This is an op/ed submitted by Terry Maynard, co-chair of the Reston 20/20 committee. It does not reflect the opinions of Reston Now.

Reston’s future lies largely in the numbers that define the county’s plan for Reston’s transit station areas (TSAs)–the areas roughly within a half-mile of each Metro station.  The results of looking at those numbers are shocking, but not really surprising.

The Board of Supervisors-approved Reston Master Plan calls for 44,000 dwelling units (DUs) in Reston’s TSAs, virtually all of which will be high-rise (“elevator”), high-density DUs–condos and apartments.  

County planning assumes 2.1 people will live in each high-rise, high-density DU.

Put together, that means a potential population of 92,400 people in Reston’s station areas.   That’s without any affordable housing “bonuses” or development waiver approvals or other uncounted DUs or people, a frequent fact of life in Fairfax County.  

When the Reston Master Plan Task Force was working on a new plan for the station areas, the county provided several different numbers for the actual acreage of the study area.  These ranged from 1,232 acres (1.925 square miles) to 1,683 acres (2.630 square miles) of land in Reston’s TSAs.  The county provided no explanation for the range of values.

Dividing the number of people by the acreage, the resulting number is somewhere between 55 and 75 per acre.  On a square mile basis, that Reston TSA density is between 35,200 and 48,000 persons per square mile (pers/SM). 

According to Wikipedia, Manhattan has a density of 26,403 pers/SM.  That makes the planned population of Reston’s TSAs at least one-third denser than and potentially nearly twice as dense as Manhattan is today.  

Wikipedia adds that Manhattan’s residential density “makes it the densest of any American municipality with a population above 100,000.”  And Reston’s TSA population may well exceed that 100,000 number if the county continues its bonus and waiver giveaways to developers.

I don’t think anyone who lives in Reston thinks that two square miles of super-density in Reston’s TSAs cutting through the middle of our community is consistent with any definition of preserving, much less improving, Reston’s quality of life. And the county has no meaningful plans or means to meet the infrastructure requirements of this population or the needs of the surrounding Reston community.

A redevelopment plan before the county could transform Isaac Newton Square, the aging office park at Sunset Hills Road and Wiehle Avenue, into a residential neighborhood with around 2,100 residential units.

Peter Lawrence Cos. and MRP Realty submitted plans in late August to redevelop two-thirds of the office park with 2.8 million feet of development, nearly 90 percent of which would be residential. The development would be spread across roughly 32 acres that Peter Lawrence Cos. controls.

“We spent a lot of time developing the project vision, and we’re proud of it,” said Andrew Painter, the development team’s legal representative. The plan is in line with the county’s comprehensive plan, which has long envisioned the office park’s future as entirely residential. The project is north of the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station.

Painter told Reston Now that the development team intentionally designed the project to serve as a transition between the higher density areas close to the Metro Station and established residential communities towards the north and east of the property. The site is bounded by Hidden Creek Country Club, a gas station and a fire station, which will be rebuilt.

“Building heights will generally taper down as one moves from south to north, and our planned “Nature’s Edge” area rings the proposed neighborhood, which provides a landscaped buffer and path along our northern and western edges adjacent to Hidden Creek,” Painter said.

Residential units will be a mix of apartments, condominiums, flats and townhouses, which 14 percent of the total number of units being set aside as affordable units.

The proposed neighborhood will contain up to 10 development blocks with a mix of residential, retail and office uses. The heights of buildings and the intensity of the development will taper off near the existing woodlands near the southern edge of the property.

The developer plans to preserve the property’s row of mature Willow Oak trees, by creating a new “Willow Oak Park.” The 1.45-acre park will serve as the “heart of the neighborhood’s public realm,” according to the proposal.

A full-size athletic field open for active recreation activities will also be included in the plan. Roughly 25 parking spaces will be reserved for field visitors during designated times. A neighborhood green, just under half an acre, will sit next to the athletic field.

A 0.75-acre east-west pedestrian walkway, called the “community mews,” will serve as a mid-block crossing connecting Wiehle Avenue and parcels to the west. Unlike the athletic field and community green, this “mews” will be reserved for residents only. The plan also calls for “The Commons,” the neighborhood’s commercial center.

The developer will create a connection to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. Infrastructure on the property will also support cycling.

Although an overwhelming majority of the development is residential, 260,000 square feet of office uses will be present nearest to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station. Roughly 68,884 square feet of retail uses are also proposed.

The plan hasn’t been accepted for review by the county yet, according to Brian Worthy, a spokesperson for the county.

Photos via Google Maps and Andrew Painter

The Fairfax County Office of Community Revitalization and the Reston Urban Design Advisory Group are seeking feedback on draft guidelines for the urban design and streetscape details for new development in Reston’s Transit Station Areas.

During a community meeting on September 24 at 6 p.m. in the Reston Community Center, local officials will seek input from the public. Written comments can also be submitted to [email protected].

The design guidelines are formulated to support the implementation of the Reston Comprehensive Plan, which was last amended in 2014. They will apply to all properties located within the boundaries of Reston’s three TSAs and help applicants and designers proposing to develop in TSAs by providing specific goals. Precise standards will not be prescribed, according to a county statement.

Following the first community meeting, additional meetings will be held with the Reston Association’s Design Review Board, Reston Planning & Zoning Committee and the Reston Town Center Association in September.

The comprehensive plans aim to establish a sense of place for TSAs while respecting surrounding neighborhoods, aims to improve connectivity and foster walkability and seeks to design sustainable environments.

Draft guidelines are available online. Printed packets are also available for view in the following locations:

• Hunter Mill District Office (North County Government Center) – 1801 Cameron Glen Drive, Reston, VA 20190
• Reston Association Member Services – 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20191
• Public Art Reston – 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20191
• Reston Library – 11925 Bowman Towne Drive, Reston, VA 20190
• Herndon Municipal Offices – 777 Lynn Street, Herndon, VA 20170
• Herndon Library – 768 Center Street, Herndon, VA 20170

Map via Fairfax County Government

Two residential projects are up for a vote by the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the North County Government Center.

Woodfield Acquisitions is seeking to redevelop Roland Clarke Place, a 3.6-acre of land less than one mile from both the Wiehle-Reston East and Reston Town Center Metro Stations. The developer seeks to replace the office building on 1941 Roland Clark Place with 310 residential units in one building. The second office building at 1950 Roland Clarke Place would be redeveloped at a later date.

Plans include courtyards, pocket parks, a dog park and a trail that loops around the property. If approved, the project would be developed in two phases. A public hearing date before the Fairfax County Planning Commission is set for October 11.

The committee will also consider a second proposal by Pulte Home Company, LLC to rezone intended for industrial use to allow for planned commercial development. Plans include building 40 single family attached units and a parking garage. The project is located at 12700 Sunrise Valley Drive.

The existing office on the property will remain. Open space amenities include a tot lot, a wildlife observation area, a central green space, and a gathering place with public art for future residents and employees of the office building. According to the application, the plan is intended to transition between existing and planned high-intensity development surrounding the future Herndon Metro Station and single-family houses across Sunrise Valley Drive. A public hearing before the Planning Commission is set for September 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Photo via Google Maps

The deep blue and green colors of the EXO at Excelsior Park, which houses two 16-story residential towers, has attracted some attention from passersby, including some raised eyebrows.

At R2L:Architects, the design firm behind the 457-unit apartment building on the Oracle campus, wanted exactly that distinguishing quality from other nearby projects.

“We wanted to come up with something that isn’t boring and that has a lot of variety,” said Lee Rubenstein, a principal with R2L:Architects.

The building includes a glass facade that automatically tints based on the direction of the sun. Tenants can also control how tinted they want the glass to be. The EXO is also LEED gold.

The color, which shifts from green to deep blue depending on the viewer’s perspective, was intentionally selected to help make the building standout.

“It makes a statement for sure, in addition to just having actual color. There are so many buildings out there and they don’t have much chroma at all. This punctuates the landscape,” Rubenstein said. 

Because the site plan was already approved, the architecture firm was charged with doing something creative with a limited framework, he said.

The EXO rests on a landscaped parking plinth. The space between the two towers contains outdoor seating, dining areas, a swimming pool and landscaping. It also has 642 parking spaces.

Readers, we’d love to hear what you think of the color and design of the building in the comments below.

Photos by Fatimah Waseem and vantagehill

A developer is seeking to build a 128,000-square-foot multifamily residential building on the north side of Dominion Parkway.

According to plans submitted to the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning on May 14, the multifamily building is planned between the Winwood Children’s Center and the Paramount condominiums on Fountain Drive. 

Preliminary plans include 59 multifamily dwelling units, serving roughly 124 people, on the 0.8-acre site. The developer, NS Reston LLC, also plans to build a three-level underground garage with 131 spaces and six surface parking spaces near the main entrance of the property.

“The proposed multifamily building will be an attractive addition to the perimeter of the Town Center Urban Core and provide additional residential units to reinforce the live, work, play environment of the Town Center and the surrounding area,” wrote John McGranahan Jr, who represents the applicant.

Proposed amenities include a rooftop terrace with a swimming pool and 0.25 acres —  thirty percent of the property — will remain as open space.

Access to the property is planned from two entrances along New Dominion Parkway. The application has also requested a waiver to reduce the number of required loading spaces from three to two.

The application has not yet been accepted for formal review by the county, said Brian Worthy, a spokesman for Fairfax County government. Once accepted, applications are scheduled for public hearings and other steps of the planning and zoning process.

Photos via Google Maps

Boston Properties is ready to kickstart the first phase of Reston Gateway, 22-acre site next to the future Reston Town Center Metro Station, a company executive said.

During the company’s quarterly earnings conference call Wednesday, BXP Chief Executive Officer Owen Thomas lauded a recent lease signed with Fannie Mae for the mixed use project. Fannie Mae will anchor two office building in the project, which also includes 3.5 million square feet of development.

The new mixed use project is designed to complement “the amenity base and community environment of the highly successful Reston Town Center,” Thomas said.

Fannie Mae plans to occupy the building in the first quarter of 2022. A mid-sized hotel, more than 600,000 square feet of residential development and 90,000 square feet of ground floor retail is planned on the site.

BXP President Doug Linde said he was pleased by the strength of Reston Town Center, which he called “a magnet for private sector contractors and technology tenants.”

“We have recently signed two expansion and extension deals with technology tenants for 112,000 square feet. One tenant grew 30% and the other grew 40 percent. And we are negotiating a third expansion and extension this time growing 115,000 square feet tenant to a 160,000 square feet. We are also in early renewal discussions with tenants for more than 300,000 square feet of space,” Linde said.

The company opened the Signature, a residential high-rise in Reston Town Center, in January.

So far, 11 percent of residential units or 86 of the 508 units are leased, Linde said.

Overall, the real estate investment trust reported an income of $176 million, up from $97 million this time last year.

File rendering

Plans for the future Reston Crescent development, a 36-acre plot of land in the northwestern corner of the intersection of Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive, are moving forward.

The proposal by Brookfield Properties, the New York-based developer behind the 4.3 million square foot project, scale back the residential component of the major mixed use project. Roughly 45 percent is dedicated to residential use, down from 66 percent planned in February of last year.

Wegmans has signed a letter of intent for the project, but Andrew Brent, a spokesperson for Brookfield, said no updates on the grocer’s plans were available. Eight blocks are planned on the site, which will include 1.7 million square feet of residential, 1.9 million square feet of office space, a 125,000-square-foot hotel and a 250,000 square feet for assisted living.

Brookfield also plans more to include than double the amount of retail it pitched in July from 125,000 to 380,000 square feet. The plan will also include more open spaces and urban parks, including a 0.3-acre neighborhood park, a 0.3-acre dog park and other areas.

If approved, the plan would add new streets in an effort create grid-like pattern in the road network — a transition taking place in other major mixed use developments near future Metro stations.

The developer plans to dedicate 15 percent of all residential units for affordable or workforce housing.

Other proffers were also noted in the plans:

• $2,090 per residential unit to the Reston Road Fund
• $11,749 per student generated, based on a formula of 0.11 students per residential unit
• Six public park spaces
• LEED certification for residential buildings
• LEED Silver certification for new office buildings

Fairfax County accepted the final development plan for the project on Feb. 5. A presentation was given to the Reston Planning & Zoning Committee in late January.

Renderings for illustrative purposes via handout/Brookfield Properties

Two new residential projects with under 100 units were added to the Reston Association last month.

The owners of Valley & Park by Toll Brothers and the Lofts at Reston by Pulte Homes will pay annual assessments and the projects will be subject to the RA deed and covenants.

The Lofts (Michael Faraday Drive) includes 32 multi-family units and 12 loft townhouse units. Prices start in the upper 600s, according to Pulte’s website. Valley & Park is a 54-unit project on 11720. The site was previously home to a six-story office building.

Both developments will have their own on-site maintenance through a cluster of condominium association, among other conditions.

VY, a 385-unit apartment community by JBG Smith, is officially open. Six tenants are expected to take up ground floor retail slots by the summer.

Tenants include Super Chicken, Allure Nails, Signature Thai, and Reston Kabob. WillPower Functional Fitness, a 35,000 square foot gym, was the first retail tenant confirmed in 2016.

The building on 11830 Sunrise Valley Drive is part of JBG’s Reston Heights project, which includes Westin Reston Heights, the Sheraton Reston, the Mercer Condos and office buildings along Sunrise Valley Drive.

VY, which stands for “very,”  contains a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments with two-story lofts.Monthly rents range between $1,800 and $3,320. Amenities include an two open-air lounges, a pool, fitness center, courtyard with fire pits, a lawn, on-site dog park, a pet spa and a bike maintenance center.

Greg Trimmer, the company’s executive vice president, said VY will be a “new community landmark.”

“The property sets the bar for luxury living in Reston with a high level of amenities, retail, and access to the outdoors and activities for the consumer who values both a quiet evening in a comfortable home overlooking nature, and entertainment or activity right outside of their front door,” he said.

Photos via JBG Smith

Tishman Speyer, a New York-based real estate company, hopes to transform more than 14 acres of land in the southwest quadrant of the Dulles Toll Road and Reston Parkway into a vibrant, mixed-used development driven by the power of the adjacent Reston Town Center Metro Station.

Reston Crossing, the name of the transit-oriented development, would bring six new buildings organized around a central park and other public amenities to the land, which is currently home to two office buildings.

The proposal, filed with the county early this month, requires rezoning the land from medium industrial use to planned development commercial to allow for up to nearly two million square feet of development.

Elizabeth Baker, a senior land use planner with Walsh Colucci Lubeley & Walsh, a northern Virginia law firm that specializes in commercial real estate development, said the transit-oriented project is set apart from nearby buildings that are more suburban-style, traditional office buildings built in the 1980s and 1990s.

“With the coming of the Silver Line and the plan that was adopted by the county… we’re just trying to implement that vision,” Baker said.

The plan calls six buildings includes one on the west with up to 30,000 square feet of retail, pedestrian access to the Metro Station South Pavilion, a U-shaped residential building with up to 380 multi-family residential units that overlook the central park, a building on the southeast with between 180 and 230 residential units, and a building on the south with up to 250 residential units.

“With a variety of park experiences, some landscaped, others hardscaped, and a well-developed system of paths, passive, and active recreation facilities areas, the Central Park is a major community amenity. Office, residential and retail uses front onto the Central Park, allowing it to be a gathering space for workers, residents, shoppers, and visitors alike,” according to the Dec. 8 proposal.

Of the overall development, office development would range from 38 percent to 58 percent, residential development would range from 36 to 59 percent, and retail uses would range from three to six percent. The plan is intentionally flexible due to changing market conditions.

Renderings via handout