The Impending Arlingtonization of North Shore Drive: A Precursor to Reston At-Large?

Those who know me well from other message boards know that I’ve had an intense interest in urban planning for as long as I can remember. I possess such volumes as Edge City, Save our Land;  Save our Towns, Suburban Nation, and others. It should come as no surprise, then, that I’ve enjoyed sitting in on several planning sessions for Reston’s new “Master Plan” and hope to be around to watch our community’s vision be implemented for the benefit of our posterity.

What I have noticed is that there are two polar opposite sub-factions in Reston in regards to urban planning. One group, mostly comprised of Baby Boomers and senior citizens, yearns for the Reston of the past and present to continue onwards into the future under the premise of  “If it ain’t broken, then why fix it?” The other group seems to have a bit of “Arlington/Bethesda envy” and wants to see more mixed-use and transit-oriented developments come to Reston to help us emulate those communities. I suppose as a newcomer I’m still “stuck on the fence” myself and would love to see some commentary below from both sides to help sway me to assume one position or the other. As a young 20-something professional (I hate the term “yuppie”, but I suppose I am one) my initial instinct is to push for as many high-rises and train stations as possible in Reston to make our community not only less dependent upon the automobile but also making us more “hip” in the process.  Bigger buildings and more density will boost our population and increase our external recognition, making it easier for us to attract new businesses, no? Then again another part of me can’t help but feel selfish at the notion that I, a newbie, would be so willing to toss aside decades of slow-paced growth and low-density development that has apparently served the community well as it has begun to mature since its 1960s inception. Can I comfortable compromise be struck, or are we doomed to either begin to categorize ourselves as “NIMBYs” or “Arlington wannabes?”

One thing I know for certain is that we can’t continue to just stick our heads in the sand like ostriches and pretend that Northern Virginia isn’t going to be facing immense growth in the coming years. Currently Metropolitan Washington, DC is tied with New Orleans for having the nation’s lowest unemployment rate, and during times of steep economic decline those areas that do have jobs instantly become magnets for everyone. With recent announcements that companies like SAIC and Northrup Grumman are moving their headquarters here I predict that growth will most definitely continue at a rapid pace, and a large number of people are going to wish to settle in Reston whether we like it or not. We can either welcome these newcomers into our own community or try to act isolationist and encourage them to instead populate the exurban areas to our west in Loudoun County. The latter scenario could eventually backfire, though, upon Restonians as thousands of more commuters in places like Ashburn or Leesburg inevitably clog our roadways like the Dulles Toll Road, Route 7, and Fairfax County Parkway just trying to get “through” Reston to access workplaces to our east and south.

I feel as if this issue is timely, given that I have just learned of finalized plans to replace a neighboring apartment complex of mine with a dense development. For those that have not yet heard, a developer hopes to raze the existing Fairway Apartments along North Shore Drive,  just up the hill from Lake Anne Elementary School, and replace them with a 20-story high-rise along with several other mid-rise projects, all residential. There is currently an active thread on this now on the Restonian blog that I’ve added my commentary towards,  and, as you will see, I’m generally supportive of this project. My only concerns are of impending traffic congestion issues on nearby Temporary Road and potential school overcrowding at Lake Anne ES. Otherwise I appalaud the developer for responding to several concerns raised about their initial plans for the site, which includes nearly 1,000 units. Parking garages will be hidden from external view and efforts will be made to preserve and create more open space. The only other objection I’ve heard is one of aesthetics, but surely we can’t stop a developer because we all have different on ideas on how a building “should” look. For instance, I happen to think most of the tract housing communities in Loudoun County are hideous, and yet the majority of people seem to be buying them up like hot cakes at an IHOP. Obviously one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

I view the controversy over the plans to increase density along North Shore Drive to be a definite foreshadowing of the larger rift that will likely ensue in Reston once Metrorail comes and developers start to have bidding wars over properties for redevelopment initiatives. Do we want Reston to become similar to Bethesda or the Orange Line corridor of Arlington (Ballston/Rosslyn)? Is there any way we can avoid it? What are the benefits and drawbacks of our community evolving into such a place?

These are all questions I still mull over again and again in my own mind. People have told me “If you like Arlington so much then just move there.” To be quite honest while Arlington has some good elements to it I feel as if Reston could do even better if that’s the path we’re destined to pursue. What do others think?