Lerner Enterprises has thrown a wrench into plans

Lerner Enterprises has thrown a wrench into plans by Fairfax County to add hundreds of small condominium units to part of Tysons Corner, a northern Virginia business center where 100,0000 people work but where only about 17,000 reside. As part of a plan to get more people living near workplaces and Metro rail stations, the country three years ago gave Lerner permission to build 540 condominiums that were expected to average about 1,000 square feet each. However, Lerner now says it wants to build as few as 300 condos, which would be twice as large, more luxurious, and would cost far more than the $500,000 that a 1,000 sq. ft. unit would sell for. Builders said there’s more money to be made in large, amenity-rich units. County officials are upset because they want more workers — and not just wealthy ones — to live near existing or proposed Metro stations. To avoid unexpected density reductions in the future, the county is being more careful in setting a minimum number of residential units for other sites at Tysons. “This has put the county in the unusual position of urging developers to increase residential density in projects, a reverse of its typical negotiations with builders,” the Washington Post reported Feb. 7.