Elements of Urbanism: Arlington, VA

[thelakelander]

I think well be lucky if more density is allowed in Jax's future transit corridors than what Arlington currently requires as a minimum around its stations.  I can see the average Jax resident fighting zoning density increases tooth and nail, which will limit us to nodal development still surrounded by sprawl outside of the preconsolidated city limits.  Neverthless, I do agree with you that there is always room for improvement and that we should strive for the highest standards.

[stjr]

Lake, I think density will be driven by demographics.  When sprawl gets as bad as the DC area here (God, help us!), closer in and "nodal" land values will become so high that they will drive development vertically.  Maryland and Virginia have much stricter planning and development regulations than we do from what I have understood (Maryland maybe more than Virginia), but, nevertheless, they have succumbed to high rise developments around their Metro stops, most of which are fully surrounded by sweeping suburban homesteads.

Even here, we have begun preparing for such possibilities, wiping out most all single family housing around the greater downtown area:  the Southbank, Brooklyn, LaVilla, southern Springfield, the Stadium area, and, going back decades, Downtown itself.  High rise living will be coming to Jax in the suburbs, its just a matter of demographics over time.

My guess is JTB at I-95, Southside Blvd, and 9-A will be the first suburban high rise places since most of this is office/commercial already or multi-family (always an easy target!).  The Avenues and St. Augustine at I-95 are candidates also.  9A and Beach, 9A and Atlantic, and Regency (it already has one high-er rise behind the mall) are other prime possibilities.  University, Emerson, and Baymeadows, each between Philips and I-95 could fall in at some point as well, Baymeadows being the first.

Interestingly, the suburban high rise office building that comes to mind is Allstate off JTB at the entrance to the exclusive Pablo Creek community!  Good thing it was there first.  The only other high rises (over 10 stories or so) in the suburbs I can recall are the apartment/condo towers on the Ortega River, in Lakewood on the St. Johns, on University near I-95, and at Phillips Mall and in Jax Beach (Pablo Towers).

[thelakelander]

Lake, I think density will be driven by demographics.  When sprawl gets as bad as the DC area here (God, help us!), closer in and "nodal" land values will become so high that they will drive development vertically.  Maryland and Virginia have much stricter planning and development regulations than we do from what I have understood (Maryland maybe more than Virginia), but, nevertheless, they have succumbed to high rise developments around their Metro stops, most of which are fully surrounded by sweeping suburban homesteads.

The bold part drives the physical side of density, not general demographics.  This is what we need to address locally, especially within a 1/4 to 1/2 radius of our future transit stations.  We can physically change our make up over time by simply chaning certain requirements in our land use and zoning regulations (see Building 101 series).

Even here, we have begun preparing for such possibilities, wiping out most all single family housing around the greater downtown area:  the Southbank, Brooklyn, LaVilla, southern Springfield, the Stadium area, and, going back decades, Downtown itself.  High rise living will be coming to Jax in the suburbs, its just a matter of demographics over time.

Increasing density levels don't have to be equated with "high rises".  If zoning does not allow you to create massive oversized surface parking lots, large setbacks and encourages mixing of uses, density will increase and the development that takes place will be more pedestrian friendly, thus transit friendly.  Ideally, imo its best to have a mix of actual building styles but its more important that all development is walkable and transit friendly (see Building 101 series). 

[Traveller]

Some responses to earlier comments.

Regarding density, the zoning for land within two blocks of Fairfax Drive or Wilson Boulevard (under which the Metro runs) is high density, while more than two blocks away is lower density.  This is why you see so many high rises around Metro stations, and either low rise apartments, townhouses, or single family homes further away.  The whole county can't go dense unless they change the zoning rules.

The photos don't show it, but there are things to do in Arlington.  Ballston Common has evolved from a low end shopping mall to more of a lifestyle center as cheap stores have given way to restaurants, a gym, a movie theater, even an ice skating rink.  Clarendon is the nightlife hub of northern Virginia, with plenty of bars, restaurants, and music venues within a block or two of each other.  There's also Clarendon Market Common, but that was built after I left so I can't comment on it.  The only real park in north Arlington is Quincy Park near the FDIC, but it's a short bike ride to Lady Bird Johnson park along the river or to the National Mall.

Rosslyn is a pretty boring place, although they almost built the new Nationals' stadium there.  Admittedly, there aren't many historic buildings in Arlington (besides Lee's house in the cemetery).  People don't move to Arlington for its charm, they move there for its convenience.  Fortunately, Georgetown and Alexandria aren't far away.  Besides, if you want charm, walkability, AND safety in the DC area, you will pay through the nose for it.

The original plan for the Metro was to have the orange line continue down the median of I-66 all the way to the District.  Someone from Arlington County convinced WMATA to run the line under the county instead.  Had this not happened, this area would look completely different.

P.S. If you want to see dull dense development, check out Crystal City.

[thelakelander]

^Good post.  Btw, I didn't even bother taking shots of Crystal City.

[finehoe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T1RMuoQnKo

[krazeeboi]

A few years ago, I flew with a friend to DC on a 24-hour trip. We flew into Reagan, took the Metro out to Ballston, walked to our hotel room, which was a few blocks from the Metro station, and then walked to Ballston Common Mall from the hotel. A little later, we took the Metro into DC and from there took a bus to our destination in the city. And then we took the Metro back to the airport in the morning. We did all of this without having a vehicle up there, and that was the first time I was able to take a trip like that. And yes, there are certainly things to do in Ballston beyond what's covered here A good profile of the neighborhood can be found here). It's not perfect, but it's better than the vast majority of suburbs I've ever spent time in.

[krazeeboi]

ARLINGTON, Va. — While many metropolitan markets around the country are enduring steep increases in vacancies in their office and retail sectors, the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington is an oasis of stability — and even of prosperity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/realestate/commercial/07ballston.html

[stjr]

ARLINGTON, Va. — While many metropolitan markets around the country are enduring steep increases in vacancies in their office and retail sectors, the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington is an oasis of stability — and even of prosperity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/realestate/commercial/07ballston.html

Good followup article.  Thanks for posting it, krazeeboi.  Of course, when you have goverment-related, especially the Federal government, as tenants, stable occupancy is all but assured:

Government agencies and related contractors account for 60 percent of the leased office space in the corridor, Mr. Holzheimer said.

A few more quotes of note, including ones about mass transit and the presence of higher education institutions having a supportive impact  (Interesting observation about the frequency of subway stops.  A much higher density than talked about for Jax.  Maybe we aren't being ambitious enough.) :

Served by five Metro subway stops within four miles, the corridor continues to attract new tenants, buyers and developers in the face of the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

....“We just consistently have new development in what we call urban villages,” said Terry Holzheimer, Arlington County’s director of economic development, recalling that “we were a decaying urban corridor in the 1970s.” Since then, he said, “Arlington has been nothing but consistent in terms of adding buildings over time: 20 million square feet of office space and 20,000-plus housing units over a 25-year period.”

...Arlington County’s 26 square miles were a part of the original District of Columbia, but were returned to Virginia in 1846. The transit-related development in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor has won national recognition for smart growth that mixes offices, shops and living quarters close to subway stops. “We really worked on creating a sense of place, and on what kind of development we wanted near our Metro hubs,” said Barbara A. Favola, chairwoman of the county’s governing board.

....“The Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, with its immediate access to downtown Washington, D.C., is an ideal submarket for transit-oriented, mixed-use development,” said Brian P. Coulter, chief development officer of the JBG Companies, which has been a major developer in Rosslyn and is also active in Ballston.

While Wilson Boulevard, a main artery, helps define the corridor, the key element in its success has been the subway. Planners had wanted to place it in the median of Interstate 66, on a more northerly alignment. But Arlington officials fought to have it run underground in the corridor to spur development.

... The National Science Foundation moved to Ballston in 1993, in the vanguard of many institutions.

These include Marymount University, whose business school is across the street from Virginia Tech’s planned expanded research center.

...One Metro stop closer, Virginia Square, just blocks from Ballston, has George Mason’s Law School and School of Public Policy and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

....Dan McCaffery, a Chicago developer, saw the corridor’s potential a decade ago when he bought land in Clarendon. Former owners had wanted to build a Home Depot, but citizens resisted.

Mr. McCaffery instead built Market Common, a mixed-use project that opened in 2001 and continues to thrive with two street-facing levels of high-end stores arranged in a horseshoe facing a long landscaped lawn, with apartments and offices above and adjacent. “It’s all self-contained,” Mr. McCaffery said. “There’s always a buzz.”