Northern Virginia

[tombarnes]

Thanks for the updates and photos! I think, as you say, that the development pace will pick up considerably once the plans for the Metro come into reality. There is a great possibility for an urban future for the area. It's important to get it right. Keep posting!

[TheFutureIsNow]

Wow, I was gone for a while and am so amazed by the amount of projects being proposed for tysons! Park Crest looks really well-done, fresh and contemporary. I hadn't even heard of the tysons crescent development or tysons tower, but both would be an excellent addition to tysons. Still a bit worried about the metro line plan, I really hope it gets approved at the fed meeting...

Edited January 25, 2008 by TheFutureIsNow

[NoVaBoy]

^Check the transportation thread about the metro.

Fair Lakes shopping center to get a boost. Plans to add a building with ground-level retail, office space, and parking was submitted by Peterson Cos.

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/articl...p;article=92823

[NoVaBoy]

From Forbes: Top two richest counties in the U.S. are Fairfax County followed by Loudoun County. The third place is also a D.C. suburb, Howard County MD. Fairfax county has a median household income of $100,318 a year. Wow.

Here is the article:

http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/realestat...life_realestate

[NoVaBoy]

Good news for Reston. The Fairfax County Board approved the plans for "Reston Heights." This development was originally supposed to attach to the Metro stop, but who knows now.

http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/news/2008/jan/...ights-approved/

[joshuadavis]

Tysons Mall project may scale back

When developer Macerich won approval a year ago to convert the Tysons Corner Center into an urban core of office, retail and living space, the decision was hung on one major contingency: the successful construction of an adjacent Metrorail line.Now that the rail-to-Dulles project, which would have added four new stations in Tysons, has all but collapsed, Macerich may be forced to turn to a scaled-back plan it quietly passed as a fallback.

It could mean a 3.5 million-square-foot mall expansion touted as the premier example of

[tombarnes]

That's unfortunate. If there is one area in the DC metro region which needs rail- of any kind- it's definitely Tysons Corner. I am still holding out for a change of heart from the feds. This, however, may have to wait for a new administration. I still fail to see why this basic step has been so fraught with difficulty. More car-choked lanes on the freeway aren't going to help the area at all. How basic is the concept of having a rail line to a major airport? Think of the Gatwick Express and the enormous benefits it has given to said airport (and region). Getting visitors and residents to and from a major population center ought to be a priority for everyone. This is too important to be a political football to be fought over endlessly. I'm surprised that there has not been more outrage at the lack of progress.

[NoVaBoy]

It's been awhile since any updates. The metro let down has really slowed plans for development. Here are plans for a car dealership a little closer to D.C. in Ballston. Two office buildings with 400,000 sq ft of space, 36,000 retail and housing will replace a car dealership.

Render of one of the office buildings, the other in the background:

The Press release:

http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/Comm...ases/61238.aspx

[tombarnes]

So that's what will be replacing the old Bob Peck dealership! It's interesting that they will preserve the front of the existing building- or at least pay some sort of tribute to it in a way. Ballston is showing a good growth spurt and has the potential to emerge as one of the more truly urban areas of Northern Virginia if they continue to play their cards well.

[NoVaBoy]

^Good observation. I hadn't noticed the blue and white diamonds in the render. Diamond Properties is trying to build a 5 story hotel in downtown Herndon. Diamond is proposing a Starwood hotel bordering Elden, Monroe, and Lynn streets. The building comes up under the the permitted height but downtown preservationists are questioning the impact.

Starwood Hotel Render:

article here:

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/articl...p;article=93535

[NoVaBoy]

Atlantic Realty to develop parking lots in Falls Church into an eight story hotel, office buildings, apartments, and more. The developers claim the development will be built in two phases, the second phase finished by 2013.

The player's overlooking the site:

A model of the site:

The article in washington post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...05.html?sub=new

[NoVaBoy]

In my previous post on the Starwood Hotel, the developer already resubmitted plans after complaints from the historic society. They have decreased the plan to four stories:

http://www.observernews.com/stories/curren...8/diamond.shtml

[NoVaBoy]

A really amazing presentation from the Tyson's Corner community workshop on February 8th. Even though they are preliminary, a lot of the renderings look fantastic. I can't wait till some of this development gets underway! You should definitely take a look.

Here are a few of the renders in the presentation:

[tombarnes]

Nice renderings. Are those light-rail cars I see in the rendering?

[NoVaBoy]

Yes, I do believe. There seems to be two different proposals. One involving TOD's at metro stops, the other TOD's and a circulator(light rail.)

I forgot to post the link to the .pdf in my last post. Here it is:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/tysonscor...resentation.pdf

[TheFutureIsNow]

I had no idea this was what was going up at Potomac Yards (Alexandria side), but I finally found the website, listed in MRP Realty! It's really amazing, much better than the bleech 1880's inspired plan for the south section!!!

In other news:

Both hotels in the Dulles Station complex are underway, a Hyatt Place and a Sheraton.

Dulles Station Hotels

A large office complex of I think two towers is going up in Carlyle

2nd phase of really ugly condos going up in the Dulles Overlook complex, although these look more like the typical 90s-00s condo complexes seen everywhere around here.

Ashton at Dulles Overlook

(click brochure.pdf to see the rendering)

The second phase at Potomac Yards Arlington is going up!!!! (I passed by it, finally some construction work going on, I thought it was dead)

Potomac Yards (the u/c buildings are National Gateway I and II, the two buildings in the foreground are done, and so are the ones opposite of Natl Gateway I and II)

Mystery Projects:

Theres a construction crane in the middle of the Carlyle area, I have no idea what its for though.

Theres a pretty large building going up in Alexandria, across from the Mark Center

In random news, McMansions are still sprouting up like weeds all over the place, even with the down economy. In the McNeighboorhood, or Unzoned Wasteland, (also known as the area around the intersection of Colchester and Popes Head, and around Doyle Rd), there are many new, offensively ugly homes, and a lot of land has been cleared opposite Willow Springs and Doyle Rd for a bunch more. Also, i need to get a pic of it, but there is a McMansion going up next to the Exxon on Ox rd, with Victorian turrets, Mediterranean roof tiles, and colonial windows

Edited April 13, 2008 by TheFutureIsNow

[TheFutureIsNow]

Wow, this threads been pretty dead for a while...in pretty big news, at least for Reston, a new office building is being built on top of the parking garage at South of Market! I had no idea this was planned, but looking at the only rendering up, on the site, it looks really nice, curving glass facade on one side, normal precast and glass modern on the other.

Heres a link to some info on the boston properties page:

Phase II SoMA

[dgreco]

^it seems a little boring, but I am sure it fits into the area and it is great that it is being built on top of the garage. I wish we had more renderings I would like to see the other sides.

[TheFutureIsNow]

Oh whoops, those are the renderings for the first phase, which is nearly done. The new building under construction with a curving glass facade is called the "Democracy Tower" (geez, Democracy Tower this and Freedom Center that, i guess we are near DC lol ) And the only rendering for that is on a small banner on the parking garage on which the tower portion is being built (9 stories existing parking garage plus the office building itself is gonna be pretty tall).

Walking through the new South of Market phase I, the buildings seem alright, modern, and a nice mix of materials, but the landscaping itself is pretty bad, very unorganized and haphazard-looking, with random chunky stone lines going in every which direction, abruptly ending right before the buildings themselves, giving the whole plaza a disconnected, sloppy look. I hope that with the opening of some stores or the addition of tree planters, the area will seem more lively. The parking garage fronting the plaza isn't that bad, I like the addition of what I think are the plants/vines that, over time, will conceal the garage.

[dgreco]

Oh whoops, those are the renderings for the first phase, which is nearly done. The new building under construction with a curving glass facade is called the "Democracy Tower" (geez, Democracy Tower this and Freedom Center that, i guess we are near DC lol ) And the only rendering for that is on a small banner on the parking garage on which the tower portion is being built (9 stories existing parking garage plus the office building itself is gonna be pretty tall).

Walking through the new South of Market phase I, the buildings seem alright, modern, and a nice mix of materials, but the landscaping itself is pretty bad, very unorganized and haphazard-looking, with random chunky stone lines going in every which direction, abruptly ending right before the buildings themselves, giving the whole plaza a disconnected, sloppy look. I hope that with the opening of some stores or the addition of tree planters, the area will seem more lively. The parking garage fronting the plaza isn't that bad, I like the addition of what I think are the plants/vines that, over time, will conceal the garage.

This seems like an interesting project to me. If you get the chance could you grab a few photos? I do not hear or read a lot about NoVa so this is good to hear and get some insight on.

[TheFutureIsNow]

^Sure, actually I just went to Reston today for Iceberry, and I snapped some pics of the newer sections of Reston Town Center, including the under-construction Democracy Tower.

It's somewhat hard to see, but these are the proposed Reston Gateway towers, the signs been up there since '01, but there is equipment at the site, they may start soon.

Midtown Reston Towers

New Rolls Royce Building at SoMa Reston

Democracy Tower under construction

Rendering of the completed tower

[dgreco]

^great pictures. I had a few questions I was in Arlington over the weekend and I saw a bunch of work downtown. The only one off the top of my head is on Ft. Myers drive it was next to a Holiday Inn. I was wondering if you had info about those new projects and names or anything. I want to try to find more info and renderings if 'i can.

[Shakman]

Future...

Equipment for Gateway has been onsite for a while. This is being as a staging site for SoMa.

Will all 10 floors of the Democracy Tower be above the parking garage or does the ten floors include the garage?

[NoVaBoy]

I am glad they are building democracy tower so soon, but it still doesn't make up for that horrendous looking parking garage. I wish they had built it more creatively to disguise the garage.

[NoVaBoy]

The Tyson's Task Force with Architects Davis, Carter, Scott Ltd. released this 3D animation of the future of Tyson's Corner. It is a long way away from happening, but exciting nonetheless.

From the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ST2008052803268