Many in the community have been asking or wondering what will happen to Celebrity Delly during the upcoming redevelopment of Graham Park Plaza. Due to conflicting reports from older updates to the community, we hope set the record straight in regards to the newest information of which we have been made aware. As of today, Celebrity Delly can happily report to you the plans for redevelopment have changed. The original plans which included the planned demolition and relocation of Celebrity Delly have officially been terminated. in lieu of these plans, a new set of redevelopment plans have been made by our property owner, Federal Realty, and approved by the Fairfax county planning commission. These new plans call for a redevelopment of solely the western part of the shopping center from the general Stein-Mart (Old Loehmann's retail spot) location down and into the Bova location nearer to the northwestern part of the shopping center. This plan is a complete change from the original plans which included the demolition of the entire western end of the shopping center, including a later demolition and relocation of Celebrity Delly to make room for a wider roadway connecting the eastern and western sides of Graham Park Plaza.
Furthermore, the western part of the Graham Park Plaza Shopping Center has been Sold to a very well known and posh developer, EYA. With their purchase of the western portion of the shopping center, the plan is to build Luxury Townhomes.
With the approval of these new plans (see photo below along with the article written from the annandale blog), Celebrity Delly will NOT be going anywhere. In fact, during the entirety of the redevelopment of graham park plaza, you can expect Celebrity Delly to be open and ready to serve our community as we have everyday for the past 45 years. Cheers!
"Federal Realty Investment Trust has dropped plans to transform Graham Park Plaza into a mixed-use development with apartments and ground-floor retail, according to news reports.
Instead, the company is selling 8.3 acres on the western side of the 19-acre site to EYA, which plans to build 175 luxury townhouses there. The shopping center, formerly called Loehmann’s Plaza, is on Arlington Boulevard in the Falls Church area of Mason District.
Federal Realty plans to make improvements to the rest of the shopping center – the area with Giant Food, Advance Auto Parts, Celebrity Delly, and other stores – including façade upgrades and landscaping. The stand-alone gas station, McDonald’s, and PNC Bank will remain intact.
The sale to EYA is contingent on Eya obtaining approval for the townhouse development from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. That process is expected to take about a year.
According to the Washington Business Journal, Federal Realty’s decision to abandon the mixed-use development was all about “the highest economic use of the site,” said Barry Carty, vice president of acquisitions. “This made more sense for the project, and the element of having additional homes and residents, and EYA’s reputation, will enhance the Giant side of the property, as well.”
The Board of Supervisors approved the mixed-use redevelopment at Graham Park Plaza in December 2016. A year later, Federal Realty announced plans to downsize that project."
