Northern Virginia

[sugoiben]

also sugoiben, the stuff in merrifield; when you say 1 long building, is that what they are taking down? or what will be built? if it's what they are taking down, will they build any highrieses? i will enjoy your pix!

Well I just happened to have to go to Home Depot today, which from top of their parking garage you get a decent view of this new development in Merrifield. So here's the pic. It's one big development, but at least two separate buildings I believe. Condos, with ground floor retail. Kinda hard to see but their is a lot of parking garage attached there to the left side. Whole thing is pretty far along. There were 3 tower cranes up for all this at one point, but those are all gone now. Not too tall. I believe 8 or 9 stories. Don't believe they took anything significant down for this. Most of the area where these buildings are now were gravel lots, where I believe the neaby BMW dealership stored some cars. The movie theater in Merrifield is just to the right, and Gallows Rd runs parallel to the building behind it from this vantage.

About 1725 tysons, im not sure if its cancelled (really hope not!), or just on hold until the market gets better, but i can't see that being the reason as office is booming around here right now...

It was my understanding that a lot of stuff in that area is on hold till the Silver line comes thru. The idea being that once metro is in place, the height restrictions throughout Tyson's area will go way up. So they are waiting for that to build as big as they can.

[beltwayboy08]

nice pic! thanks! i had no idea that merrifield was already underway in its effort to transform into a down town. i think its great! also, about tysons, thats some good info too. i hope they do increase the height restriction. i have been wondering why we havnt seen more building going on in tysons of late, considering the plans to revitalize the mall and add metro. this is the perfect explaination why not! so after we get metro, do you think it it will pick up? i was expecing to already have seen lots of cranes. hope it will do some growin lol.

[beltwayboy08]

also, thefutureisnow, thanks for the directions. i will try to upload some pix that way.

btw, the turnberry tower project hit some delays, and the cane, according to the concrete manager, will go up some time next week. sorry if i misled anyone..

[TheFutureIsNow]

I went to Alexandria today, and wow, there is soo much construction in the Carlyle area! I got a bunch of pics, but photobucket wont let me upload all of them...

^That one's from the area around the mark center

The older 80s postmod stuff around carlyle

90s condo buildings, the first real high rise buildings in the area

What used to be the time life building

Entrance buildings to the patent office complex, really well done imo

More 80s stuff

The signature building of the patent office complex is in the back

Nice plaza

Nice modern sculpture

The cheaper back buildings, still not that bad, good mix of modern and traditional

New condo building

More new condos

Condos and brownstones...

There were alot of parking garages in the complex, but they werent that badly done...

The newest buildings, really nice and modern

More offices...

Looking down at all the new development...

And the parting shot!

Edited August 15, 2007 by TheFutureIsNow

[beltwayboy08]

nice pix!! its crazy how much our area has changed in a few short years. nova used to only be like rt. 1 and arlington 40 years ago, now there are housing developments half way across loudon county! you can be in one of these neighborhoods and see the trees on the blueridge! (or bull run mountain i think).

thats 30 miles of thick of humanity that wasnt there a few short years ago! same thing with arlington. i saw some areal pix of rosslyn from the 40's, 50's 60's and all the way to today. it wasnt till the 70's that the first small buildings were built. now look at it! there is a 400'fter goin in! we have sure grown!

[TheFutureIsNow]

Yeah, and its still going strong too with all the office construction in fx county and loudoun county, but alot of the development is the worst kind, as tasteless mcmansions, oversized megachurches, and bland strip malls are still going up all over the place, even with the housing slowdown. I was driving through Loudoun, and they are still building a bazillion McMansions all over the place. It seems as the housing boom winds down, even worse and more cheap designs and materials are being used, i guess because the economy is slowing...and even worse, there are so many clear-cut areas that were planned to be housing developments, but now they are just desolate wastelands...

[odumonarch]

Yeah, and its still going strong too with all the office construction in fx county and loudoun county, but alot of the development is the worst kind, as tasteless mcmansions, oversized megachurches, and bland strip malls are still going up all over the place, even with the housing slowdown. I was driving through Loudoun, and they are still building a bazillion McMansions all over the place. It seems as the housing boom winds down, even worse and more cheap designs and materials are being used, i guess because the economy is slowing...and even worse, there are so many clear-cut areas that were planned to be housing developments, but now they are just desolate wastelands...

I agree. Northern Virginia has been overbuilt and done without cautious planning from Fairfax and Loudoun counties up til the late 1990s & early 2000s. Maryland has a smart growth policy in place since 1997.

Now, Loudoun County is trying for the past decade to confine all of the development in eastern part near the Dulles Airport as to save the western part from all of the piecemeal development.

If you can look much further, Prince William and Stafford Counties are now entering the overbuilt phase, and Interstate 95 has been clogged all the way from Fredericksburg area to Washington, DC. Without any rail in place by 2030, we could see Interstate 95 looking like the roads in New York City - a congested bottleneck unless they are willing to expand it or invest in some transit. And to tell, Fauquier County has been slowly getting taken over, while going on US 17 sometime, all of the new developments are around Warrenton and I-66.

[tombarnes]

There must be better planning in order to avoid total gridlock in the suburbs. Getting rail lines out to Dulles is only a small part of the solution. As you have noted, the developments south of Washington all the way to Fredericksburg have been largely uncontrolled.

As for the Long & Foster headquarters several posts above, it looks like the Governor's Palace after steroids. Blecch.

[Lowerdeck]

There must be better planning in order to avoid total gridlock in the suburbs. Getting rail lines out to Dulles is only a small part of the solution. As you have noted, the developments south of Washington all the way to Fredericksburg have been largely uncontrolled.

Just be thankful it hasn't gone all the way to Petersburg yet, that last slice between I-295 and Fredericksburg hasn't filled in yet. If anything, that needs more work on being saved than the places up north which are already mostly built up.

[TheFutureIsNow]

Well i went down to Bristow to see what stuff was going up, just typical more subdivisions, but they are expanding rt 28 (nokesville rd), and right here they are building a gigantic target, and while i like targets more than walmart, its still obviously not helping with the sprawl issue...however, i do love the modern design they are giving it, a fresh change from all this faux-colonialism

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Bristow,+VA,...m=1&layer=t

Other than that, just more road-expanding, and more warehouse-based office parks, and one especially offensive office building designed to look like a McMansion!

And they just opened a gigantic new shopping strip mall complex here, at the intersection of Nokesville and Linton Hall:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Bristow,+VA,...m=1&layer=t

And ill post some pics of the worst sprawl and horribly planned developments in the area!

[beltwayboy08]

I truthfully think that metro stations near high density areas is the begining of our congestion relief!

we have finally figured out that widening highways isnt a solution, but fuel on the fire.

Edited August 30, 2007 by beltwayboy08

[beltwayboy08]

how can i add some pix??

[tombarnes]

The eighth button above the posting field (from the left) with the the picture of the book and the + sign...click this button and add your link. Mind that the picture must be hosted somewhere if it hasn't been hosted already. You could set up a Flickr acount if you haven't already got one. Hope this helps. Tom

[4307]

I like Imageshack, after you upload you get a set of links to use, the one at the bottom is best - a direct link.

[TheFutureIsNow]

Ugh, for some reason, i hate these soo much, mostly cause im sick of neo-traditonal, but you all already know that. They are the new townhomes going up along the Occoquan River. One of the problems I have with these is that im not really a fan of Victorian-era design at all, and knowing other Victorian-influenced developments in the area from the past 20 years, these will be really ugly and tacky. Second, they are another stupid gated community that adds nothing to the character and fabric of the city, and even though i usually beat up on contextual design, these don't really fit in with the rest of the community, except for the ugly 80s waterfront plaza building. It doesn't help the colors are extremely garish and clashing...all i can hope is that they will be torn down in 20 years and replaced with something much better.

Progress as of aug 13th 2007:

[tombarnes]

I suppose I don't mind the colors so much as that the buildings are simply awful. The supposedly "Victorian" trim has been applied to a basic, unimaginative builder's form. A wildfire would almost be a blessing.

Edited September 3, 2007 by tombarnes

[beltwayboy08]

I suppose I don't mind the colors so much as that the buildings are simply awful. The supposedly "Victorian" trim has been applied to a basic, unimaginative builder's form. A wildfire would almost be a blessing.

haha... ya they are genaric.

anyway, some good news, the american head quarters of VW and Audi will soon be moving out of detroit and into the dulles corridor. this after michigan has become a less attractive place for big business. there is talk of other motor companies looking at becomming great additions to northern virginia too!! this will be the perfect anchor for motor companies in the area.congrats DC area, and thanks virginia for being such an attractive place for big business!!

there are a few problems with our area's transit, but soon we should have the infrastructure in place to accomodate our needs. the urban setting idea is KEY in our efforts. thank god arlington and fairfax are now staunchly in favor and are working on new high density development near metro and bus stations.

Edited September 4, 2007 by beltwayboy08

[beltwayboy08]

btw, did you all know about the fairoaks mall additions? it will apparently be the largest single mall in the area after its finish... wow!

[4307]

That would be great if Volkswagen moves its North American headquarters to the Dulles area, that would include its brands Audi and Bentley and probably Bugatti. I wonder if having ExxonMobil's retail headquarters nearby would have had anything to do with it?

[beltwayboy08]

That would be great if Volkswagen moves its North American headquarters to the Dulles area, that would include its brands Audi and Bentley and probably Bugatti. I wonder if having ExxonMobil's retail headquarters nearby would have had anything to do with it?

maybe! i didn't know we still had exxonmobil's hq around here. that could be why though! i know there is some exxon thing back by the beltway across rt. 50 from ffx hospital. is that their hq still??

[LoganVA]

maybe! i didn't know we still had exxonmobil's hq around here. that could be why though! i know there is some exxon thing back by the beltway across rt. 50 from ffx hospital. is that their hq still??

The huge complex across from the huge Fairfax Hospital complex is the HQ for ExxonMobile Refinery Division. My house is walking distance to this site. Lots of ongoing development in this area - Merrifield

[TheFutureIsNow]

btw, did you all know about the fairoaks mall additions? it will apparently be the largest single mall in the area after its finish... wow!

Kewl, i had no idea they were planning an addition! I go there alot, so thats really good news! All i have seen over the past couple of years is that some new large restaurants like the cheesecake factory have moved in. Where did you find this out, and do you know of any renderings or other details?

and btw, great news about the relocation! I hope VW does something really creative with the design of their new hq!

[beltwayboy08]

Kewl, i had no idea they were planning an addition! I go there alot, so thats really good news! All i have seen over the past couple of years is that some new large restaurants like the cheesecake factory have moved in. Where did you find this out, and do you know of any renderings or other details?

and btw, great news about the relocation! I hope VW does something really creative with the design of their new hq!

I dont know much else about the mall development, but it will be nice!

also, that vw thing will be nice! i dont know where it will go in the corridor, but hopfully it will include some towers. it is probably being attracted by metro. so it may be near the highway.

[LoganVA]

I dont know much else about the mall development, but it will be nice!

also, that vw thing will be nice! i dont know where it will go in the corridor, but hopfully it will include some towers. it is probably being attracted by metro. so it may be near the highway.

I doubt metro had anything to do with location decision. There are so many companies that aren't near metro or public transportation. Look at the huge AOL campus, the mega Verizon campus, Orbital Science complex, Airbus and the Howard Hugh Medical Research center.

[beltwayboy08]

I doubt metro had anything to do with location decision. There are so many companies that aren't near metro or public transportation. Look at the huge AOL campus, the mega Verizon campus, Orbital Science complex, Airbus and the Howard Hugh Medical Research center.

you are right! i just heard on the news that vw audi lamborghini are all moving to nova because of ffx county being the richest per capita, and by far the most educated county in the nation. they also are attracted by the public school system. gov. kaine hosted a press talk with the ceo. it is directly adjecent to the freeway tho. there is a fence between their property and the toll road. let me refrase; they will benefit from metro. congrats NOVA!