ArborRow-BlockA Site Plan from FDP by Shalom Baranes Associates Architects and Parker Rodriguez, Inc Planning. Click to enlarge

Tysons has seen over a dozen major rezoning applications, one third of which have been approved or are near approval. With tens of millions of square feet in new development in the pipeline it becomes difficult to review the individual components and parcels that are contained within each major submission. Inside each Reston Town Center sized rezoning application there are, after all, several individual massive projects, each constituting anywhere from $60 million to upwards of $350 million per building.

Case in point, Arbor Row, a project which consists of 6 individual parcels, some of which are then re-subdivided into multiple phases, components, and buildings. Along the eastern portion of the project, Block F, the Association of Manufacturing Technology, an office building which the organization has outgrown, will be developed by the AMT into a high end office and conference center. Block E will be a high rise residential building which has a final development plan completed and approved. Block B and C are future phases yet to be approved for final development, and Block D will be a mid-rise hotel likely to be developed by the Hotel owner to be determined.

ArborRow Block A Building 1, 24-story apartment, from FDP by Shalom Baranes Associates Architects and Parker Rodriguez, Inc Planning. Click to enlarge

Lastly, there is Block A which last year was sold to Home Properties and also possesses the ability to break ground with an approved Final Development Plan. “The project includes 1 parcel where two buildings will be built” said Ruth Hong, Vice President of Development with Home Properties. “The first building will be a 24 story, 420 residential unit apartment and the second will be a midrise apartment building, with 250 units, about 12 months later.”

A lot of eyes will be on the early residential projects that will be completed shortly after metro is up and running. Ascent by Greystar, Ovation at Park Crest, and Tysons Tower will all be indicators as to the market for housing in Tysons.

Right now many of the projects that could break ground today appear pensive over how well that additional residential stock will be absorbed. “We expect to begin construction late 1st quarter of next year, possibly 2nd quarter, with an expected completion by mid-2016″ says Hoang of the first high rise Home Properties building on Block A.

ArborRow Block A Building 2, midrise apartment, from FDP by Shalom Baranes Associates Architects and Parker Rodriguez, Inc Planning. Click to enlarge

Home Properties Tysons LLC is a publicly traded multi-family real estate investment trust with over 42,000 rental apartment homes, and approximately 4,500 apartment homes in Fairfax County. As a contractor purchaser and co-applicant to Cityline Partner’s Arbor Row development application, for approximately 750,000 square feet of multi-family rental development, or approximately 670 units on Block A.

Photo of bike commute via flickr Seth W.

If you didn’t hear today was Bike to Work Day, an annual event that challenges commuters to find a way out of the car and reconnected to the neighborhood via two wheels. If you did hear about Bike to Work Day, and participated, we want to know how it went.

• Did you face any obstacles or dangers?
• Did you find it easier or tougher than you thought it would be?
• If you aren’t a typical bicycle commuter, will you now consider being one?
• What improvements could FCDOT and Tysons planners implement to make it safer and easier?

Must read info for new or current bike commuters

Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling

Capital Bikeshare Website

Spokes Etc. Vienna

Fairfax County Interactive Bicycle Trail Map

Could this be the future location of Dogtopia's Headquarters in Tysons? The current flagship store sits within the Georgelas Spring Hill Station redevelopment.

For many business experts and corporate heads the only asset that the Washington Metro area has going for it is federal contracting. They look at the 3rd largest consumer base, with the highest aggregate education and financial strength of any comparable region, and can’t see past the idea that this is a government only town. What those supposed masters of industry miss with their first glance observations on Northern Virginia is the full breadth of what a good business environment means.

Enter Amy Nichols, founder of Dogtopia, who in 2002 saw what companies from outside of this area couldn’t; a niche market to provide dog care services for busy professionals in a town where the 60 hour week has always been the new normal. Her knowledge of the area came first hand; after attending the University of Maryland Amy began a career in telecommunications with Bell Atlantic here in Northern Virginia. As the parent of a boston terrier she felt torn between providing day time activities to keep her pup healthy and advancing in her career.

This was the genesis of her idea to not only provide long-term boarding for pets but to assure a safe pre-certified interactive playspace for dogs to get play time with other dogs during work hours. “The more I looked at it the more it made sense… over the course of a year I heard a lot of no’s, especially when it came to finding a space in Tysons.” The search finally landed her at what became the first Dogtopia on Spring Hill Road in Tysons.

“We were successful early on; by 2004 we had over $1 million in sales,” Amy continued “and we are 10 years in the making. We are expanding into our regional developer model and have grown to $15 million in sales today.”

So what about Northern Virginia and Tysons helped the company grow at nearly 31% year over year? “It’s had a huge impact. Some of the spaces we looked at early on have had a lot of turnover in stores since. It’s hard to imagine where we would be if we hadn’t opened in Tysons. Our services like the web cams have really helped us reach the tech savvy clientele who work in Tysons. It is going to be exciting to see how Tysons evolves”.

So what are Amy’s thoughts on the walkability and “live where you work” concepts in Tysons? They are favorable considering she herself sees the benefits personally. After outgrowing the office space they originally leased in Tysons, Dogtopia relocated to White Flint Maryland. After a couple of years, and a lot of hours stuck in traffic, Amy re-relocated the headquarters back to her current Tysons location at the PNC building at 8150 Leesburg Pike, within a 3 mile commute to her home in Vienna.

Now with business booming they look to expand their corporate and retail presence in Northern Virginia. “We’ve already begun hiring with positions for a procurement manager and a resale component which we are very excited about testing in 30 stores, and it has been great to be able to promote from within as well”.

The current lease for Dogtopia’s headquarters at 8150 Leesburg Pike is for a few more years, but with the prospect of a complete redevelopment at Spring Hill Road by the Georgelas Group (current location of their first retail store), Amy has been in talks about what a future space could look like. “We’ve been in discussion with Georgelas about being part of one of their new high rise developments which would include executive office space, training spaces for employees which currently are part of the operations in White Flint, as well as our retail space for day care. It would be a perfect scenario.”

2012 was a great year for Dogtopia but the company now has their sights on a larger national and even international presence. “We think over the next 10 years we will grow to several hundred locations. We have a target of 400 stores, and just this weekend we signed an agreement for regional development in Canada with future possibilities in Australia.” With the endorsement, investment, and connections of Peter Thomas, CEO of TFS investment firm, those plans are well within reach.

Amy recounts a visit she recently had to their soon to open Canton location in Maryland. “It was the first time I had been there” she says to emphasize how atypical her reduced role has been “and the new design looks great. I want to evolve my role from being involved with everything to a role as CEO and development”.

Dogtopia has also been actively involved with pet care philanthropy through the charitable arm of the company, K-9 Support, which aims to provide financial support to service dogs for both returning dogs involved in overseas campaigns as well as to help provide service dogs for returning veterans. “Our annual dog wash is a volunteer run event with each of our locations being involved. We usually end up washing around 100 dogs per location so it is has been very successful. It will be coming up again on July 21st.”

The lesson taught by Dogtopia is to think about the business environment in a new way. Just because others are providing for a market doesn’t mean that the market doesn’t exist. Viewing Northern Virginia as just a suburb to government work, however statistically accurate that is, ignores the business opportunities that exist.

Wow!

That’s a lot more cars on the road. We better start building right away!

Here is the problem(one of many), VDOT did not perform a study to show what would happen if growth wasn’t allowed to run rampant in exurbs. They basically said, all growth will continue to occur outward. They didn’t review what could happen if some of that growth was focused in existing corridors. They didn’t review what could happen if limits to development were placed in outer exurbs.

The logic of the CTB and Bob McDonnell’s administration is perverse.

Traffic volumes in Tysons were to increase 35% over the course of 40 years with the redevelopment and upzoning that has been created through the comprehensive plan. This growth was viewed as a danger to the fabric of transportation in Northern Virginia by the current VDOT administration and therefore all funds usually made available by the state were suddenly stopped. VDOT head Sean Connaughton even went as far as to say “not a penny will go to Tysons”. All of that over an increase in car traffic of 25,000-35,000 over the course of several decades.

VDOT forced Fairfax County, land developers, businesses, and home owners in Tysons to take on specific taxes to pay for all of the infrastructure in order to mitigate this 35% increase in traffic congestion. That was effectively double taxing these people, as Tysons entities would still continue to pay the same taxes that go to the rest of the region and state as well.

Now we flip to Prince William and Loudoun counties. No one at VDOT says that North-South traffic is at all a problem in the existing condition. The only location where there is an existing problem is associated with the on-ramp to I-66 from Route 28, which is more of an indictment on just how bad East-West traffic has become on I-66. This outer beltway will not improve that condition one bit. Therefore, logically it can be determined, that this road is being created to mitigate future growth.

In fact Connaughton, McDonnell, and the CTB have all stated this by saying that future demands will overwhelm the roads. The increase of 75% to 250% demand in the outer suburbs over the course of only 20 years equates to nearly 60,000 new vehicles, double the volume being created due to the development activity in Tysons, in half the time span.

So then why, in the case of Tysons, was the situation dire and requiring those of us who live in Tysons to pay for the future infrastructure needs; while future non-existent people who have yet to move here get off as free loaders?

And who will be building all of those new homes out in Prince William County and Loudoun county which will hold those 60,000 new vehicles?

Perhaps Gary Garczynsky board member of the CTB, and of the Home Builder Hall of Fame of Prince William County, would be a perfect expert to ask this question to?

If this 1 billion dollar road is being synthesized in its need by the addition of 60,000 more homes; perhaps we should ask those who are making millions of dollars building and selling those homes to contribute the same kind of funds that those of us living in Tysons (not making millions by doing so) are being asked to do?

Then again, that would be logical, something VDOT and this administration have never aimed to be.

Added May 15th: Representative Frank Wolfe has also voiced his concern about the misinformation and need for the North South corridor (outer beltway). The public needs to become aware that their wallets will be raked in order to spend without need on this project. See his letter from WAMU

Taipei's Skyline is an example of the physical representation of a regions wealth and commercial productivity, click to enlarge

This past week two important economic reports came out showing just how strong of a case is to be made about the future downtown of Tysons. While the visual characteristics of Tysons is anything but urban or reflective of traditional commercial business districts, it is economically a clear case of a downtown that is booming. What is about to occur in Tysons is the transformation of a hidden economy into the physical form.

For a primer, let’s first look at an interesting study performed by the Smithsonian and summarized by Tested Magazine (an off branch of the Myth Busters online website). Essentially, the city that people see is really a mathematical representation of the wealth and production of the urban core. In other words, the gross regional product of a region can be correlated to the quality and value of the urban core’s development value.

What does any of this have to do with Tysons and Fairfax?

For a long time Tysons and Fairfax have been a good place for business. How good? Based on Fortune Magazines 2012 economic report, most notably known for the Fortune 500 list, Fairfax’s 10 Fortune 500 companies had the same economic productivity as the entire country of Ireland in 2012, at $211 billion.

This follows a separate quarterly report posted by Fairfax County Economic Development Authority which showed the county added over 1400 corporate jobs in the first quarter of this year; representing a 0.2% increase in total jobs, and a 0.6% increase in corporate positions.

That is all good news for Fairfax, and taking a closer look shows that Tysons has been a major epicenter for the growth. Over 300 of the new positions were directly located in Tysons and 9 out of the 10 Fortune 500 companies located in Fairfax are headquartered within a 3 mile radius of Tysons.

The fundamentals remain strong in both Tysons and Fairfax County as a whole for continued growth. Unlike prior periods in the growth of the city, future growth will be guided by a logical master plan. This will help avoid the sprawl which has made Tysons anything but an urban physical representation and focuses that growth to be better integrated into the community and better connected to the county.

The commercial productivity and economy is already in place, which is the hardest urban element to create. What is going to occur in Tysons, unlike many urbanization revitalization projects around the Country, is based firmly in a business environment which can support the additional development.

LCOR's Commons of McLean Site Plan by WDG Architecture, click to enlarge

Tonight the Planning Commission of Fairfax County recommended approval of LCORs redevelopment for the Commons of McLean, located in eastern Tysons. The project includes seven mid/high-rise residential buildings ranging from 6-stories to 23-stories.

Some commissioners voiced concern over the lack of represented retail use. “The statement on retail should be stronger” noted Commissioner Donahue in reference to proffer language.

County staff assured the Commissioner that the intent is for retail to be provided, but demonstration of that space was not incorporated in order to allow for the greatest flexibility as to when and where that retail would occur dependent on market conditions. Ultimately each building FDP will be reviewed for the inclusion, or lack of, retail within the building. “We were trying to allow them to change over time.”

LCOR Commons of McLean rendering by WDG Architecture. Building 1 shown on the right of the screen. Click to enlarge

The project has also submitted a final development plan for Building 1, located at the intersection of Anderson Road and Chain Bridge Road at the north corner of the property and standing at 13-stories. This will be an important phasing element to progress on neighboring Scotts Run Station (by Cityline) by providing the right of way necessary to construct Colshire Meadow Road, which is integral to the grid of streets in eastern Tysons.

The project will now go before the Board of Supervisors in June for final approval. Ultimately, the final build out for Commons of McLean will include 2500 residential units. LCOR has noted they plan on breaking ground on Building 1 in the second half of 2014.

LCOR Commons of McLean aerial rendering by WDG Architecture, click to enlarge

SAIC-Westpark From SAIC's Rezoning Application, rendering by FXFowle. Click to enlarge

It has been a very good 6 months for Macerich, as noted by Washington Business Journal. After nabbing Intelsat from their long time headquarters in D.C., they follow up with a local relocation/expansion from Deloitte to the new Tysons Tower for a lease of 3 floors. Who said commercial real estate is stagnant? (BizJournals.com)

— — — — —

Tesla is having trouble creating their own dealership in Northern Virginia; an area which has shown an openness to high end alternative fuel vehicles (based on hybrid/electric sales). Northern Virginia represents the 4th largest consumer region in the US, so no wonder Tesla wants a piece of the proverbial pie. So what do you think? Would Tesla be just another car dealership, causing poor land use in an urbanizing Tysons Corner, or would the benefit of a local alternative fuel dealership counter-balance that detriment? Either way, the law that is holding up Tesla’s ability to open a dealership is antiquated and confining to businesses (something that Virginia usually avoids). (Yahoo Finance)

— — — — —

LCOR at Commons of McLean are up for approval by both the Planning Commission (this week) and the Board of Supervisors later this month. The project is the most significant proposal in terms of total residential units, a use that is the most integral redevelopment element of the Tysons Comprehensive Plan. The region is in dire need for more housing units, with both rents and ownership prices growing faster than the median wealth of the region. Adding 2,500 new units to the Northern Virginia inventory over the course of the next several years will make a significant impact in relieving the growing supply pressure.

— — — — —

In case you didn’t hear, SAIC is planning to sell its headquarter property in Tysons to Meridian Group of Bethesda. It was a likely scenario considering SAIC has been pursuing rezoning of their property based on the new Comprehensive Plan, yet has no experience as being a property management company or construction firm. The move also follows the company’s split into government and private sector services and the forming of the new company Leidos. (Washington Post)

SAIC’s former property will ultimately contain 11 new high-rises as well as its existing 3 buildings which will be refurbished to include additional retail space. The new buildings range from 200′ to a single focal tower which will soar 435′ at 30-floors, making it the tallest building in Northern Virginia.

Urbanism Concept of the Day

If you are a civil engineer, the following post by a fellow colleague on Strong Towns about the transportation design method today in the US will ring true. Too much of our analysis of “transportation solutions” is created out of what a manual says is the correct answer, instead of reviewing as a return cycle what decision “A” in transportation causes in Land Use policy, causes as induced traffic and hindrance to local transportation elements such as pedestrians and cyclists. We as engineers are creating highway scale towns in order to attain what someone who likely was not even a transportation engineer is telling us is the right solution and in order to avoid future litigation from the countless accidents that happen on highways no matter the design standards used.

Empirical evidence is far better than the California and AASHTO design guidelines. Over the past 60 years we have seen that more lanes, wider lanes, and higher speeds only deteriorate traffic and only cause more fatalities on roads not less.

Ovation Apartments as seen from International Drive, click to enlarge

Since last we checked in Clark construction (of Phase 2 Silver Line Construction fame) has been quite busy at Ovation Apartments. The project has risen several stories since the last post on Ovation. Beyond the near completion of the structural skeleton Clark has also begun installing some of the facade and window elements on lower levels, as well as beginning construction of their unique water feature and pool.

The genesis of the water feature was more circumstance, extremely steep grades along the south boundary line, than by design; though lesser concepts would have put up a cheap retaining wall, assuring a less desirable end product. The south water feature and pool will take the detrimental existing conditions and turn them into an asset for the property.

Ovation apartments from 18 floors up, click to enlarge

The project is also Tysons first LEED Gold residential building. To those who have never had the “pleasure” of performing a sustainability study; to attain LEED Gold on an office building is difficult (it takes a lot of extra cost and buy in from a contractor) but doing so for a residential component is a whole other monster which involves good foresight in future management and operations of the building. Everything from proper metering, behavioral anticipation and feedback data recovery on energy and water usage, unique air conditioning systems like chilled beams or mag-lev chillers, all of which take management who are cognoscente of the long term pay back of sustainable design (when appropriate).

Over the past decade there has been growing discontent from the public that transportation needs are not being adequately met. Some projects which face local opposition are strong armed through politically, while others that enjoy near universal approval (such as a comprehensive plan for the Safe Routes to School project) are ignored or otherwise unfunded.

So who are these appointed members who are meant to make our transportation network work better? And why is Virginia’s transportation network, specifically Northern Virginia’s, continuously ranked below average or near the bottom even though our spending per capita on transportation (at approximately $4 billion per year) is consistently at the top.

— — — —

Gregory A. Whirley

As a long time VDOT employee Mr. Whirley’s credentials are strong for public policy and accounting. If he were to be an exception to a board full of knowledgeable transportation design experts the board would be stronger for it. Unfortunately, his knowledge of accounting won’t help with prioritization and feasibility selection of transportation projects.

Thelma D. Drake

Current director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit, an agency that has seen steep budget cuts under the McDonnell administration. Those cuts can’t be blamed on Ms. Drake of course, but perhaps her department could be the best group to let Governor McDonnell know that the cost of fuel has actually created a huge surge in freight rail in this country. Perhaps the DRPT should be insisting that instead of increasing truck capacity through suburban regions of Northern Virginia we should be improving our freight rail system in coordination with private companies such as Norfolk Southern, which would have the added benefit of improving Amtrak service between NOVA, Richmond, and Norfolk.

These would all be things that an expert in the transport of freight goods, an expert in train facility design, or perhaps just someone who has actually ridden a train before could answer. Ms. Drake instead comes from a background of…

Real estate and politics, a theme that will become evident.

John K. Matney

Mr. Matney is the CTB representative from Southwestern Virginia, an area which has seen nearly 2 billion dollars in mega project construction despite a steady population, no visible traffic (except on game days in Blacksburg of course), and no real ground swell from the community.

Mr. Matney is quite the east coast traveler. He is President of the Harbor Club, a golf community in Georgia, President of Stearns Company, a mineral reserve leasing company in Kentucky, managing partner of over 150 gas wells in the Allegheny Mountain region, and of course a former Board member of the Virginia Coal Association Board.

The only real question I have is, was he for or against the spending of over $1 billion to create the Coalfields Expressway, a rural highway serving almost exclusively freight traffic from the coal industry in Southwest Virginia.

Cord A. Sterling

Mr. Sterling from all accounts has been a strong member of the CTB. He has spanned two administrations and has significant experience in public policy as a board of supervisors member for Stafford County. What he doesn’t have is any background with relation to transportation networks modelling, design, or construction. As a correction Mr. Sterling has noted that his family has worked in road construction previously which he also assisted with.

Mark J. Peake

Mr. Peake is the President and principal broker of Great Atlantic Properties, a company which owns and manages real estate in Southeast Virginia.

Gary Garczynsky

Mr. Garczynsky isn’t just from the home building and real estate industry, he’s a hall of famer. As Northern Virginia’s representative on the CTB he has been silent on popular small scale transit solutions such as Light Rail in Arlington, bus route expansion, or urban development. That might be because when you develop over 6000 houses and serve as president of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association AND president of the Home Builders Association of Virginia, you often find yourself out pushing the fringes of the existing development zones. Which might explain why he is such a vocal proponent of the Outer Beltway, a project that will benefit less than 0.3% of the Northern Virginia population, while using up over $1 billion dollars of much needed funds.  The project will come very close to his offices in Woodbridge (a town on the cross roads of the Prince William Parkway and I-95).

Roger Cole

Current President of Highway Service Ventures. I know the name sounds indicting… but the actual business plan is even more so. They create truck rest areas and services in Virginia along major freight routes. Hmmmm, I wonder who is going to get a lot more business with the Coalfields Expressway, the North South Corridor for freight between Dulles and Norfolk, and the 460 freight bypass (total of over $3 billion spent or intended in public funds). Some might call this… a conflict of interest.

Dana M. Martin

Not a lot of information was found on Mr. Martin. He once worked for the Southwest Voice newspaper as the editor. He has served as a VDOT board member for some time and a State Representative from Salem. Perhaps… just perhaps Mr. Martin might have some experience in actual transportation design.

F. Dixon Whitworth Jr.

Former president of BB&T bank Blue Ridge Region, Mr. Whitworth has had a career in financial services. While there is no conflict of interest with Mr. Whitworth, it is confusing as to why he is serving on a Transportation Board.

Fran Fisher

Ms. Fisher has a very strong business background as the president and CEO of Revenue Recovery Consultants, a financial services corporation. Her background would be great for an economic staff position in our state as a proven leader in the field. The only question I have is, why is she so integral to transportation and why did Governor McDonnell appoint her to the Transportation Transition Team in 2009 as he was beginning his first year in office?

Sonny Martin

President and CEO of Powell Valley National Bank of Virginia. Another question of… what are you doing on a transportation board? I do know one thing from my former life in land development; bankers and home builders work together on land development projects quite often. I have no idea how Powell Valley National Bank does business, so I will only assume Mr. Martin is not nearly an expert in what will fix Virginia’s transportation woes or which projects need higher priority than others.

Allen L. Louderback

Delegate Louderback has served the commonwealth for over a decade in the House of Delegates. He is a fellow hokie alum and he was founder and CEO of Louderback Enterprises, an Agro supplier. He is a successful businessman, and if it weren’t for his lack of knowledge on transportation systems, I would say he would be a great political and economic resource for the Governor… for anything other than the CTB.

W. Sheppard Mill III

President and CEO of Light Tech Fiber Optics. Oh man, if only our transportation network could run as efficiently as the trillions of photons that traverse a fiber optic cable. Unfortunately, humans are lot less reliable than photons, and require all sorts of considerations that a transportation engineer, or someone with a background in transportation systems would understand better.

Hollis D. Ellis

Alright an engineer!!! Call up the parade organizers we finally have an engineer on the transportation board! I assume he’s an engineer as Principal of the Norfolk based CAE Inc., an engineering consultant firm.

— — — —

The problem isn’t with each of the individual members of the CTB, although a few of them are egregious examples of economic conflicts of interest; it is with the board as a whole. The idea that this board is in anyways capable of indicating what the state needs for transportation is laughable.

What is even more disturbing, is that the head of the Board, Secretary of VDOT Sean Connaughton, believes that critics of the board’s decisions, priorities, and transportation solutions are not in a position to question the judgement of the board. What is the most disturbing is that Sean Connaughton, overseer of $5 billion of annual spending, has no background in transportation design or implementation himself.

His largest transportation feats were the creation of the Prince William County Department of Transportation, and former US Maritime Department of Transportation head. Now that is a fine career path, and of course something that should garner respect, but it provides him almost no insight on how to run transportation systems for the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state with minimal maritime activity not associated with the Department of Defense.

So why is the CTB so reluctant to listen to transportation engineers, planners, and residents who actually use the transportation network? Why is the process so opaque to the public when it comes to the real priorities that Virginia should be implementing into our vast and important transportation network?

Jones Branch Drive looking towards Tysons Metro Station (not seen)

Over the past year the District and Tysons (Fairfax) have been a bit contentious towards each other. Several companies have decided to relocate to Tysons or otherwise expand in Fairfax, and even more are rumored to be considering the move. This competition has been fueled by rhetoric from both sides, with Fairfax officials declaring the county the new downtown, and DC officials dismissive of any competition between the jurisdictions. After all, DC’s competition is with cities like New York, San Francisco, and Chicago… not Fairfax.

Unfortunately, for officials in D.C. at least, Fairfax and Arlington have continued to siphon away corporations, development, and new start ups from the District… everyone except for Living Social of course. Many have blamed tax rates, calling Virginia a tax haven for corporations, but this view is shallow and not indicative of the actual cost of business between the two jurisdictions.

In our previous post we wrote that lease rates, not tax rates, are to blame for DCs competitive lack of edge with Fairfax. What is a prideful statistic for DC officials, lease rates over $100 per square foot per year, is actually the final deciding factor for many companies to head out. Many District officials see Tysons and Arlington lease rates of $35-45 per square foot per year as proof that Northern Virginia only represents spill over space for corporations, and that the area remains the suburbs.

So why are the lease rates so varying? Is Northern Virginia simply not as desirable for corporations and therefore management companies charge less? It’s actually a bit of chicken and egg. Of course part of the lease disparity is and will always be due to the District being the true city center, but that view is far too macro to fully understand what is occurring.

Akridge's 1200 17th Street Office Project, rendering by Akridge

On an individual basis these costs are in many ways being created by the cost to attain construction loans. Anticipated lease rates are a major measure for  financial backers who determine the solvency of a project. If construction costs are high, the financier will expect higher lease rates to lower the return on investment period. If the project can’t sustain those rates in the mind of the financier, they will pull the plug.

In Tysons, MRP is constructing their brand new 11-story office building, with 300,000 square feet of finished space with a loan of $120 million. That equates to a $400 per square foot final cost, a hefty price tag for commercial construction, and on the high end of most projects in Virginia. On the other hand Akridge is currently constructing a 170,000 square foot office on 17th street with a loan of $110 million. That equates to nearly $650 per square foot final cost.

A lot of that cost difference comes from land value, however there is also a scale of construction problem in DC. A significant portion of Akridge’s costs come from the “build to the edges” model DC demands due to their low height limit. No one is saying this isn’t beneficial for urbanity, but there are ways to build taller and more condensed for core function, and build on lessened foundations for ground floor retail etc around the edges. This is done a lot in New York City, but because the “core building” in DC would only be a few stories higher than the to the edge retail, it wouldn’t equate to enough square footage to make the project a go.

1812 North Moore, rendering by Monday Properties

In case you think the Tysons office by MRP is just an example of office park sprawl, perhaps 1812 North Moore, the prestigious highrise project in Arlington may surprise you. The 35-story premier office and retail possesses 581,000 square feet of river front development and cost a total construction cost of $230 million which comes out to $396 per square foot final cost.

By all measures it meets the measurements of a great and sustainable building. It is LEED platinum, it is one block from a subway station, ground level retail, incorporates new pedestrian improvements, etc. Yet this project is less expensive than a similar “to the lot boundary” project in DC per square foot.

The problem is, DC limits the design and economics of new developments with an arbitrary number for height. If the limit was raised 8 stories it would not change any aesthetic elements in core commercial zones, but it would have a huge impact on the cost of doing business in DC. There is a middle ground between good design and kowtowing to the “can’t see the sky” crowd. The one’s being hurt aren’t the developers or managers who as Mayor Gray has pointed out, can get top dollar on leases. It’s the entrepreneurs with a unique idea who wants to start a business in the city but can’t possibly afford a doubling in lease cost.

Map of current and under design transportation projects in Tysons, click to enlarge

I attended tonight’s Fairfax Connector Circulator meeting to voice my concerns over the limited hours of service within Tysons and the general lack of focus on existing residential neighborhoods within Tysons. Unfortunately, without additional voices in unison I fear the recommendations noted had little impact.

Although there are nearly 20,000 residents in Tysons, only a half dozen residents showed up for the meeting. Many of the attendees were  actually residents of Falls Church and McLean. Anyone who rides the 425 or 427 knows that there are many bus riders in Tysons, but because of the lack of civic involvement commercial corridors and other regions of Northern Virginia have been more successful in attaining modifications to routes.

Because of this lack of public input from the Tysons community the Pimmit Hills circulator bus route has been removed all together. Due to the lack of representation from weekend city-goers the bus service in Tysons will not extend beyond midnight on any night for North Tysons.

<End Guilt Trip>

Completed and being implemented transportation projects, click to enlarge

That being said, transit solutions in Tysons are going to be iterative. Perhaps once metro is in operation more people will become active. I believe FCDOT did consider my concerns made in February, including the revision to use the Central Tysons (Route 423) as the weekend circulator.

During the Q&A I questioned whether weekend service could be shifted to reduce morning hours when stores around town are not open(from 6 A.M. to 8 A.M.) in order to attain longer night time hours (from 11P.M. to 1A.M.) One attendee did note an important problem with that concept however, that Tysons residents might want the 6A.M. bus route to head to the airport. Ultimately, I concede that without boisterous demand that late night service in Tysons will need to wait.

After the meeting I spoke to Tom Biesiadny about the progress on infrastructure projects around Tysons. “We are currently at 30% design plans for the Jones Branch Connector to Scotts Run” Tom noted “And there has been significant progress with the right of way.” The right of way is an important element necessary to create the much needed connection between Jones Branch and Route 123 through the center of the Capital One property.

“The road will be two lanes in each way with a median that is capable of future upgrades to a streetcar or dedicated bus lanes” said Tom about the size of the proposed design “And will be provided with bike lanes in each direction.” The project is anticipated to be completed in 2016.

Currently under design transportation projects, click to enlarge

On the subject of bike lanes it was noted that a new 10′ dedicated trail will be coming to Route 123 between Anderson Road and Great Falls Street, a trail that will connect into the system between Great Falls Street and Old Dominion and hopefully connect bike riders between McLean and Tysons (as well as the new McLean metro station). Currently cyclists have to deal with some tough pedaling on Chain Bridge Road, which has several dangerous curves and elevation changes. That project is through the planning stages and could begin construction this year.

Other improvements coming up soon include several cross walk and intersection upgrades as well as new sidewalk along Jones Branch with the construction of Arbor Row Phase 1.

So while bus transit might be less than perfect in the foreseeable future for Tysons, there are many improvements that might make alternative transportation modes far safer and easier. As always, without public input no needs would ever be addressed, so if you haven’t voiced your comments you still have a chance to contact Fairfax Connector FairfaxConnector@fairfaxcounty.gov