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If a major publication considers it one of the best communities in the country, that's a sign that the community is doing just fine the way it is. But hey--ya never know what the future holds.
arlington is on the same list - does that mean the community is doing just fine the way it is? care to tell people unhappy with the current course of arlington that, or that they should just move?
I wouldn't doubt that the majority of residents are happy with what they see coming their way. More importantly, the majority of residents are happy with their system of government.
Will there be growing density? Maybe yes, maybe no--definitely not in some sections, but possibly in others. I wouldn't be surprised to see some, especially in north Reston near the hospital. The former Sallie Mae property, possibly. Or, some pockets along 267 (although much that is fairly dense already). There are other sections where it's much less likely, and yet other sections near Lake Anne Plaza that are historically preserved, and thus increasing the density is prohibited.
Mostly close to the new metro stations, on the older commercial/industrial/warehouse properties. The project at Wiehle avenue, associated with the commuter garages, with 500,000 sq ft of office space, 900 apts, etc, is already well along in the pipeline I think, and a couple of other projects more towards RTC have recently been approved (since the RTC station won't come till 2018, it makes sense to have those come later) Theres also RTC block 16, already under construction.
the biggest possible obstacle, IMO, is weakness in the office market - for any projects with a large office component. I suspect primarily residential projects will do better.
I could see both these projects getting approval, although the apartments will probably be downsized. The projects have several things going for them: they're both in north Reston, are in/immediately adjacent to built-up areas, and would not require road construction. Don't be surprised if the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee demands some major cuts to the apartment project, but I think it'll be approved. Both projects are much more realistic than the some of the other TOD ideas that have been floating around. Instead of just posting a link, let's take a look at these projects and see what impact they'll actually have on the density of the community:
1. The first project is building "the tallest building in Reston." Sounds impressive (which I guess is the point of the project) but if you think about it, will it make much of a discernible change in density? Maybe not all that much since it simply replaces the already tall RTC Center Office Building with an even taller building. I'm not sure why RTC wants to do this, since offices nearby have been starving for tenants recently and the federal government is threatening draconian budget cuts. Maybe they want the glory of building a taller piece of RTC and think it will attract visitors? The building might be empty for awhile--but that would be good news, since traffic congestion is already a serious problem near RTC.
I'm not a fan of empty office buildings, but RTC would be able to handle security issues if the building was mostly empty for several years--and they must have a tenant or two in mind if they want to build it. The important thing is this building is at an intersection of two parkways and within a few blocks of the Fairfax County Parkway, so they won't have to build new roads to service it.
This project isn't going to to hurt anyone's property values, alter the suburban feel of the rest of Reston, or add to density in a discernible way (IMO,anway, it would be more like the way pouring a bucket of water into the ocean raises the water level of the sea). So I think it would pass muster.
2. The other project is a 451-unit apartment complex that will replace the storage business on Sunset Hills. I think this project could get approved because it's not going to hurt anyone's property value. It's not in a residential neighborhood. No roads need to be torn up or built, since it's on a major road. It's immediately adjacent to the new metro station, close enough that some tenants might realistically walk to the train.
Yes, it could add 500 or so residents to Reston but that's a drop in the bucket, considering 60,000 or so people already live in the area. And hopefully some of these tenants will take the train rather than adding to the traffic (that remains to be seen--I've lived in apartment building next to train stations and have seen first hand that tenants who live near a train station often drive just as much as everyone else). Most of all, I doubt the planning committee will mind seeing the storage unit business replaced by a landscaped apartment complex.
Will if get approved? I think so. About 18 months ago a similar-sized project, Fairway Apartments, was approved after they scaled down the project and cut the number of units by about half. They had to apply 5 times, but eventually made enough changes to win approval. If that project could receive approval, I think this one can too.
Having said all this, I want to post a final thought for those who are moving here and are reading this thread to learn about Reston. I apologize for "writing a book" but I think this is important:
It's not that I'm trying to pop the bubble of urban enthusiasts. My concern is I don't want people moving here to be misled. I think it's very misleading (and unfair) to paint Reston as a place that's about to see a large increase in density. And please don't get the idea that it is about to become anything other than a suburban community, because if you move here expecting that, you're bound to be disappointed.
Reston has a one-step-forward-one-step-back approach. Right now the attitude toward density is split--some are excited about the new metro stop and think this will change the community into a more urban place. Others say increased density=increased traffic (and at this point in time this is decidedly the larger group). They feel the traffic is already congested enough and they're burnt out by the metro construction. As a result, you get a lot of talk in both directions and cryptic public statements like this (from the time Fairway was approved): "This is still more density than currently exists, but it will be more density coupled with larger green space." The indication is Reston is not opposed to increasing density on a small scale, but they do not want to see it on a large scale. And another result is projects go through many reviews and many get scaled back to the point that they don't really resemble the initial idea by the time they're approved. So when a story is first reported, people can get excited (or concerned) about an idea--only to discover it never happens or doesn't turn out to be as big as expected.
Is Reston becomingly increasingly urban? Well, it has a town center, a future metro stop, and a cluster of office buildings along 267, and that's gotten a few urban enthusiasts excited. However, if you want to live in a city, don't be fooled. It takes more than a few tall buildings to make a suburb feel like a city. If you really want to live in a city, move closer to DC.
Moderator Cut
For the record: Reston is suburbia, it is populated by people who love to live in suburbia, and is going to continue being suburban. A huge percentage of the people who live there love the area passionately and they also love it the way that it is. Don't move to this community thinking it's about to change into something more urban. Yes, there's a degree of increasing density in Reston, but not to the degree that some would have you think. Urban enthusiasts sometimes have wishful thinking when it comes to Reston, and sometimes they make a lot of noise, but having lived in the area for a few decades I can tell you it mostly doesn't goes beyond the wishful thinking stage.
Just making sure that people moving here realize what they're moving to. I love Reston and it's eclectic mix of suburbia and "lightly urban-ish" elements, but it's not for everyone. If you like suburbia with lots of landscaping and lakes, a sort of artsy feel, and architecture with that sort of woodsy 60s look, you'll love Reston. If you prefer living in a city, move to DC. If you want to live in Ballston, move to Ballston.
Last edited by FindingZen; 08-28-2012 at 09:50 AM..
Reason: no need to go there
, are in/immediately adjacent to built-up areas, and would not require road construction.
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This project isn't going to to hurt anyone's property values, alter the suburban feel of the rest of Reston,
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I think this project could get approved because it's not going to hurt anyone's property value. It's not in a residential neighborhood. No roads need to be torn up or built, since it's on a major road. It's immediately adjacent to the new metro station, close enough that some tenants might realistically walk to the train.
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Most of all, I doubt the planning committee will mind seeing the storage unit business replaced by a landscaped apartment complex.
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in general, suburban neo urbanism (and much urban neo urbanism) involves building near transit, building on properties like parking lots, industrial or warehouse uses, or shopping centers, does not involve dramatically transformative increases in overall density, and increases nearby property values.
The belief that there is some kind of conspiracy to tear downs suburban SFH's and build 50 story hirises, leaving crime ridden slums in their shadows, is one of the goofier conspiracy theories of our time, one that has been used (not so much here in NoVa, thankfully) to engender opposition to the most timid projects for change. (BTW Im sure someone can find one exceptional example of a 50 story hirise being built where SFHs used to be - this is a BIG country) TOD and related ideas is mostly a win - win, which is why so many suburban govts embrace it.
Will Reston overall change that much - no, probably not. Certainly the majority of the ACREAGE will be unaffected. The percentage of PEOPLE living in density will of course be higher, because the TOD will have more residents per acre.
People tend to forget that high density means that large amounts of population can be accommodated with relatively small areas of land. Everyone goes on about how the Rosslyn Ballston Corridor transformed Arlington - but the vast majority of Arlington continues to be single family homes (at least excluding those areas that had few SFHs BEFORE metro and TOD) Even DC has large areas of SFH's. Manhattan, every antiurbanists nightmare, takes up a quite small percentage of the land area of greater NY. Throw a dart at a map of greater NY, and you are more like to hit a neighborhood of SFHs in Long Island or NJ than to hit a 50 story hirise (or even a 6 story midrise)
Metro DC is what, 6 million or so? grow it to 7.5 million say. Assume 20% want urban/dense/"pedfriendly". Thats 1.5 million people. of whom at least a third will be in DC, and another third in Arlington, Alex, and inside the beltway MoCo. There will be maybe 500,000 people looking for TOD type developments in other areas - and mid county MoCo, Tysons, Dunn Loring, Huntington and points south,Falls church, Hyattsville in PG, will all be competing for them. The number who want to live in the Tech Corridor will not be large, and will mostly be folks who work on the Tech corridor, and I guess will easily be accommodated by development that replaces existing non residential uses very close to the metro stations.
for them.
. I'm not sure why RTC wants to do this, since offices nearby have been starving for tenants recently and the federal government is threatening draconian budget cuts. Maybe they want the glory of building a taller piece of RTC and think it will attract visitors?
My guess is that the developer wants to do this, thinking that A. The office market will improve, cause there's been relatively built, and the crash in demand a lot people expect won't happen B. even if it does, quality new class A space will still fill C. Property in a desirable area close to a metro station will do particularly well.
Several developers seem to be betting that way - Voranado in Crystal City, and the developers with office projects going up in Tysons. Will some or all of those fail? Possibly, I don't know. Its worth noting that downtown Washington, with the highest office rents in the region, has a low vacancy rate, and is close to built out (though NoMa and near SE are not yet built out and are attracting office development). Now that (the low vacancy rate) could change very fast, and clearly SOME office tenants in DC would never move out of the District. But its concievable that some employers who really want to be right near metro, and find themselves priced out of DC, will move to the above mentioned developments. Its also not clear to me if a new office tower in RTC can compete with the new projects in Tysons.
Last edited by brooklynborndad; 08-28-2012 at 09:26 AM..
Since I've now been living outside of Reston for two years I thought I would chime in with a few observations:
-Whether the "old timers" who rule Reston like it or not they will have to cede their quest to keep the community outlying suburban in character and encourage denser (yet smarter) development. When I first moved to Reston in 2009 numerous friends and new colleagues also lived there. All have since left, feeling that Reston didn't offer enough urbanity to meet their needs. The Silver Line is coming to fruition. The radically revamped Tyson's Corner is on its way nearby. Continuous growth in Loudoun County will send more commuters chugging through Reston, and Reston needs to find ways to encourage more of those commuters to consider settling in Reston to help reduce that burden. I felt like I was bashing my head against a brick wall while living there because just about every fellow younger person wanted to see increased density as a means to encourage more mass transit and transit-oriented developments to reduce congestion while the older generations, like Caladium's peers, wanted to continue growing as "suburbia", which would do nothing in the long-term but further exacerbate Reston's already severe congestion issues.
-Arlington County is a prime example of how you can build a community that is much larger and much denser than Reston while also suffering LESS gridlock due to their excellent commitment to transit-oriented development that is ONLY possible by building densely. If I ever decide to move back to Metro DC then Arlington County would be my top choice outside The District for this reason. Western Fairfax County and Eastern Loudoun County can continue to build sprawl and suffer the consequences of unbearable gridlock in the coming years.
Then you'll be happy to know that your old stomping grounds in Reston of Charter Oak has been purchased by a major local developer (JBG), and that while JBG has "no redevelopment plans at this time", the smart money is betting that Charter Oak eventually will be razed for something newer, denser, and, of course, more expensive.
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