on the site had already been demolished, FFXnow reported.
No new land use application has been filed yet. An Oct. 12 pre-application briefing before the Planning Commission offered an early look at the reworked plan, which would need a new rezoning.
What's changing
According to FFXnow, the new concept would:
- Increase condominium units from 79 to 85, with smaller units than before.
- Reduce office space and drop the medical office. Just over 22,000 square feet of office would remain for the bank, which Ox Hill has previously identified as Truist Bank.
- Provide fewer parking spaces.
- Keep a drive-thru bank and slightly increase restaurant space.
- Add 7,889 square feet of storage for residents.
The building would drop from eight stories to seven but grow slightly taller overall, from 94 feet to 98, FFXnow reported.
A planned corner park on adjacent Fairfax County land is also out. Brant said the county has been rethinking its judicial complex next door and plans to eventually run a pedestrian connection to Main Street through that corner, so the developer didn't want to build something there that might later be removed.
Commissioners' concerns
Commissioners said they were disappointed to lose the park, which had helped address concerns about a large building close to the historic courthouse.
Several also asked about affordable housing. Commissioner Paul Cunningham asked whether the new price point would really allow the share of affordable units the city requires. Brant said Ox Hill would work with the city on its requirements, and acknowledged affordable condo owners would share in building assessments like market-rate owners.
Commissioner Tassos McCarthy pressed on viability directly. Noting that "rates have gone wild over the last six, eight weeks," he asked whether the project as submitted is viable.
"Everybody on our end of the table has every incentive to make this work," Brant replied, adding that Ox Hill wants "nothing more than to get through this process and get it built."
What's next
The Fairfax City Council is scheduled to hold its own pre-application briefing on the new City Centre West proposal at its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 27, according to FFXnow.
Why it matters for contractors
This is what cost pressure looks like on the ground. A project with approvals, a site plan and two buildings already torn down still couldn't move forward at 2023 assumptions. The fix was to add units, shrink them, cut office space and parking, and go back through rezoning.
For Northern Virginia general contractors and subs, the lesson is that approved doesn't mean shovel-ready right now. Projects designed a few years ago may be reworked, as this one was, with less office space and parking. Contractors who can help developers with early pricing and value engineering are in a strong position, because that's exactly the conversation happening on jobs like this one. Anyone interested in City Centre West should watch the Oct. 27 council briefing and the formal application when it's filed.