Exploring Route 1 Revitalization
The Leadership Fairfax Program discussed revitalization of the Route 1 corridor at its Program Day.
Leadership Fairfax Program (LFI) participants learned more about the Route 1 corridor and its opportunities, challenges, and resources at Leadership Fairfax’s Program Day on Thursday.
Participants met at the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity building Thursday morning for a workshop featuring local officials including Dr. Gerald Gordon, President and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority; Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland; and Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay.
The purpose of the workshop was for participants to learn about public-private partnerships to support revitalization efforts and to learn why the Route 1 corridor has remained underdeveloped compared to other areas in Fairfax County.
The morning kicked off with a presentation by Gordon, who noted that the county's office occupancy rate has an effect on revitalization. When the occupancy rate is high, more people will invest in Route 1.
“Route 1 needs to create an environment that’s conducive to the attraction and retention of businesses,” Gordon said.
Fort Belvoir could be a catalyst for bringing in biomedical companies to the route 1 corridor, said Gordon. Personalized medicine, which analyzes a patient’s genetics and makes recommendations for prevention of predisposed illnesses, is an up and coming industry that the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital can use to its advantage.
Community engagement was emphasized by participants in that morning's town hall forum. Panelist Sabrina Campbell, co-owner of Occasionally Cake, stressed that “if you support your community, your community will support you.”
One particular challenge the Route 1 corridor faces is controlling its reputation as well as outsiders' perception of the area.
Town hall moderator and WJLA reporter Gail Pennybacker asked panelists, “Is the biggest obstacle you face perception and reputation?”
Hyland replied, “It hasn’t helped."
Participants were organized into two teams: the Employer Team and the Government Team. The Employer Team organized the morning agenda, while the Government Team organized the afternoon's agenda.
The LFI program was established 24 years ago and teaches mid-level leaders from a variety of industries to enhance their community leadership skills. The program runs from September to June each year; from January to May, class participants engage in intensive study of topics representing local issues in Fairfax County.
For more information about Leadership Fairfax, visit their website.
Martin Tillett
2:26 pm on Saturday, January 21, 2012
Mr. Gordon says " Route 1 needs to create an environment that’s conducive to the attraction and retention of businesses.” I say how about businesses & office space that are conducive and attractive to customers and are community serving. Revitalization of older existing commercial corridors are all that is left in Fairfax County unless citizens want to sell off the public parks and recreation areas there is little undeveloped land left.
Moving ahead and revitalizing Richmond Highway is a good direction and the development and business community will more easily win broad public support by integrating into their planned development some community serving aspects that will add a special cachet to their sites that will increase customer visits. Fairfax County is also out of the land resources required to meet the increasing pressure of a growing population that wants more recreational opportunities.
Why can't courts for basketball, tennis, handball, or fields for soccer, football, field hockey, baseball, skating rinks, skate parks or a water park be a component for commercial and retail development? Such uses can be commercially operated with parents leaving off children for scheduled lessons and events while coordinating their shopping needs. (continued in the next comment box below)
Martin Tillett
2:42 pm on Saturday, January 21, 2012
(continuation from above) How about constructed natural areas integrated into the same sites utilizing storm water to construct water features that create a more aesthetically appealing site where people could enjoy a jog, a walk or a spot to enjoy a meal from a local business. How about an off leash dog park on the top deck of a parking garage where shoppers can leave fido in the care of a business that operates the service while the pet owner runs errands and shops? Why not establish widespread goodwill by utilizing the tremendous square footage of commercial rooftops into solar farm coops and selling cut rate electricity to their renters and to local neighborhoods to cut our demand for polluting fossil fuels?
If the corporate 1% wants to come into our community to make profits off of the 99%, then how about a demonstration of goodwill and a demonstration of social responsibility towards those that will enrich your capital investments. Many recreational facilities operated by Fairfax County already have private enterprise counterparts that are proving to be very successful. The annual costs to use Fairfax County recreation centers can be as high or higher than many commercial operations. Adding recreational and environmentally friendly amenities to your development plan would be a pioneering out of the box strategy that in my view would in the end return higher profits to the corporate investors while winning the support of the citizenry.
Mike Smith
10:55 am on Monday, January 23, 2012
To really encourage smart growth on Route 1 our officials need to work with developers to develop more office buildings that are ~8-10 stories in height with underground parking. By building underground parking the building's footprints would be smaller allowing for more space for growth and/or green space. These larger buildings would be similar to new ones in Tysons, Reston, Herndon, etc. Businesses want new buildings that have a presence where their names can be seen. Most of the buildings along Route 1 don't fit this criteria. These buildings would also benefit the area by serving as a new hub for cell towers and other communication antennas, improving coverage in the area. Adding 10-15 of these buildings to the area would improve the economy significantly and would make Route 1 an employment center as opposed to a pass through point for employees on their way to jobs elsewhere.
Martin Tillett
11:40 am on Monday, January 23, 2012
I agree, however when I sat with my community on the proposed Kings Crossing development with JPI underground and structured parking was a critical point due to limited space. When JPI and the community looked to Fairfax County to offset the cost for the expensive parking through a TIF ( tax incremental funding), a common incentive funding strategy applied elsewhere in the county, they refused to consider it. JPI argued that the current(2005) rents for office space on Richmond Highway were too low and the risk was too high to justify the expense of the underground and structured parking. To date, in my view, Fairfax County seems loathe to come up with incentives for developers in this part of the county.
The existing infrastructure on Richmond Highway is old and decrepit and the only way to upgrade storm water and other environmental as well as transportation and technology upgrades is for Fairfax County officials to overcome their own prejudicial views of the corridor and to invest here with development incentives the same as they have done elsewhere in Fairfax County. The Spring Bank community is all for development. We did not oppose the Kings Crossing Development once a consensus was reached regarding commercial/residential ratios and appropriate proffers. Fairfax County failed the Mount Vernon district by not getting behind this project and today we have a 2nd Walmart on the existing footprint of the old development without a single upgrade to infrastructure.