SFDC Talks Hotels, Local Tourism
The Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation organized a panel event Wednesday at the SpringHill Suites on Richmond Highway to discuss the future of the local hospitality industry.
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The Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation (SFDC) hosted a panel on the current state and future of the hospitality and tourism industry on the Richmond Highway corridor on Wednesday at the SpringHill Suites.
Demographics along the Richmond Highway corridor generally reveal a younger, less-wealthy renter's market compared to the rest of county, according to David Nissenson, Mareth Advisors; however the region is poised to accrue wealth at a faster rate overall.
Barry Biggar of Visit Fairfax spoke on the size and scope of the tourism industry at the national, state and local levels. The Mount Vernon Estate draws in over one million visitors a year, he said, and is part of the "historical triangle" with Gunston Hall and Woodlawn Plantation. (Biggar talked to Patch in December.)
Vik Patel of Baywood Hotesls announced plans for two extended-stay hotels near Fort Belvoir. With the advent of BRAC, he said, there's a demand for extended-stay hotels. However, a lack of vacant land, zoning appraisals and high barriers to entry present challenges locally to hoteliers.
Typically, Patel said he looks for areas with an occupancy rate above 62 to 65 percent. Many chain hotels along the corridor are over the 70 percent threshold.
The morning started off with remarks from Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland (D), who mentioned the evolution of the corridor from the days of the "no-tell motels" of rampant prostitution. Richmond Highway—Hyland's preferred monicker to what many call 'Route 1'—is now a "place of opportunity and to make money."
Huntington is a prime example of the corridor's present and future opportunities, according to Hyland. Its proximity to Metro has led to recent commercial developments—with a couple more in the planning stages.
For a link to the PowerPoint presentation from Wednesday, click here.
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KG
8:03 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
I for one, am SO tired of hearing about plans for "Route 1"! I have lived here since 1997 - I am one of the business owners that had to file bankruptcy due to the low income surroundings - one of the worst experiences of my life. On top of that, people that live here, commute to work and they do their shopping and dining in better areas like Tyson's and Arlington. When they get home, that's it, they stay in. Budget hotel on top of budget hotel, strip-shopping on to of strip-shopping, is NOT going to improve the reputation, nor look of Route 1. You need to build homes and some upgraded hotels & shops. What is there here to shop at or for besides pet supplies and fast food? No big name stores or a mall. You can keep trying, but I'm sorry, you will never succeed until these types of upgrades take place. BTW, I never heard of Section 8 until I moved here. People are so proud of living off the government; it's sad. I moved here for the opportunity of opening a business, and it was the worst decision ever made!
Steven Larsen
12:39 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
KG - you're right on with your assessment and I'm sorry to hear of your experience. I've lived here for nearly 22 years. Seen a few improvements like elimination of by-the-hour motels, other blight, etc. But the real drive to make Route One...sorry the Richmond Highway Corridor….has to come from raising the standards of what we expect and demand without forsaking the rich diversity we have in this part of the county. In my 2+ decades here, we've always been considered the step-child of the wealthiest county in America - in local businesses (albeit we do have many fine ones), schools, shopping, etc. Proliferation of strip malls, etc. won’t do it. I'm a builder/contractor and most of my work keeps me near the Potomac (call it the Ft Hunt Rd corridor), Arlington, McLean, etc. where home values remain high. It all comes down to property values. And the only way to significantly improve them in our section of the county is to attract business that pay more than service-sector minimum wage jobs. We need to make Mount Vernon a place to want to both live and work. We need office parks, businesses that attract a skilled work force (white and blue collar), mid & upscale shopping, restaurants, good hotels with conference space, etc. The $64,000 question is how to get there from here…… Will Metro extension do it? Widening of Route 1? A few more Costcos? More thoughtful rezoning?
David Versel
2:58 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
I'm very sorry to see the above comments that are critical of the direction of things on Route 1, because I am seeing a very different picture every day of the week in my job at SFDC.
I challenge the assertion that local residents do their shopping and dining elsewhere--if that's true, then how could Beacon Center be 100% full and be the best performing property in terms of sales per square foot in BF Saul's entire portfolio? I also challenge the notion that we're not building higher-end housing. We have 300 units of high-end rental housing about to open at the Beacon of Groveton, and six other developers have active plans to build another 2,500 luxury apartments and townhomes along the corridor.
Finally, I take exception to the comment that the new hotels in the area are "budget hotels"--they are mainly catering to business travelers and are pulling in rates in excess of $150 per night during the week. The success of these new hotels is precisely why SFDC convened yesterday's summit--we wanted to dig deeper and see how we can build on this momentum so that we can attract full-service hotels with conference/ballroom space and fine dining. That was the whole point.
Finally, in regard to the question about what the future holds, I encourage you to read my most recent article on Patch (http://mountvernon.patch.com/blog_posts/thinking-big) and to check back for more, as I'll be writing regularly.
Martin Tillett
4:24 pm on Saturday, February 18, 2012
I read your article and found it upbeat as one should from a person in your position. You should be the leading authority on the subject. I've known a number of people in your position at SFDC and found them equally optimistic as they too tried to sell the highway as a place to set up business. Regardless, there is much truth in the comments by the others and you should know that not all of the rent by the hour motels are gone, Two exist next to my community and at least 4 others exist between Kings Crossing and the beltway. There is potential here but after being here since 1981, it seems more often than not that real revitalization is nothing more than an afterthought. The first thing that greets visitors coming off the beltway or out of Old Town heading south on US 1 is a weed choked overgrown lot on the east side (looked the same in 1981) across from car dealerships, an old motel and empty structures lingering since the bridge reconstruction. Huntington Gateway looks nice but as one heads farther south you are greeted by more old motels, another car dealership and shortly after the beginnings of very old and run down strip shopping centers on both sides with empty stores, more motels, an over abundance of drug stores, fast food eateries and predatory loan stores up to Beacon Hill and beyond. Very cosmopolitan!
m.tracy
12:44 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
nice to hear beacon mall is best perfrming property in a BF Saul's portfolio, but that doesn't change the fact that the big questions aren't being addressed, and the spot rezoning favored by the board of supervisors is only exacerbating the problems .i don't share the optimism that the beacon of groveton will work out to be "luxury" housing-- and seriously doubt anyone will pay $2000 a month for a 1000 sf apt in a development that already incldues a monstrous 500 car garage in what might have been open space. it's hard enough to get to an from t beacon mall these days-- 8-10 minutes sometimes to get on rte1/beaconhill crossing from the shopping center.; several minutes to exist on memorial drive--and it will o nly get worse if they complete the large office bldg and retail space. as david said in his earlier article, bus service won't solve the problem, and hopes for light rail or metro extension are pipe dreams. (even if the money were there, it would be difficult to fit in because the dense new development leaves no room for widening rte 1.
Martin Tillett
4:53 pm on Saturday, February 18, 2012
m.tracy is right. So is Stewart Schwartz from the Coalition for Smart Growth. The transportation issue should be resolved first. The road/rail network plan must be settled first with a funding strategy in place. Properties along a defined and funded transportation corridor this close to Alexandria, Arlington and DC will be valuable enough to attract investment for mixed use development increasing housing stocks and more community serving retail and economic opportunities that pay living wages. Odd that such an approach was required for Tysons but not here.
What still remains truly lacking is a unified vision that connecting the historical and natural history assets of the MV District linked to the main street community of U.S. 1. The highway remains an eclectic mix and mess of businesses with some serving the broader community while others are there to exploit the large number of poor people in the community. Throwing in some nicer motels for the convenience of tourists wishing a closer bedroom to Mount Vernon is too narrow of a focus. Mr. Versel truly has a tough job ahead and I understand his effort to defend the purpose of the SFDC mission. If he fails to listen to citizen concerns and is too thin skinned to be open to legitimate and constructive criticism and only listens to marketing analysts and development industry specialists then I fear the highway will continue to have uneven and haphazard growth.
JCO
3:09 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012
David,
I think SFDC is doing a great job under difficult circumstances. There's a lot of potential to Rt 1, and the corridor isn't that different from what Wilson Blvd looked like in the 1970s. But as others have noted, transit is the key. Rt 1 won't become higher end "community" that attracts more professionals to spend more time (and money) here unless and until the planned "urban villages" develop in such a way that the residents of and near those communities can walk to retail and restaurants, and that's made impossible by the highway's canyon effect. I'm sure that many people, especially younger people with disposable income, are attracted to neighborhoods in which they can gather at restaurants, clubs, and pubs without having to worry about driving. As with many residents, I'm all in favor of metro or trolley lines being added to the corridor, but I also firmly believe that the county should look for ways to make pedestrian crossings safer and more practical; for instance, has the county or SFDC considered pedestrian bridges or subways at appropriate points across the highway so as to make it easier for residents to walk to retail ad restaurants? An example would be near the Beacon of Groveton - wouldn't the new residents there benefit from safely walking across Rt 1 to shop at the planned retail/restaurants across the street at East Lee, and wouldn't the new shops at the Beacon benefit if the residents east of Rt 1 can walk there safely?
Martin Tillett
8:16 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012
There have been past proposals to create underpasses for North South traffic at the major business nodes that create crossovers for cars exiting US 1 to the commercial areas that can accomodate pedestrians and cyclists. Underpasses at these places would result in fewer traffic intersections with lights and keep a better flow on the highway. VDOT has been the decider here in the past saying no to the underpass idea. It may come to pass that if enough demand comes from citizens amplified by business & elected officials that a more serious look at this kind of proposal would again be considered.