John C. McGranahan, Jr.

John’s practice focuses on all aspects of real estate development and land use law. John is the administrative partner of the firm’s Washington, DC, office and a member of the firm’s Real Estate, Development and Finance group. John’s practice focuses on zoning and land use regulation, real estate-related environmental regulations, public facilities availability, land use litigation, real estate transactions, eminent domain, local government law and public/private partnerships.

Over the course of his legal career, John has represented property owners, investors and developers in matters involving all facets of the use of property. John has a proven track record of securing timely and well-crafted land use approvals.

• Obtained land use approvals for the conversion of an approved office building into a luxury high rise residential condominium in Tysons, Virginia.
• Obtained land use approvals for the transfer of previously approved workforce dwelling units into a 456-unit, tax credit financed workforce housing community in Tysons, Virginia.
• Obtained land use approvals to redevelop an existing single-story restaurant site into a 270 foot high-rise residential tower in Tysons, Virginia.
• Obtained land use approvals for a high-rise continuing care retirement community, the first “continuing care facility” approved under recently adopted land use regulations governing such uses, and the first of such uses to locate in the growing urban center of Tysons, Virginia.
• Obtained land use approvals for Arrowbrook Centre, a transit-oriented, mixed-use development in Fairfax County, Virginia, consisting of office, retail, residential and hotel uses with an overall gross floor area of 2,331,359 square feet (0.99 FAR).
• Obtained land use approvals for the first high-rise, residential condominium approved under the new Tysons Plan in Fairfax County, Virginia.
• Obtained land use approvals for the future conversion of an existing rock quarry into a public water supply reservoir in Fairfax County, Virginia, capable of holding up to 17 billion gallons of water.
• Obtained zoning approvals for Arbor Row, a 2.6 million square foot mixed use development of office, residential and hotel use and one of the first transit-oriented projects approved under the new comprehensive plan to transform Tysons Corner in Fairfax County, Virginia, into an urban center with the extension of Metrorail to Dulles Airport.
• Retained as an expert witness on land use and real estate development issues in several litigation matters.
• Represented commercial landowners in the Tysons Corner and Reston-Herndon areas of Fairfax County, Virginia, to establish a special tax district to fund the local share of the cost of extending Metrorail service to Dulles Airport.
• Obtained zoning approvals for several public and private school campuses and facilities.
• Obtained zoning approvals for Kincora Village, a mixed-use business community north of Dulles Airport in Loudoun County, Virginia. Kincora Village is a 400-acre pedestrian-friendly commercial center which includes a planned minor league ballpark, 3.6 million square feet of office, 450,000 square feet of retail uses and restaurants, 1,400 apartments, 2 hotels and more than 162 acres of preserved natural park land.
• Obtained zoning approvals for Fox Gate Town Center, a mixed-use business community in the Route 50 corridor of Loudoun County, Virginia, south of Dulles Airport. Fox Gate Town Center includes 560,000 square feet of employment uses, 308,000 square feet of commercial and specialty retail uses, 51,500 square feet of public/civic and institutional uses and up to 110 multi-family residential units.
• Obtained land use approvals for several residential communities.
• Obtained zoning approvals for a full service community hospital and medical campus.
• Obtained complex set of zoning approvals within an extremely compressed timeframe to permit a 600,000 square foot synthetic insulin manufacturing facility in Prince William County, Virginia.
• Obtained zoning approvals for a $230 million electrical peak power generation project involving up to 10 combustion turbine engines on sites in two different jurisdictions in Northern Virginia.
• Obtained zoning and state and local permit approvals for solid waste transfer stations.
• Obtained zoning approvals for an upgrade and expansion of a major water treatment facility in Fairfax County, Virginia.
• Obtained zoning approvals for a series of monopoles and rooftop mounted telecommunications facilities throughout Northern Virginia.
• Negotiated with the Virginia Department of Transportation on a series of creative settlements with values in excess of $1 million in connection with right-of-way acquisition for significant highway projects.
• Handled numerous zoning and regulatory violation matters involving both successful appeals and negotiated settlements.

• Recognized as a Leader in Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use, Northern Virginia, Chambers USA, 2011-2024
• Named one of Virginia Business magazine’s 2020 Legal Elite for Real Estate/Land Use Law
• Selected as a Best Lawyer for Land Use and Zoning Law, Real Estate Law (2013-2024) and Litigation - Land Use and Zoning (2023-2024), Virginia, The Best Lawyers in America
• Recognized as one of Washington, DC’s Best Lawyers: Real Estate, Washingtonian, 2018

• Member, Board of Directors of the Tysons Community Alliance
• Member, Board of Directors of the Workhouse Arts Foundation
• Member, Board of Directors of the Fairfax Law Foundation; President , 2005-2006
• Member, Board of Directors of Fall for the Book, Inc.
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, Virginia Bar Association
• Member, Fairfax Bar Association