Parking may make a difference in Newport News

On Feb. 3, 2007, the Daily Press, a newspaper in Virginia's Hampton Roads area, reported on a new mixed-use development opening in Newport News. The story by reporter Chris Flores is entitled, "Building upscale ambitions: The development believes it has an edge over its competitors in one key area - parking."

Flores reports that "the Villages of Stoney Run, located off Jefferson Avenue just past the Newport News airport, is almost finished with a development that will include 184 apartments, 120 condos and retail and restaurants."

The story points out that just like Port Warwick and City Center, two developments at the other end of Jefferson Avenue, Stoney Run will have places for residents to get their hair cut, get their laundry done and get a bite to eat.

But it quotes a representative of the Breeden Co., the developer, as saying that car access and parking may make the difference in helping Stoney Run beat out its higher-profile competitors.
In addition to the retail parking, the developer built two spaces for each residence, and the development can be accessed by new traffic lights from two sides. Each condo has a garage.

Anyone who has ever spent half an hour or more looking for a parking space will understand why this might be a difference that matters when choosing a place to live.

Permalink: http://womblemultifamilyandmixeduse.blogspot.com/2007/02/parking-may-make-difference-in-newport.html

A quick walk across the street at Parc Dulles

On Saturday, Feb. 4, 2007, The Washington Post real estate section wrote about Parc Dulles, an upscale apartment development that is part of a mixed-use development near Dulles Airport. It is mixed use because it's across the street from the Dulles Town Center mall, a 1.4 million square foot shopping center that opened in 1999.

Residents of Parc Dulles can walk across the street to the mall -- except that the "street" is a four-lane highway! So the developer built pedestrian crosswalks. One enthusiastic resident is quoted as saying, "Everything is right here. I used to have to drive to everything." And the article points out that this person "walks to the mall and enjoys the convenience of not being car-bound when he's not commuting."

Still, one wonders if this really exhibits the compactness and human scale that the best mixed-use projects are known for.

The full article can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/02/AR2007020200702_pf.html.

Permalink: http://womblemultifamilyandmixeduse.blogspot.com/2007/02/quick-walk-across-street-at-parc-dulles.html

Requiring mixed use in Virginia to alleviate traffic woes?

I have recently discussed the "Bacon's Rebellion" site, which covers public policy issues in Virginia. On Jan. 11, 2007, there was another fascinating article on that site by Robert L. Burke called "Time to Grow Up." Burke discusses a bill recently introduced by GOP state legislator Clay Athey that would require counties to map out where new development will happen over the next 20 years, and then be largely responsible for managing the transportation network needed to serve that growth.

Burke says Athey wants to assure that each county is "ready to think about what it will cost you when you approve new development." The state suffers from a transportation crisis, with traffic in built-up areas like Fairfax County truly in a sad state.

The effect this will have on mixed use is very interesting. Burke writes:

"What’s more, the bill would require localities to adopt New Urbanist development concepts, such as mixing commercial and residential, walkability, and interconnected road networks. Injecting 'new urbanism' into the state code is unheard of in Virginia. But increasingly, populist GOPers like Athey are tired of kneeling to development interests and paying them what they consider a public subsidy."

New Urbanism equals more-compact development, equals fewer transportation woes, equals better public policy, according to this view.

The full article is at
http://www.baconsrebellion.com/Roadtoruin/BRNS_07-01-11.php.

Permalink: http://womblemultifamilyandmixeduse.blogspot.com/2007/01/requiring-mixed-use-in-virginia-to.html

Is Rockingham County, Va., becoming another Fairfax?

A few days ago, I wrote about a proposed mixed-use project in Harrisonburg, Va., about 130 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., and still a good 80 miles from even the outskirts of the D.C. area. Now, the prospect of this "new subdivision that resembles a small town," in the words of a local journalist, as well as new commercial and industrial growth, are making local residents wonder if their cherished small-town way of life is soon to change.

"Some wonder if the area is becoming another Northern Virginia," wrote reporter Jenny Jones in the Daily News-Record, a local newspaper, on Jan. 11, 2007.

Jones' story continues:

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"Metropolitan Northern Virginia and its many pleasantries are gaining on you and your way of life," wrote Lance Strong, of Harrisonburg, in a recent letter to the editor of the Daily News-Record. "The Friendly City and surrounding Shenandoah Valley as you know it are gone … forever."

In response to a recent story on the Preston Lake development, an anonymous reader wrote on the Daily News-Record Web site, "I hope everyone enjoys Fairfax County and Arlington County, because it sounds like Rockingham County will soon be nearly identical to those two counties."

But officials say Rockingham County will retain its identity and will not become similar to Northern Virginia.

"I really don’t see us becoming an extension of Northern Virginia," said Del. Matt Lohr, R-Broadway. "We’re probably 20 years behind Fairfax and Loudoun counties when it comes to growth."

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Again, mixed use, which patterns itself to an extent after small-town life, may be coming into conflict with actual small-town life.

Permalink: http://womblemultifamilyandmixeduse.blogspot.com/2007/01/is-rockingham-county-va-becoming.html

Mixed use in Hampton Roads area of Virginia

According to a Jan. 6, 2007, article in the Virginian-Pilot, a major mixed-use building will sprout in Norfolk, Va., and will be ready for occupancy by 2010. It's the planned $150-million Wachovia Center in downtown Norfolk, just north of the city's central business district.

The 22-story building will include 250,000 square feet of office space, 175 apartments, and 50,000 square feet of retail space spread over 4.5 acres. Plus, the city will build two garages that will house 2,000 parking spaces. It's going to fall in the category of transit-oriented development, since it will be right in front of a stop on the city's proposed light rail line.

Business tenants will include the building's developer, S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co., as well as Wachovia and Goodman and Company, a major regional accounting firm. Construction will begin in mid-2008.

Norfolk is facing a crunch for office space, and this building may help alleviate the shortage.

Permalink: http://womblemultifamilyandmixeduse.blogspot.com/2007/01/mixed-use-in-hampton-roads-area-of.html

Baileys Crossroads looks at mixed use

Fairfax County, Va., is farther from D.C. than close-in Arlington, and Fairfax (the county that includes Tysons Corner) is known for its traffic problems and for its sprawl almost as much as it's known for its wealth and its high-tech companies. Perhaps mixed-use development will help alleviate Fairfax's problems. Here is a very recent, brief article from the D.C. Examiner.


Baileys Crossroads could be 'next urban hub,' land experts say
William C. Flook, The Examiner
Jan 1, 2007

A panel of land-use experts says Baileys Crossroads could be "the area's next urban development hub," recast in a mold similar to that of Rosslyn or Ballston.

After a weeklong study of the area, the Urban Land Institute last month suggested that Fairfax County officials plan for higher density mixed-use development akin to Arlington County's pedestrian-friendly, rail-driven neighborhoods.

The area now exists largely as an aging commercial hub defined by the intersection of Columbia Pike and Leesburg Pike.

"The ULI study was very exciting, because it was a fresh look," said Supervisor Penelope Gross, who represents Mason District. "The caution we need to take with the study is that it is looking out 20 years, so there are a lot of things that would have to happen before you can achieve that particular vision."

For example, property owners must be interested in investing in the community’s revitalization, she said.

The report is the latest manifestation of the hope that Arlington County's Rosslyn-Ballston corridor can be duplicated somewhere in Fairfax County, though the county has yet to come close to that goal. The communities are often cited as examples of successful land use, with manageable traffic and dense development.

Baileys Crossroads is not far from Metro's Orange Line.

"You have the opportunity for more mixed-use [development] so that you put people where they can live and work and shop in the same area without having to get in their car and go a long way," Gross said.

ULI will also recommend that officials move forward and fund a streetcar proposal, coordinate transportation with neighboring jurisdictions and plan the area "in terms of districts surrounding transit stops," according to the group.

Permalink: http://womblemultifamilyandmixeduse.blogspot.com/2007/01/fairfax-county-va.html