Northern Virginia Development News

[urbanaturalist]

Originally Posted by desertpunk

Arlington: The Beacon At Clarendon West Underway

I REALLY like how the developers/planners kept the low rise businesses on that lot......instead of just ripping it up and having this new but typically overhyped glass facade. They not only kept the old facade of the buildings, like DC does a good job of doing sometime........they literally KEPT the ACTUAL BUSINESSES on that block.......

NIICEE!

[en1044]

Tyson's is a city? I just think of it as a mash of roads, office buildings and traffic.

[shakman]

Originally Posted by en1044

Tyson's is a city? I just think of it as a mash of roads, office buildings and traffic.

Currently Tyson's is an over-sized suburban office park. Fairfax County's objective for Tyson's is an urban environment.

[desertpunk]

Onward, Upward for Mega-development in Pentagon City

Posted by Amanda Wilson on 11/13/2012 03:55:00 PM


Arlington is set to gain more height as Kettler moves forward on the Acadia, a 19-story residential building in Pentagon City. Construction on the Acadia has already begun, according to Virginia-based Kettler. The building, located at 575 12th St. South in Arlington, is the latest project to break ground in Kettler's mixed-use mega-development called Metropolitan Park.


The Acadia, Rendering: Kettler

A LEED Silver-designed building, the 677,154 s.f. Acadia will include 433 residential units, 16,350 s.f. of ground floor retail and three below-grade parking levels. The granite and limestone skinned building also will have a gym, a cafe, a business center, and other amenities including a pet grooming room and an innfinity edge, saltwater rooftop pool. Dorsky Yue International (DYI) is the project architect.

When completed, the eight-stage, planned unit development (PUD) will include ten buildings, a nearly historic size when added together. Architect Robert A.M. Stern is the master planner for the grandiose project, which developer Kettler describes as a "16-acre urban village in Pentagon City." Work on the project, which has already delivered the 300-plus residential buildings The Gramercy and The Millennium, marks the continued upward development of this land at the nexus of Crystal City, Pentagon City, and Pentagon Row. The Acadia will make a triad out of the duo of mega-buildings already on the site, which also includes a park and is bounded by 12th, 15th, Eads, and South Fern Streets.

[...]

[desertpunk]

Construction on The Tellus in Arlington Underway

The Tellus, a 16-story apartment building on the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and Arlington's first to earn LEED Gold, is now under construction. The Tellus will replace the 1960's-era "Arlington Executive Building" and developer Erkiletian has now started groundwork on the project, Bill Denton of Erkiletian told DCMud on Tuesday. Erkiletian completed demolition of the old building, located on 14th Street North in the Courthouse section of Arlington, in early October.

"We are right on the construction schedule," Denton said. The team is busy with sheeting, shoring and excavation. S.E. Foster is the general contractor on the project. Denton said Hurricane Sandy caused a four-day hold-up in construction, but that the team would try to make up for lost time. "The storm had a little impact, but we are going to try to pick that up." The building is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2014.



The Tellus, a 254-unit rental apartment building, is expected to be Arlington's first LEED Gold certified building. The project has been in the Arlington development pipeline since 2009, but developers put off starting the project during the recession, and started moving forward on the project just this year. Designs call for 254 residential units and 15,008 s.f. of office and retail space. Plans call for smart car and bicycle facilities, and water-saving and energy-efficient features. The schematic design is by the Lessard Group, WDG Architecture is the firm behind the newest working design.

[jam5]

Not many people know this, but there is a streetcar line being planned for Crystal City:

Crystal City streetcar plans underway

By Patricia Sullivan, Sunday, December 30, 5:00 PM
(...)
In what is now a high-rise, car-centric area, Arlington County is planning a 2.5-mile-long streetcar line along the Route 1 corridor between Crystal City and the Alexandria city limits. Planners hope the streetcar will help to create a walkable neighborhood with street-level retail, dense housing and offices.

It’s all part of a nascent regional network of light-rail projects, which combined with existing Metrorail, VRE commuter rail, buses, car- and bicycle-sharing and pedestrian-friendly paths, would remake the urban landscape into distinctive destinations.

The plan to build a streetcar line along Columbia Pike, from just over the Fairfax County line to Crystal City, has all the elements of the work done along Wilson and Clarendon boulevards a decade ago. Economic development, open space and the preservation of affordable housing share attention with the streetcar line.

Crystal City is a different community, however. It’s full of high-rises, but south of the area is the still-developing Potomac Yard, former site of a railroad switching yard. Developers already have plans for the area, and demographers predict major growth in both households and commercial space.

[jcastro805]

wow, you are right, I didn't know this. Pure awesomeness!


http://www.crystalcitystreetcar.com/...car-route-map/

[jam5]

It would be even more awesome if sometime in the not-too-distant future, Alexandria City wanted to connect its Old Town with the streetcar line. Washington Street and King Street (including a connection with the King Street Metro station) are the most obvious corridors that should come first in that scenario.

[jcastro805]

I live in Fort Belvoir, and the traffic along Hwy 1 is horrible. I would love to have a trolley run the length of the Hwy all the way through Alexandria.

[jam5]

Originally Posted by jcastro805

I live in Fort Belvoir, and the traffic along Hwy 1 is horrible. I would love to have a trolley run the length of the Hwy all the way through Alexandria.

Wouldn't metrorail (i.e. extending the Yellow Line along Route 1 through the Hybla Valley and Fort Belvoir) make more sense?

[NovaWolverine]

Route 1 traffic is terrible, but I'm not quite sure whether extending metrorail would be better than a streetcar. I think Metro would be better, actually, but I'm not sure how feasible it is. Rt. 1 serves people making short trips as well as long ones. A BRT seems like a no-brainer in lieu of heavy rail for the time being. Perhaps down the road when Rt. 1 becomes a high-priority area, than it can get the Orange Line/Tysons Corner treatment with full-blown metro, or maybe LRT, to Ft. Belvoir and possibly as far south as Woodbridge, even though I think commuter rail is such an under-utilized mode of transportation in this area. I think a trolley would be used by many people, but probably a bit slower than optimal.

[jcastro805]

Originally Posted by NovaWolverine

Route 1 traffic is terrible, but I'm not quite sure whether extending metrorail would be better than a streetcar. I think Metro would be better, actually, but I'm not sure how feasible it is. Rt. 1 serves people making short trips as well as long ones. A BRT seems like a no-brainer in lieu of heavy rail for the time being. Perhaps down the road when Rt. 1 becomes a high-priority area, than it can get the Orange Line/Tysons Corner treatment with full-blown metro, or maybe LRT, to Ft. Belvoir and possibly as far south as Woodbridge, even though I think commuter rail is such an under-utilized mode of transportation in this area. I think a trolley would be used by many people, but probably a bit slower than optimal.

I completely agree. economically, metro rail would be much more expensive, and usually also require large, expensive stations at the distal ends to accommodate parking. Furthermore, the entire length of route 1 from Ft Belvoir to Hunnington Station is chock-full of strip-mall style businesses, not centered around metro stations like other places. a trolley system would allow people access at many more points than metro rail, helping people to get to/from work faster and promoting public transportation shopping trips. Don't get me wrong, I would personally love to have a metro rail extended from Huntington, but I think a trolley would be much more economically reasonable. Instead, I would prefer metro rail to be extended along the 95 south from Springfield down to Woodbridge for better access to the Potomac Mills area.

[Eerik]

I'm too lazy to go back here and look to see if anyone posted/commented about this earlier...but looking at the map above (of the convergence of lines on Crystal City) reminded me: the proposed Columbia Pike line-route where it passes under I-395 was just recently rebuilt.

The road and medians beneath the highway overpasses were reconstructed to accommodate the future Columbia Pike line. The old parking lots immediately adjacent to the new Air Force Memorial have also been removed. And this in addition to the ongoing roadwork further west on Columbia Pike.

And while the Washington Boulevard overpass needed to be replaced due to its age...its structural integrity and timed replacement was certainly a factor in the overall Pike plan.

Finally, within the past six months, there has been a significant uptick in new construction along the Pike. Several large projects have started, e.g. the old Rosenthal Chevrolet site at Glebe and Columbia.

[jcastro805]

Originally Posted by Eerik

I'm too lazy to go back here and look to see if anyone posted/commented about this earlier...but looking at the map above (of the convergence of lines on Crystal City) reminded me: the proposed Columbia Pike line-route where it passes under I-395 was just recently rebuilt.

The road and medians beneath the highway overpasses were reconstructed to accommodate the future Columbia Pike line. The old parking lots immediately adjacent to the new Air Force Memorial have also been removed. And this in addition to the ongoing roadwork further west on Columbia Pike.

And while the Washington Boulevard overpass needed to be replaced due to its age...its structural integrity and timed replacement was certainly a factor in the overall Pike plan.

Finally, within the past six months, there has been a significant uptick in new construction along the Pike. Several large projects have started, e.g. the old Rosenthal Chevrolet site at Glebe and Columbia.

I'm pretty new to the area, so this was the first I've heard about the Columbia Pike Transit Initiative. Apparently, the environmental impact assessments are complete and they opted for the alternate "streetcar" initiative last July. Construction is expected to begin in 2015 and service in 2017. Thanks for the head's up!
http://www.piketransit.com/downloads...Qs08-20-12.pdf

[jcastro805]

I just found this article (written last June) which sums up many of the construction projects along Route 1. It notes that studies have been conducted regarding public transportation along the route, including light rail and metro rail extensions. I'm excited to read about the results!

The Fort Belvoir or Mount Vernon Estate construction projects alone would be enough to impact area traffic and the character of Mount Vernon. However, the area is now in the midst of substantial private sector development along the Route 1 Corridor, running from the Beltway in the north to the Fairfax County line and the Occoquan river in the south.

In addition to the large federal projects there is underway or planned construction or renovation of hotels, motels, mixed use developments, new fast food restaurants, and shopping malls. They have created pressure to design, finance and complete infrastructure projects such as the widening of the Route 1 highway in the Fort Belvoir area to the south, or the much debated prospect of installing light rail transit, metro transit extension and/or bus rapid transit.

Looming large for many in the Route 1 corridor is the consequent eminent domain land acquisition required to widen Route 1 and accommodate the mass transit expansion to carry commuters, visitors, and others along the Route 1 Corridor.

Here are some of the many projects planned for or already underway in the Route 1 area (additional information from Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation):

*The National Library for the Study of George Washington . Construction is now underway adjacent to the Mount Vernon Estate off Route 235 and the Mount Vernon Parkway . It will be used by scholars to study the writings, philosophy, and life of George Washington, our first President, and to serve as a archival and education center.
*Route 1 Widening: November 2011, DOD awarded $180 million to VDOT and Fairfax County to widen the 3.5 mile segment between Route 235 and Telegraph road from 4 to 6 lanes, and accommodation for pedestrian, transit, and bike access. Public comment is underway on FHWA studies. Project due to be completed by 2016.
*Jeff Todd Way/Mulligan Road. Four lane connector road from Route 235 and Route 1 to Telegraph Road. Scheduled for completion in 2013.
*Transit Studies. A county-wide transit network study underway, including the Route 1 corridor, which will look at transit alternatives including light rail, bus rapid transit and metro rail extensions. Study expected to be completed at the end of 2012.
*VSE building. Proposal under consideration to remove existing building and replace it with a 346 unit high rise residential building and 366,000 sq. ft. office/hotel structure. This building is adjacent to the metro station on Huntington Avenue. County staff report due September 2012.
*Huntington and Biscayne Avenue. Proposal under consideration for a 173 unit mixed use redevelopment project. Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland requested the developer amend the proposal; would require a rezoning application.
*Huntington Club Condominiums. Proposal under consideration for a 1,800 unit mixed use development for housing, retail and office space.
*Sunoco Gas Station. Sunoco plans to file a special exception permit to establish a gas station at the site in the northern section Route 1 near Huntington Avenue.
*Penn Daw Special Study. Proposal under review for mixed-use revitalization of a 15-acre area adjacent to Penn Daw Plaza.
*Kings Crossing. Multiple phase development plans for retail space in phase 2; phase 3 plan for mixed-use multi-family housing and retail space. Phase 2 already underway.
*The Grande at Huntington. Plan is to redevelop the site where “Fast Eddies” now exists. Will be a 225-250 unit mid-rise residential development with ground level retail. Under consideration.
*Fairfield Inn & Suites. Proposal to demolish existing Fairview Motel and replace with 108-room Fairfield Inn and Suites.
*The Beacon at Groveton. Construction underway for 290 upscale apartments and ground level retail units. Additional retail and office building construction planned later. First market rate rental in decade.
*Memorial Heights. This is the former Dairy Queen site. Proposal is 6,000 ft of retail and restaurant space to replace old Dairy Queen site.
*North Hill site. At the intersection of Lockheed blvd and Route 1 is a 33-acre site owned by the Fairfax Housing and Redevelopment Authority (FCRHA). Different proposals with different concepts are being considered. No decision on the direction that will be pursued.
*Costco. New store to be opened in place of the site where the Mount Vernon Movie Multiplex formerly existed on Route 1 near Sherwood Hall Lane. Due to open in 2013.
*Fordson Place. Plans approved to build a 12,500 sq. ft. retail center between Boswell Avenue and Fordson Road.
*Inova Mount Vernon Hospital. A 65,000 sq. ft. renovation began in April 2012 that includes a new patient tower with 20 new patient rooms, two new operating rooms, and 20 new patient rooms for the Joint Replacement Center. In addition, medical surgery, orthopedics, joint replacement and rehabilitation services will be enhanced.
*Mount Vernon Gateway at Buckman Road. Proposal and rezoning application pending to remove and replace retail and residential buildings on 17 acres and upgrade to 500 residences, including 350 multi-family units and 150 town houses.
*Candlewood Suites. Construction being completed on a 57-room hotel.
*Towne Place Suites. At the corner of Richmond Highway and Woodlawn Court adjacent to Woodlawn shopping center, a plan to develop a 92-room Towne Place Hotel. Rezoning application approval required.
*Accotink Village. Mixed use revitalization on 6.6 acres. Application for rezoning includes a proposal for 283 housing units and 24,000 sq. ft. of retail space.
*Fort Belvoir Expansion. The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission decision led to the expansion of the Base, nearing completion, that included the following projects: $1 billion, 120-bed Belvoir Community Hospital, employing 3,200 people, and will serve 85,000 active duty and retired military personnel in the region. Other projects include wounded warrior transition complex, among others. This is the largest single construction project in the Mount Vernon area and will add significantly to the number of employees, families and support personnel coming to the base daily.
*The U.S. Army plans to build the new National Museum of the U.S. Army on the Fort Belvoir Base near John Kingman Gate off Route 1. A 2015 opening is planned. Projections are for thousands of visitors annually to the Museum from all over the U.S.

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/...te-1-corridor/

I had no idea that the Fort Belvoir expansion was this big, as we have just recently moved here!

[NovaWolverine]

The Ft. Belvoir expansion is significant and you may have more businesses sprouting up near the new NGA HQ in Springfield. Also, if the FBI moves to Springfield, it could cause some more ripple effects on transportation in southern Fairfax County and the Rt.1 and I-95 corridors.

[jcastro805]

Yeah, I just recently read on another forum that the FBI was planning to move out of their current building. I think it is a pretty good probability that they will be moving to NOVA since it will be hard to find enough land in D.C to accommodate the size of building they will require. Belvoir has enough land and both the Nat'l Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency are here, so perhaps the base is a consideration.

[jam5]

Originally Posted by jcastro805

Yeah, I just recently read on another forum that the FBI was planning to move out of their current building. I think it is a pretty good probability that they will be moving to NOVA since it will be hard to find enough land in D.C to accommodate the size of building they will require. Belvoir has enough land and both the Nat'l Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency are here, so perhaps the base is a consideration.

It's not a sure thing for NOVA. The FBI is also considering moving to either Montgomery or Prince George's counties in Maryland -and there is plenty of land in both.

[jcastro805]

oh for sure, just pure speculation from me.

[DoctorWhom]

Originally Posted by jcastro805

oh for sure, just pure speculation from me.

If it was the FBI deciding I'd bet on VA but since its the GSA's decision I'm betting on PG county due to the low prices of real estate