One of the nation’s largest developers of residences in the United States, NVR, Inc. has notified the City of Falls Church that it will seek special zoning exceptions to permit the construction of a five-story, 70 unit residential condominium building at the corner of Park Avenue and N. Lee Street, behind The Broadway, in the downtown area of the City.

It is one of the first residential condominium proposals to come to the City since the condo market flattened in advance of the Great Recession a decade ago, and its appeal will be to both millenials and empty nesters, said Scott Adams of McGuire Woods, representing the group at this Monday’s Falls Church City Council and Planning Commission joint work session. The units would go for around $500,000 each, and NV Urban estimates net revenue to the City will be in the range of $363,000 to $420,000.

Mayor David Tarter’s initial reaction was that “the massing is too large for the site, and the fact the building would be 96 percent residential presents an “imbalance that’s not good.” But Council member Dan Sze was more encouraging. “I like this. It has a lot of potential,” he said. “We should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” Councilman Phil Duncan said, “Stay with us at the table. Hopefully, you will keep at it.” Councilman Ross Litkenhous added, “I welcome the idea of this product type.” The Planning Commission chair Russ Wodiska said the site is underutilized now, but this plan is “far too large for the space.”