Washington D.C. Development News

[NovaWolverine]

It's All About the Pitch for United
Team Takes Stadium Appeal to SE Residents

By Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 12, 2005; Page B01

The audience of 500 in Ballou Senior High School's auditorium wanted to know one thing from the president of D.C. United: How would a soccer stadium benefit them?

Kevin Payne had prepared for that question, so he had quick answers as he talked about displacement, jobs and contracts, offering assurances that the $1.5 billion project in Southeast Washington would have something for everyone. There would be a hotel, job training center, community soccer fields and housing -- including a percentage for first-time home buyers and preference for local residents. Payne said the project would rival the entertainment district that has sprung up around MCI Center.



D.C. United wants to build a soccer stadium at Poplar Point in Anacostia. The team says the project also would include a hotel and housing. (By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post)
"The ball, the sport will bring a stadium," he told the crowd, as he held up a soccer ball, "a stadium that is an integral part of a new neighborhood."

Deals for new stadiums in recent years for the Baltimore Ravens and the Washington Redskins, and now the Washington Nationals, have been struck between team negotiators and politicians, who, with varying degrees of success, tried to sell residents on the plans.

But United, while quietly working the political angle, took its quest for a new facility to the streets, inviting residents to lunch and hosting dozens of meet-and-greets, including the Ballou event that incorporated gospel singers, teen models and the school marching band. United players handed out soccer balls and signed autographs into the evening.

United officials hope the campaign will ease the approval process and help extend the team's fan base in a part of town where few people have played or followed the game and don't count themselves fans. United is starting a youth soccer league there in the spring to change that.

"The purpose of these meetings was just as much to hear what the folks in the neighborhoods wanted," Payne said. "They don't just want housing. They want opportunity."

That is certainly the case. "Our kids don't know soccer," said Addie Cook, president of the Fort Stanton Civic Association, who often petitions the city to fix the lights, leaks and broken water fountains at her recreation center. If the project results in more places for children to play, though, Cook said she is willing to listen.

The proposed site is at Poplar Point in Anacostia, just across the river from where the Nationals' stadium is planned. The surrounding area is devoid of soccer fields and soccer programs. There also are few jobs for residents of nearby neighborhoods, including Anacostia and Congress Heights. Double-digit unemployment is the norm, and Vera Jamison wants the 8,000 construction and 2,500 permanent jobs projected for construction and operation of the project reserved for residents.

"We definitely have to get these guys off the street corner and put them to work," said Jamison, 64, who has lived in Congress Heights for 25 years. "They need the work -- not all these other people coming into the community."

The Anacostia Community Land Trust, a competitor for the land where the stadium would be built, is hinting to city officials that it might be willing to partner with United, a sign that the team's effort is making headway. In fact, D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) switched from stadium opponent to proponent and is working to combine the stadium with the proposal from the competing group, which is pushing for low- and moderate-income housing for Southeast residents.

United draws fans from throughout the region, including Richmond and West Virginia. But not many of the team's fans come from the neighborhoods closest to the 100-acre site.

Federal officials had promised to transfer the federally owned site to the District, but a proposal in Congress could put the land on the open market.

City officials remain confident they will get the land but have not determined whether they would partner with the soccer team or with another developer to build on the land. One selling point to residents and public officials is that the team's owners -- with decades of experience in real estate development -- plan to use their own money, instead of asking taxpayers to build the stadium, part of a push by Major League Soccer to build soccer-specific stadiums in the cities that are home to its 12 teams.



D.C. United wants to build a soccer stadium at Poplar Point in Anacostia. The team says the project also would include a hotel and housing. (By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post)
Three stadiums have been built since 1999, another is scheduled to open in Chicago next year, and two are slated for the following year. The goal, as with the United plan, is to have the sites active year-round. The development around Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Tex., used by FC Dallas, has 17 championship-quality fields and is used more than 300 days a year for concerts, soccer matches and even high school football.

"The stadium will bring spending that otherwise wouldn't be there," Payne said, noting that a typical housing development would not do that.

The group pushing the land trust idea also wants the land to develop hundreds of new homes at the site for people with low and moderate incomes. Buyers would own their homes, but the land would be held by a common trust organization, allowing qualified buyers to get a $300,000 house, for instance, for as little as half that amount.

It would stabilize the neighborhood and preserve it from gentrification by stipulating that new owners could sell only to buyers with qualifying incomes and that they could only recoup their investment with an adjustment for inflation, keeping the properties affordable in perpetuity.

Promoters said it's a way of evening the field. "The free-market system does not provide for most of the people who live in Anacostia, and it won't," said Richard Carr, a developer who is part of the land trust group. "It's important for people who understand how the system works to make it work for everybody."

Dianne Dale, president of Frederick Douglass Gardens Inc., is backing the land trust proposal. Over the past 50 years, she said, urban renewal and now gentrification have typically meant that black residents get pushed out, as was the case in Southwest, in Georgetown and on Capitol Hill. The prime riverfront property, she said, should be preserved for those who stuck out the hard years instead of the thousands of outsiders.

Even though her pet project, a national garden, is included in the soccer proposal too, United's promises make her uneasy.

"The soccer people are coming in there with gifts and promises," she said. "You can promise anything, but will you deliver?"

Others are enjoying the attention for the area east of the Anacostia River, where residents have long complained of neglect in services and amenities compared with the rest of the city.

"This is the best outreach from an outside group that I've seen," said Phil Pannell, executive director of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, hired to help organize the Ballou meeting. "They're treating us like we have value."

Soccer officials said that's also the way the sport treats its fans. "Our athletes are incredibly accessible and spend a lot of time after the game signing autographs," said Mark Abbott, chief operating officer for Major League Soccer. "They have an understanding that we're trying to build something here."

Because United has spent 10 years in the city and plans to stay many more, Payne said the team is mindful of not antagonizing potential new neighbors, as many have charged Major League Baseball with doing in its proposal for a new, publicly financed stadium for the Nationals. That has resulted in noisy protests by residents who consider public financing an example of misplaced priorities.

"I certainly would not have done things the way Major League Baseball has done," Payne said.

But to people who live near the site, soccer needs a lot of help to persuade them it is the way to go.

At Ballou, images of famous soccer players flashed across a screen in the auditorium, the marching band belted out tunes while decked out in D.C. United T-shirts and, later, hundreds stood in line for free, regulation-size soccer balls autographed by members of the team. Frieda Murray, 87, got two. "One for me and one for my grandson," said Murray, a retired schoolteacher and longtime member of the Anacostia Garden Club.

She said the attempts to build a baseball stadium left a bad taste in her mouth, but the soccer stadium appeals to her because the team owners are spending their own money and offering to build things that the community has always wanted.

"I'm for upscaling the community," she said. "I don't know if I will be around to see it."

[NovaWolverine]

A Future Free From Gridlock, For a Price
Toll Lane Network Swiftly Taking Form

By Steven Ginsberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 12, 2005; Page A01

Motorists would drive on the Capital Beltway during rush hour at the mind-blowing rate of a mile a minute. Drivers would zip from Fredericksburg to Frederick without hitting a single traffic jam.

In this strange, new world, people would run errands whenever they pleased, vacationers would leave town without spending hours in traffic, and express bus service would be launched on the region's major commuter routes.



Robert L. Flanagan says toll roads are the only way to pay for fixes. (Bill O'leary - Twp)
But these dream scenarios come with a cost: a toll as high as a dollar a mile in heavily traveled areas during peak times. A 56-mile commute between the Fredericksburg area and Washington could cost as much as $30 if a driver chose the traffic-free route, according to one analysis.

These 21st-century traveling possibilities are the result of fast-moving efforts in Virginia and Maryland to build a network of express toll lanes -- roads on which tolls increase when traffic levels rise to manage demand and prevent jams -- that would parallel nearly every major route in the Washington area. The existing routes would remain free -- and packed.

The vision of a regionwide network of these highways has suddenly come into focus just a year after Virginia and Maryland first showed serious interest in the concept. Maryland plans to begin construction on its first express lanes next year, while Virginia plans to build them on a 14-mile stretch of the Beltway within five years.

The projects, many of which will be built and operated by private firms, represent a radical shift in the way highways are financed and operated and promise to transform the way drivers in the Washington area and the nation travel.

"If you look at the full potential of this for the region, I think it's the biggest thing since Metro," said Ronald F. Kirby, transportation planning director for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. "These are very significant and could be just the beginning. We haven't had highways of this magnitude in 20 or 30 years."

The shift to the private sector and to express toll roads mirrors efforts across the country to find new ways to pay for roads and manage traffic as congestion in the nation's urban areas increases and the effectiveness of the interstate system, which turns 50 next year, deteriorates.

Texas has launched an ambitious private-sector plan to lay 4,000 miles of new toll roads, while several other states, from Utah to Kansas to Georgia, are considering express toll lanes and other private-sector proposals.

The concept has gained currency as transportation leaders have switched their focus from "solving" gridlock to providing people with options out of it.

"We're creating choices that are not otherwise possible," said Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan. "By using variable tolling you can use a market mechanism to keep those lanes relatively congestion free."

Flanagan and leaders in Virginia also said they don't have any other way to pay for fixes that run into the billions. So it's toll lanes or nothing. "People just need to appreciate the financial challenge of adding a lane on the Beltway in each direction," Flanagan said.

Critics of the concept said express toll lanes set up two classes of travelers: those who can afford to pay their way out of congestion and those who can't.

Trip Pollard of the Southern Environmental Law Center, which has studied these types of deals, said it is vital to provide rapid bus service on the highways so everyone can benefit. "We don't want it to be the case where if you can pay you get a decent commute and if you can't you're stuck in traffic," Pollard said.



Robert L. Flanagan says toll roads are the only way to pay for fixes. (Bill O'leary - Twp)
Maryland plans to begin construction of its first express toll lanes, on Interstate 95 north of Baltimore, in the next several months, and the state's plan for the intercounty connector linking Montgomery and Prince George's counties follows the express toll model.

These projects will be paid for and operated by the state, but Flanagan said Maryland would seek private investors for future toll lanes, including those being studied on Interstate 270 and the Beltway.

Maryland and Virginia also recently announced plans to jointly study building express toll lanes on parts of the Beltway that include the Woodrow Wilson and American Legion bridges.

Few states are as aggressive as Virginia in wooing the private sector. The state has signed a $900 million deal with a construction consortium to build high-occupancy toll lanes -- a version of express tolls that allows carpoolers to ride free -- on part of the Beltway, and the state is moving rapidly toward a similar $913 million deal with the same developers to build them on a 56-mile stretch of I-95 and I-395. Both could open by 2010.

At the same time, Virginia is one of the first states to consider leasing existing highway assets, such as the Dulles Toll Road, to private investors who would pay the state a lump sum in exchange for 50 years of toll revenue. State officials announced last week that they are considering four proposals valued at more than $1 billion to operate the Dulles Toll Road, some of which include adding express toll lanes. The state would be free to use that money for whatever it chose, although it probably would go toward a Metrorail line to Dulles International Airport and other projects in the corridor.

The result could be a region filled with roads -- and even sections of roads -- controlled and managed by any number of different companies.

"To our eye it will appear queer," said C. Kenneth Orski, editor of the Innovation Briefs transportation newsletter and an early champion of express toll lanes. But in other countries, "you come to a sign saying this segment of the auto route is being operated by such and such company, and 80 miles later you come to a sign that says this toll road is operated by another company, and it's seamless."

There are concerns, though, that companies with competing interests will lead to confusion for drivers and ever-increasing tolls as firms look to maximize profits.

"There are some very real technological and pricing issues," said Virginia Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer. "One of the things the region and commonwealth are looking at is some sort of umbrella or oversight group to make sure all the different pricing serves the public good."

Many of the companies that pioneered deals in Europe and Asia, where express highways are common, are targeting the Washington area.

Michael Kulper, vice president for the Australian firm Transurban, said his company "has taken the view that Virginia really is our primary market focus." The firm is a leader of the Beltway and I-95 projects and is one of the groups vying for control of the Dulles Toll Road.

Kulper said Washington and other cities across the country are ripe for these kinds of highways because of congestion brought on by "20 or 30 years of under-investment."



Robert L. Flanagan says toll roads are the only way to pay for fixes. (Bill O'leary - Twp)
Almost everything about these new highways will be different from what drivers have grown accustomed to and how roads have been built.

For the past 50 years, highways have grown out of the traditional governmental process. Communities cited needs, political leaders approved projects, and state transportation agencies drew up plans according to well-established guidelines. The money to pay for roads -- and later for maintaining them -- came from taxpayers, largely through a levy on gas.

Privately backed roads will be conceived, designed, built and operated by companies according to their ability to make money, a criterion that may not reflect the most pressing traffic needs.

Users, meanwhile, will have to get used to a whole new kind of toll. Rates will be market-driven and will change every few minutes according to traffic conditions. During rush hour, drivers might need serious money, while they could pay for a midnight ride on the same road with loose change.

Drivers will pay with E-ZPass-style transponders and will never have to slow down to pay tolls. There are several ways to charge drivers who slip onto the lanes without transponders, including photographing their license plates and mailing them bills.

Drivers will be charged in increments, say five or 10 miles at a time. Electronic signs will advertise prices before motorists enter stretches of roads, and users will be able to exit if they're unwilling to pay for the next section of highway.

One complication is that there isn't yet a foolproof way to enforce the roads in Virginia, where carpoolers would travel free and others would have to pay.

Supporters said such things are mere details. The future, they said, will be filled with a traveling experience that will give drivers a chance to escape the daily strain of traffic.

"I could see the day," said Orski, the newsletter editor, "when paying for a congestion-free trip will be really accepted as nothing extraordinary, just as we accept paying more for first-class air travel or for taxicabs instead of buses."

[StevenW]

Originally Posted by NovaWolverine

The only thing I could find were northgate condos, but I didn't see any renderings.

Thanks, NovaWolverine.

[Archiconnoisseur]

Originally Posted by Eerik

Moving the Supreme Court to Buzzard's Point is now less likely to happen if the new stadium is built along the waterfront at South Capitol Street. Moving the Supreme Court was intended to bolster development along the Southwest and Southeast quadrants, as well as create a new grand Mall-like boulevard south of the Capitol for new Federal buildings, civic structures and the like.

I'd like to see Southeast developed as much as anyone else does, but I can't help wondering if a baseball stadium doesn't ruin the stately aesthetics of the Monumental Core.

Might it not be better to create the beginnings of an Olympic stadium complex in neglected Northwest or Anacostia?

[Eerik]

Originally Posted by Archiconnoisseur

I'd like to see Southeast developed as much as anyone else does, but I can't help wondering if a baseball stadium doesn't ruin the stately aesthetics of the Monumental Core.

Might it not be better to create the beginnings of an Olympic stadium complex in neglected Northwest or Anacostia?

I totally agree. There is a hierarchical plan being compromised; it's all about placement and messaging.

A stadium is too large to be anything less than a civic structure. On one hand DC says it wants something contextual, and on the other hand it says it wants a design that reflects the Monumental Core. There is a definite conundrum: preserving the L'Enfant vision, yet acknowledging the Federal City is also a city of neighborhoods; a city not tied into the national or world stage.

Personally I think they should have selected the proposal to situate the stadium near the intersection of North Capital, New York and Florida Avenues. It would have been darn close to the original stadium, far enough out of the Monumental Core and in the neighborhoods to not be classified as "Federal" and the new New York Avenue metro station would have been on site.



As to a larger sporting complex, I still think it should be built at the RFK site.

Once again (I think) the DC Council missed a great opportunity...

[NovaWolverine]

Yeah, I personally would like to see an olympic complex at rfk, not further into SE, if it is done, it should be done with compassion for the residents who have been there. I understand what you mean about the conundrum, but I think if this part of DC that's being developed can do what we hope it does, I think it would be great and a hell of a lot better than what we have, but the florida and ny ave. location isn't bad either.

I personally don't think that the stadium really ruins the aesthetics, compared to what's there now, it will challenge what we've been used to seeing, but I think the location is great, not so far out into some ghetto where a stadium alone wouldn't do anything, not in the middle of DT, but close enough and at a place that has potential, where a stadium could bring other changes like mixed use development and infrastructure improvements. Which would happen anywhere. If I were to see an aerial, I think the highway and water would take some of my attn. off the capitol, it's close and that's what Evans wanted.

My gripe with the stadium is the cost. I don't know what to think about expanding the mall, I love the idea of moving the court, bolstering the area and making new bridges and things like that, but I'd hate for the rest of the city to be excluded in a sense.

[StevenW]

I think Cordish will do a great job for the stadium area.

[NovaWolverine]

Developers Named to Rebuild Anacostia Waterfront

By David Nakamura and Dana Hedgpeth
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, December 12, 2005; 4:21 PM

The District government today named four national developers to build a mix of office, housing and retail on land near the site of a new baseball stadium along the Anacostia River in Southeast.

The goal of the project is to create a mixed-use entertainment district around the ballpark that will bring significant tax dollars for the city and foster broader redevelopment along the long-neglected waterfront, Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) said at a news conference.

This redevelopment plan is a key element to Williams' plan to build the ballpark at the Anacostia location and today's announcement comes one day before the D.C. Council, which has grown concerned about rising public costs of the stadium project, will hold a public hearing on the matter.

Monument Realty LLC of the District and Cordish Co. of Baltimore were chosen to develop roughly 10 acres just north of the ballpark at South Capitol and M streets SE. Another team that includes Western Development of the District and Forest City Enterprises of Ohio was named as the lead developers for a roughly five-acre site, a few blocks south at First Street and Potomac Avenue SE.

"We're not in a cornfield in Iowa, but we're building [the ballpark] and they have come," Williams said of the developers, playing off the famous line from the movie "Field of Dreams."

The city, Williams added, "sent a message asking, 'Does anyone want to build around the ballpark?' The answer was, 'Yes, we are interested in bringing real economic development.'"

The city has approved a $535 million budget for the stadium project, but the city's commitment has grown to $589 million and new estimates from city financial officials said the total costs could reach $714 million.

Later today, the city's chief financial officer is expected to release the details of how much it would cost to build a stadium at the Anacostia site versus an alternative site near Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, which some council members have said would be cheaper.

But Williams argued that the economic development promised at the Anacostia site would not take place at RFK.

The Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, established by the mayor to oversee the development effort, was expected to name a single "master developer" from amount five finalists. Instead, four of the development companies were named to the project.

Monument realty owns much of the 10-acres north of the stadium and has spent some $45 million in the last year buying up mostly vacant lots and abandoned buildings there. The rest of the site is owned by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which uses the land to park its buses and house its repair garages.

The smaller site is owned by DC Water and Sewer Authority and is used mostly to park trucks. It sits near the huge redevelopment project at the Southeast Federal Center where Forest City plans to build a major residential, retail and housing complex.

The District will open negotiations to buy the land from Metro and WASA.

Although details of the land negotiations have yet to be worked out, city officials said they expect the developers to either buy the land outright from the city agencies or lease the land and allow the city to share in the profits of the development. Monument, which is best known for building office buildings in downtown, had offered to pay the city $180 million for the Metro land in its proposal.

"We want to build a $3 billon town center," said Herb Miller, who runs Western Development and has developed retail in Georgetown and Potomac Mills. "This area has been cutoff by the freeway for 60 years. . . . We want to create a destination."

[NovaWolverine]

Supervisors Approve Huge Fairfax Project

By Lisa Rein, "Washington Post"
– Plans for a massive complex of offices, apartments and stores in Tysons Corner, described as the future downtown of Fairfax, won unanimous approval from county supervisors last night.
Nine high-rise towers will join the skyline north of Route 123 between the two Tysons malls and alongside a proposed Metro station. Four of the towers will stand at 30 stories and will be among the tallest in Fairfax County. The project will include pedestrian bridges, small plazas, eight-foot sidewalks, ample parking garages and a park with an amphitheater - features that developer Lerner Enterprises said are designed to give the proposed Tysons II project a more urban feel than many of the surrounding office parks and malls.

"It's a transit-oriented development in an urban center of Fairfax County", Ben Tompkins, an attorney for the developer, told the Board of Supervisors.

The centerpiece of the project, which is billed as a new model of urban culture, will be a Metro station, one of four along a Metrorail extension planned to Tysons and, eventually, to Dulles International Airport.

Lerner will become the first developer to take advantage of a county incentive encouraging construction in the vicinity of public transit to reduce car trips. Supervisors permitted Lerner to double the number of square feet authorized to 4.1 million from 1.9 million.

And, like West Group Properties, which won approval last winter for four luxury condominium towers in Tysons, Lerner tripled the amount of space allocated for apartments under a separate county policy designed to attract housing rather than offices.

"Tysons is our commercial future, and we've got to get it right," said Supervisor Gerald E. Connolly (D-Providence), whose district includes Tysons. "This case moves us a step forward."

The vote was 8 to 0. Two board members, Michael R. Frey (R-Sully) and Gerald W. Hyland (D-Mount Vernon), were absent.

The policy of handing a developer a density bonus for proximity to transit, when the rail proposal has not been funded by Congress, made at least one supervisor jittery.

"The great fear is the density comes and rail never comes," said Supervisor Stuart Mendelsohn (R-Dranesville).

Lerner agreed to some safeguards to protect the county: If funding for the rail project is not in place by 2005, the supervisors can rescind the extra density. If rail moves forward, Tysons II is authorized to move forward, too.

The county's Planning Commission had recommended against approval of the project this spring, expressing concerns about timing and density, transportation improvements and the developer's commitment to encouraging use of transit. But by the time the project came before them, supervisors were satisfied that Lerner was providing adequately to offset the effect of the offices and apartments. The developer will contribute $5 million to a fund to make road improvements in Tysons, add a lane on Route 123, build some affordable apartments and provide land for the Metro station, among other measures.

Some advocates of so-called smart growth planning criticized Tysons II, saying it would not follow such principles. Despite its proximity to a planned Metro station, Tysons II would turn out like any other office park, some critics said.

"The Lerner project does not go far enough to reduce sprawl, mitigate traffic impacts, or create 'community'," the Coalition for smarter Growth said in a statement urging denial of the project. "It is little more than a standard, upscale office development, with a sprinkling of houses and retail."

Most of the dozen civic and business groups and individuals who weighed in backed the project.

It "ensures that Tysons Corner does not remain a suburban office park, disconnected from a transit system and bogged down in traffic," said William D. Lecos, executive director of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.
______________________________________________________

Lerner Enterprises, founded by Theodore N. Lerner, is one of Washington, D.C.’s largest and most successful real estate developers. Lerner is involved in all phases of commercial and residential real estate including development, asset management, acquisitions and leasing. Lerner Enterprises has developed and currently manages through its leasing and management affiliate, Lerner Corporation, more than fifteen million square feet of commercial, retail and residential space.

Among Lerner Enterprises’ extensive office portfolio are The Corporate Office Centre at Tysons II in McLean, Virginia; The Corporate Office Park at Dulles Town Center in Dulles, Virginia; Flint Hill Office Park in Fairfax, Virginia; Parkview Executive Center in Herndon, Virginia; 7799 Leesburg Pike in Tysons Corner, Virginia; 400 Army Navy Drive in Pentagon City, Virginia; White Flint North in North Bethesda, Maryland; and Washington Square and 1133 Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C.
************************************************************************

Does any one have any updates about this project?

[NovaWolverine]

Loudoun Developers Sprint to File Plans
Applications for 21,000 Homes Submitted in Bid to Outrun Limits in County

By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 10, 2006; Page B01

In the final weeks of 2005, developers applied to build more than 21,000 houses, townhouses and apartments in a slice of Loudoun County west of Dulles International Airport.

Over the coming decades, the growth would add thousands of new residents, including enough schoolchildren to fill more than a dozen new schools and enough daily auto trips to flood county roads, according to Loudoun planning studies.


The projects are not new to public scrutiny. Developers began talking to county officials more than a year ago about changing zoning rules to allow dense new neighborhoods in a mostly undeveloped region between Loudoun's congested east and its rural west.

But the developers' choice to go forward with individual rezoning applications forces county leaders to decide whether to allow an enormous new building boom before they have had time to draw a blueprint for future growth in a central part of the county.

Loudoun supervisors decided last fall to wait to rethink development policy in an area that some hope to retain as a buffer between suburban and rural Loudoun. First, they have said, their priority is to develop rules that would limit home building in bucolic western Loudoun.

By submitting concrete rezoning applications, which state law requires the county to consider within one year, developers appear to be forcing much quicker action -- with less chance for a long-winded policy debate -- on the future of an important portion of the county, where many would prefer less, rather than more, home building.

"They're asking for suburban development in an area not slated for suburban development," said Loudoun's planning director, Julie Pastor. "They're trying to get in and get the process going."

Opponents of the applications say the more than 21,000 new homes would overrun Loudoun's roads, schools and parks. They say the developers are seeking a free ride -- big profits from high-density developments -- without sharing the cost of the growth.

"It's the fleecing of Loudoun County," said Robert W. Lazaro Jr., a slow-growth advocate and spokesman for the Piedmont Environmental Council. "People might as well bring their families in their cars. That's the only time they're going to see them, because they're going to be stuck in so much traffic."

Packie Crown, a vice president of Vienna-based developer Greenvest, said it is important to remember that even if the Board of Supervisors approved the rezoning applications, years would go by before all the units would be built.

Greenvest submitted four of the seven applications, hoping to build more than 15,000 homes.

Crown also said her company's proposals would provide much of the infrastructure that opponents say developers should fund. The company is offering to build $200 million worth of roads, including an interchange at Routes 659 and 50; a 200-acre regional park that would include athletic fields and a running track; and six schools. The proposals also include affordable housing units and neighborhoods for older adults.

"Ours is a pretty different proposal," Crown said. "I would ask that people really take a hard and close look at our applications and not judge our applications based on information provided by other groups that have not had an opportunity to look."

It's hard to dispute that the seven developments, most of them clustered around Route 50 and Braddock Road, would forever change the county.

They would increase by more than half the number of homes across Loudoun -- now 37,000 -- approved and in the pipeline for construction.

They and several other developments in earlier planning stages for the same area would attract 77,000 residents, 16,000 of them school-age, a county analysis last year showed.

According to county studies, the developments would cost the county $268 million in new capital spending, mostly for schools. The growth would add 57,000 daily trips to the busiest stretch of Route 50, earning much of that road a failing grade for traffic flow, according to county criteria.

"I'm heartbroken," said Debbie Moore, a resident of rural Peach Orchard Lane, whose home on one acre would sit across the road from the 5,867 single-family homes, townhouses and apartments of a development called Greenfields.

Together, the seven proposals represent nearly twice as many homes as there are in South Riding and Brambleton, two large communities that have helped define the Dulles South area.

[NovaWolverine]

Developer to dress up Suitland with $800M center
joe Coombs
Staff Reporter

A decade-long dream for Kevin Sills may be very close to coming true, and it could wake up a sluggish area of Prince George's County with an $800 million development.

Sills, president of Oakton-based Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Investments, has been assembling land near the Suitland Metro station for the past 10 years. With one more nod from Prince George's County, he will bring 1,100 residential units and 1 million square feet of retail and office space to an area characterized by aging strip malls and decaying homes.

"We can't wait to get started," Sills says. "Every day I come over here, I'm ready to dig a hole and start working."

Before he can break ground, Sills needs final approval for a zoning change from the County Council (www.co.pg.md.us). When the council meets Jan. 10, it is expected to grant a mixed-use town center zoning classification for Mid-Atlantic's 22 acres, on both sides of Silver Hill Road where it intersects with Suitland Road.

Sills says he's talking with three national developers that would partner with him on the residential portion of Suitland Gateway. He would not identify them. An unidentified national real estate investment trust has been tapped to develop the office/retail property.

A New York-based insurance firm might finance the entire project at a cost of $700 million to $800 million, Sills says.

"If you look at the number of people moving to Washington in the next five years, we have to get creative in using our existing space," says Henry Turner, a member of the Greater Prince George's Business Roundtable (www.bizroundtable.org). "Suitland is an area that could use some revitalization, and this is a good way of going about it."

Also working in Sills' favor: The Census Bureau is expected to complete its new $340 million headquarters by the end of this year just a couple blocks from Mid-Atlantic's property. The Census buildings will put 1.5 million square feet and 2,200 employees next to the Suitland Metro station.

Employment at the neighboring Suitland Federal Center, which houses divisions of the National Archives and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, is expected to jump from 9,000 workers to 11,000 workers by 2010. That provides a huge market for restaurants and retailers, as well as potential tenants for Sills' residential component, which will include a mix of apartments and condominiums.

"We're going to have a lot of people working over here," Sills says. "That's why we need to start this project right now."

If Mid-Atlantic can get the necessary zoning changes, it will start work immediately on the residential complex. A series of strip malls would be demolished to make way for the new residential and commercial buildings. Sills says all tenants are on month-to-month leases and aware of his plans.

Sills says he's talking with a handful of restaurants and a pair of national drug stores about occupying part of the commercial space.

County officials have pushed for a large-scale redevelopment of Suitland in recent years. In a 96-page report that touts the benefits of mixed-use zoning for the area, they decry the "distressed conditions" in Suitland.

Prince George's County is becoming a hot spot for some of the region's largest mixed-use projects. Work continues on the $2 billion National Harbor development. And approvals are pending for a major town center in Landover and a $1.4 billion planned community outside Upper Marlboro.

[NovaWolverine]

Includes construction of new western entrance to the Ballston Metro station

ARLINGTON, Va. – At its regular meeting today, the Arlington County Board approved a site plan to build a high-rise residential building with ground floor retail on the Arlington Gateway site in Ballston. As part of the project, the developer will construct a substantial part of the new western entrance to the Ballston Metro station.

“Opening a western entrance to the Ballston Metro station is a long-standing goal for Arlington,” said Arlington County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman. “The new entrance will improve accessibility to the Metro for many residents, workers, and visitors.”

The mixed-use building, known as the Fairmont, will be a 23-story condominium building with 237 units with ground-floor retail. It is scheduled to open in January 2009 and will complete the Arlington Gateway site, development of which was begun in 2000. The condominium building will be an all-glass tower, the first all-glass residential building in the Ballston area.

New western entrance to the Ballston Metro station
Located above the Ballston Metro station, the condominium project is constructing a major part of the new Metro entrance as a community benefit. The new Metro entrance will be the westernmost entrance in the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor, making Metro more accessible to neighborhoods to the west of Ballston, particularly Bluemont.

The total contribution by the developer to the Metro entrance project is estimated at $11 million. This construction saves approximately $20 million on the total cost of the Metro station entrance, thanks to efficiencies in construction and timing.

Community process
The project was considered during a thorough public process that included numerous meetings and hearings, as well as discussions with owners of neighboring properties. Through this process, many improvements were made to the project to increase pedestrian safety, as well as to improve accessibility, traffic flow, management of truck traffic, and parking capacity.

Arlington Gateway
This building will complete the Arlington Gateway site, which consists of office buildings, residential buildings, retail, and the new Westin Hotel. This parcel is one of the last redevelopment sites in the high density district surrounding the Ballston Metro station, bordered by N. Quincy St., Fairfax Drive, Glebe Rd., and Wilson Blvd. Since 1978, this has been planned as one of the highest density areas in Arlington.

Recently, the Arlington Gateway was recognized by the Community Appearance Alliance of Northern Virginia, which gave the site a Community Appearance Award, recognizing the “modern, tasteful group of buildings that enhance the entire community.”


###
Project at a Glance

Project:
Fairmont, 4420 Fairfax Drive, Arlington


Contact: 240.333.3740, fairmont@jbg.com
Developer:
The JBG Companies


Contact: 240.333.3740, fairmont@jbg.com
Architects:
Weihe Design Group


Contact: George Dove, 202.857.8300
Size:


244,000 gross square feet
237 condominium units
23 floors
7,088 square feet of ground-floor retail
Timetable:


Groundbreaking: July 2006
Estimated completion: January 2009 (30 months construction)
Community benefits:


JBG will construct a substantial portion of the new western entrance to the Ballston Metro station; estimated value $11 million.

###
Arlington, Va., is a world-class urban community that was originally part of the “10-mile square” parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation's Capital. It is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the United States, occupying slightly less than 26 square miles. Known for its urban villages and transit-oriented development, Arlington maintains a rich variety of stable neighborhoods, quality schools and enlightened land use. In 2002, the county was the first recipient of the Environmental Protection Agency’s highest award for “Smart Growth.” Home to some of the most influential organizations in the world – including the Pentagon – Arlington stands out as one of America’s preeminent places to live, visit and do business.


The Official Date and Time of this Release is: 1/21/2006 4:31:15 PM

[NovaWolverine]

[NovaWolverine]

Streetcar plan moves forward
Anacostia service could start in 2007
By Mike Rupert
Examiner Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, January 22, 2006 10:09 PM EST
E-mail this story | Print this page

A trolley passes by the U.S. Capitol building in Washington in 1961. Courtesy of National Capital Trolley Museum
It's been nearly 45 years since streetcars were heard rumbling through streets of the District. Now D.C. transportation officials say they will get them rolling again by early next year - and the project is moving to Capitol Hill.

D.C. Transportation Director Dan Tangherlini says plans for a nearly 3-mile line through Anacostia are on track, and the streetcars are expected to be in service by early 2007.

And Karina Ricks, coordinator of the Great Streets Project for the D.C. Department of Transportation, said the District is working to expand the project to Capitol Hill.


Ricks said the city is expected to request bids this summer to install tracks along H Street and Benning Road. The 3.5-mile stretch of road is already being completely rebuilt, and officials, with the support of neighborhood leaders, said they decided to go ahead and lay the tracks. The tracks would run from near Union Station to the Minnesota Avenue Metro station.

"It's a case of measuring twice and cutting once," Tangherlini said. "We didn't want to come back in two or three years and have to rebuild the road again."



Tangherlini said it could be another three to five years before streetcars are seen rolling through the area. He said the streetcars are "clean and quiet" and should fit nicely with the neighborhood's character.

Transportation officials said additional options for commuters were needed along the busy corridor. As many as 20,000 people use two Metrobus lines along the route each weekday, officials said. The H Street rail project is part of $50 million being spent on road improvements in the corridor as part of the city's Great Streets initiative, Ricks said. Construction is expected to begin this fall.

Streetcars Return



- The last streetcar ran in January 1962

- H Street plan calls for four lanes of traffic and two lanes for streetcars

- Neighborhood leaders hope project will ease traffic and parking problems

[Evangelion]

Originally Posted by NovaWolverine

Streetcar plan moves forward
Anacostia service could start in 2007
By Mike Rupert
Examiner Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, January 22, 2006 10:09 PM EST
E-mail this story | Print this page

A trolley passes by the U.S. Capitol building in Washington in 1961. Courtesy of National Capital Trolley Museum
It's been nearly 45 years since streetcars were heard rumbling through streets of the District. Now D.C. transportation officials say they will get them rolling again by early next year - and the project is moving to Capitol Hill.

D.C. Transportation Director Dan Tangherlini says plans for a nearly 3-mile line through Anacostia are on track, and the streetcars are expected to be in service by early 2007.

And Karina Ricks, coordinator of the Great Streets Project for the D.C. Department of Transportation, said the District is working to expand the project to Capitol Hill.


Ricks said the city is expected to request bids this summer to install tracks along H Street and Benning Road. The 3.5-mile stretch of road is already being completely rebuilt, and officials, with the support of neighborhood leaders, said they decided to go ahead and lay the tracks. The tracks would run from near Union Station to the Minnesota Avenue Metro station.

"It's a case of measuring twice and cutting once," Tangherlini said. "We didn't want to come back in two or three years and have to rebuild the road again."



Tangherlini said it could be another three to five years before streetcars are seen rolling through the area. He said the streetcars are "clean and quiet" and should fit nicely with the neighborhood's character.

Transportation officials said additional options for commuters were needed along the busy corridor. As many as 20,000 people use two Metrobus lines along the route each weekday, officials said. The H Street rail project is part of $50 million being spent on road improvements in the corridor as part of the city's Great Streets initiative, Ricks said. Construction is expected to begin this fall.

Streetcars Return



- The last streetcar ran in January 1962

- H Street plan calls for four lanes of traffic and two lanes for streetcars

- Neighborhood leaders hope project will ease traffic and parking problems

this will make the whole arlington area revitalize! and plus it will be loads of fun to ride, maybe we will see it in futures films =) and make it an icon of nothern va

[StevenW]

Nice building.

[NovaWolverine]

Yeah, transit wise, I think the area is going to be come very interesting, Gov. Kaine is raising the funding to 1 B a yr with a good portion going to northern va. I'm really interested in the DC streetcar too. It's going to help Anacostia, I just hope it's really tangible, which I think it will be, and the denser development in Arlington and Alexandria and eventually Tysons, Reston, and Springfield from the transit improvements are going to do so much.

And I like that building too, there are a couple more on the way, I think I will recap some of the arlington projects in a bit. This building in ballston has a metro stop underneath, it's going to be pretty much a brand new station, rebuilt when finished, that's why this building won't be done 'til '09, also there's a little building on this site that needs to be razed.

[JAB323]

, I realize D.C. (being from there) is not a skyscraper city, and never will (in my life anyways), but I am gonna try and salvage this thread yet.

[JAB323]

The following is a number of big (MD) projects. Enjoy.

[JAB323]

Okay, okay :

National Harbor

NATIONAL HARBOR

Location : Oxon Hill-Fort Washington Area of Prince George's County

Use : Mixed Retail, Residential, and Office

Cost : 2 Billion USD (some serious dough)

Offers great views of Alexandria, and D.C.

Anchored by the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center (classy joint )

great part of PG's redevelopment

AND BEST OF ALL : NEON LIGHTED NATIONAL HARBOR SIGN ON PIER!!!




















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