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Tysons Corner


urbanvb

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When some sort of rail system is extended to Tysons, I think the area will gain some sense of identity. Harnessing the forces which have brought sprawl to the region may prove a difficult task, but there is great potential in the area. As the first article pointed out so graphically, shopping, shopping and more shopping appears to be the raison d'etre for the area at the moment. While there is a lot of office space in the area, and certainly a lot of housing, nothing has coalesced into anything remotely resembling an urban setting. What remains to be seen is the effect of the new regulations for military/federal offices in the Washington suburbs. Tysons might benefit from this, just as Crystal City and Arlington might suffer. The biggest challenge for the area is getting decent transportation options up and running. After that is accomplished, perhaps buildings with a more urban demeanor might be constructed out there.

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Unfortunately, the days of downtown DC being a shopping mecca seem to be over. That's why it is even more important to connect Tysons to DC with stronger rail lines. Tysons' reputation for shopping will continue, no matter how much other development occurs there. As such, Tysons has a strong edge- something around which a community might be built. Smart planning is the key to all of this, so we shall have to wait to see what proposals for the area are put forward. Proximity to Dulles is another very strong asset which could be exploited by the area.

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I cringe thinking of Tyson's... I've only been a few times. It's like a suburbia from hell on steroids. If planners are trying to make Tyson's urban... they have a long way to go. It's not walkable...and it doesn't really have an urban feel at all. It's got tall buildings for the suburbs, and plenty of traffic (which part of NoVa doesn't), but I dunno...

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I cringe thinking of Tyson's... I've only been a few times. It's like a suburbia from hell on steroids. If planners are trying to make Tyson's urban... they have a long way to go. It's not walkable...and it doesn't really have an urban feel at all. It's got tall buildings for the suburbs, and plenty of traffic (which part of NoVa doesn't), but I dunno...

I really enjoy shopping at Tysons, though the connectivity between buildings is an issue, and I can't stand the 2 miles of Beltway I have to go through to get there.

It's almost impossible to cross the street at Tysons and driving from one place to another is a pain. I wish the Metro would have stops at Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria

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  • 2 weeks later...

I remember several years ago, developers wanted to build a "mini-city" on 40 acres at Tysons Corner. Anybody ever have an old article or whatever? I think it was scrapped due to possible overcrowding of schools and stretching the departments thin. I still think Tysons Corner is a hotbed for development, even 20 years from now. :wacko:

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  • 1 month later...

Tysons News

Tysons Forums Sowing Skepticism

Some Residents Fear Their Input Is Moot

article

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Reality Thins Out An Urban Vision

Tysons Builder Opts For Fewer Homes

PH2006020700008.jpg

Fairfax County officials want to turn Tysons Corner into a mini-city where residents can work, shop, dine out and find entertainment without having to drive.

In Fairfax County's official vision for Tysons Corner, thousands of people live clustered around the Metro stops planned there -- riding the train or walking to work, leaving their cars at home and injecting new life into the austere glass and concrete hub.

But in the reality of developers' blueprints, a different Tysons is emerging -- one with a population smaller than what county leaders have in mind

article

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Metro Considers Tysons Options

Tunneling Might Be More Affordable

The engineer overseeing construction of a subway line in Barcelona is visiting Fairfax County this week to offer advice on whether a planned Metrorail extension through Tysons Corner should be changed dramatically from an aboveground line to a tunnel.

The tunnel idea has been kicked around for several years as Metro, state and local officials mapped the path of a Metrorail extension from Falls Church to Dulles International Airport and beyond. But the idea was rejected as too costly. Under the current plan, less than a half-mile of the four-mile route through Tysons would be underground, with the rest at street level or elevated above the tangle of highways in the area.

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  • 4 weeks later...

The Re-Shaping of Tysons Corner Has Begun

The first glimmer of a bright new future for Tysons Corner is just beginning to show itself. Peacock Buick has closed its doors, and other automobile dealerships in the area will either follow in its wake or radically reinvent themselves. The new ideas call for urban car showrooms with apartments, condos and offices on the floors above. No more sprawling acres of cars and asphalt!

Article from the Washington Post

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The Re-Shaping of Tysons Corner Has Begun

The first glimmer of a bright new future for Tysons Corner is just beginning to show itself. Peacock Buick has closed its doors, and other automobile dealerships in the area will either follow in its wake or radically reinvent themselves. The new ideas call for urban car showrooms with apartments, condos and offices on the floors above. No more sprawling acres of cars and asphalt!

Article from the Washington Post

Ya, I noticed that dealer was all closed up last week. Sitting in front of it in traffic, I thought how unusual it was to see any retail space closed up in Tysons, with For Lease signs out front. Then up the street a lil I noticed the Toys-R-Us is all cleaned out too. Nothing stays empty for too long around there, so I expect

there will be some new stuff soon. Sounds like they got lots of stuff planned. This time next year there will be a lot of stuff going up.

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This is quite interesting I think. Sounds like businesses are already vacacting to make way for the Metro. Also, the idea of an urban auto dealership is quite intriguing. As everyone ever seen one? And the article even goes on to say a high-rise auto dealership. Honestly, I cannot imagine!

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The Re-Shaping of Tysons Corner Has Begun

The first glimmer of a bright new future for Tysons Corner is just beginning to show itself. Peacock Buick has closed its doors, and other automobile dealerships in the area will either follow in its wake or radically reinvent themselves. The new ideas call for urban car showrooms with apartments, condos and offices on the floors above. No more sprawling acres of cars and asphalt!

Article from the Washington Post

Wow, that's great. I wish every car dealership could be like that :)

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  • 1 month later...
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I'm no urban planner or anything, but it seems like everything moves from downtown to the suburbs and we all go there and spend hoards of money ...and then one day we all say, "Wait, we miss downtown! Let's turn this place into a new URBAN CENTER so we can re-create the downtown we've abandoned." Something about that makes no sense, because a few years after turing Tyson's into a URBAN CENTER, it will be TOO URBAN so everyone will head out the new suburbs and start all over again.

Just out of curiosity, I wonder how many of the people who comlain about places like Tysons shop there anyway? if you reallly thibnk it's a bad idea, go shop downtown. I think that all of the negative attention just drivces more people to go there. It is retail.... they NEVER went there with the promise of restoring society. They are only there to make money. The day they stop making money, they will all close up shop.

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I'm no urban planner or anything, but it seems like everything moves from downtown to the suburbs and we all go there and spend hoards of money ...and then one day we all say, "Wait, we miss downtown! Let's turn this place into a new URBAN CENTER so we can re-create the downtown we've abandoned." Something about that makes no sense, because a few years after turing Tyson's into a URBAN CENTER, it will be TOO URBAN so everyone will head out the new suburbs and start all over again.

Just out of curiosity, I wonder how many of the people who comlain about places like Tysons shop there anyway? if you reallly thibnk it's a bad idea, go shop downtown. I think that all of the negative attention just drivces more people to go there. It is retail.... they NEVER went there with the promise of restoring society. They are only there to make money. The day they stop making money, they will all close up shop.

I agree, but then I think it's more than just shopping. Along with the congestion, I've seen figures that say that Tysons has more office space than DT Seattle. A lot of people work there, and Northern Virginia has become known to be a sprawly area with hellish traffic. Lots of regional people, esp. fairfax officials, want Tysons to be a DT Fairfax or DT Northern VA. They want to get more people living in Tysons, and more to do in Tysons.

I don't think Tysons will become too urban, and I don't think that cycle will work, and if it does take place, Tysons will be independent by then b/c it'll have residents and jobs and transit. There's plenty of suburban areas, Tysons should reach for the sky IMO trying to become a city. So really, urbanizing tysons is about reducing congestion, making it more walkable and creating a more city like atmosphere. Tysons Corner Center will still be a great mall, people will still shop there and in the mean time it'll be a better and even more successful area.

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I agree. Making Tysons more urban friendly only makes it a more desirable destination epecially urbanites. Also, urbanizing (is that a word?) this area hopefully will reduce sprawl and make the area more attractive for future demand.

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