The Hyde Park Newsletter and web site publishes a monthly column on the many major real estate and retail developments in our downtown neighborhood. Written by Board Member Tom Lauria, "Ballston Update" includes material and news edited from published and public sources, as well as personal observation, actual original reporting when warranted and some good, old-fashioned gossip-mongering once in a while -- all to inform and entertain Hyde Park residents and our visitors during a time of tremendous and on-going change.
BALLSTON UPDATE
November, 2008
Our Own Field of Dreams
The northwest corner of Randolph and Glebe continues to wait for an identity. For years, it was a busy construction yard and staging area for crew and equipment needed to build and then re-build the mall’s parking structure. Between phases, the lot stood idle for years. Sure enough, the Kettler Caps ice rink was erected, and the triangular corner was busier than ever, with a camp of trailers and an armada of trucks. Eventually, the slightly wavy property was graded, leveled, seeded and then essentially left for dead. If ever there was an urban no-man’s-land, it’s hard-scrapple field of dying crabgrass that languishes across the street.
Again and again, we find ourselves waiting for something to happen at the Randolph and Glebe triangle. The miniature golf course concept kicked-around for a few years as the County looked in vain for a commercial developer willing to pay for it.
People from other neighborhoods disapproved of the miniature golf concept but we who look directly at it decided to wait until there were actual plans to review before we bothered to get all upset. We’re still waiting…
Meanwhile, the seeded grassy knoll grows sunburned and patchy before fading to a colorless brown void for the winter. It’s hard to find a place more lifeless. It’s not even a lawn.
About a month ago came the news the County had turned the parcel over to the Virginia Tech Architecture and Design School to serve a blank slate for ideas in a student design competition. Outdoor public dancing was cited as one of the potential functions. We’re all for nurturing emerging talent and recognizing able student work…but how long is it going to take? Forgotten in the long, slow development of this public parcel is the couple of decades that residents of the Hyde Park and many others have patiently waited for a park to happen.
The County is pre-occupied with the idea that a conventional park will be under-ultilized. But if they would only activitate and illuminate the frost glass elevator shaft that hurries folks up to the skating rings, the County would find plenty of folks milling about, enjoying shade trees, flowers and a fountain. How hard could it be to bring some class and dignity to a barenaked corner?
Tom Lauria
A Dozen Little Vest Pocket Parks
What is a park? An open public green space with seating and appropriate landscaping and (we hope) a few amenities. Parks can be half the size of Wyoming or just a little sliver between two buildings downtown. Most often in cities, they are a city-block or two or more and include sporting fields and picnic areas.
In auditing the public green spaces in Ballston, our neighborhood compared well to many older downtown/city centers. Ballston is far more verdant and airy. One is never more than block away from a shady place to sit down, off the beaten path, amidst greenery, trees, flowers and shrubs. If we can sit down in that kind of setting, it qualifies in my book as a little “vest pocket” park; a restful infill. Some of the sites discussed below stirred-up a ruckus during this article’s research phase. “That’s not a park!....you call THAT a park?!” “Yes I do; there are benches, landscaping and outdoor art – it qualifies” I said, then and now.
The first few on the list are obvious places to park, but it does get dicey later on.
Nature Conservancy Native Plants Garden -- Behind their HQ on Fairfax, between Stuart and Taylor Streets, the Nature Conservancy planted a public collection of native flowers, trees, shrubs and vines indigenous to the region. It is overgrown and a bit woolly but lovely, nonetheless.
The Ellipse -- Between the towering Jefferson and the stylish Deco NRECA towers, the oval park within the Ellipse is an intimate public space with a stately bronze European fountain. Benches under cherry trees mix with the restaurant seating next the planted beds of flowers. A people place, for certain.
Wellburn Park – An asymmetrical cluster of Magnolia and a sleek green lawn mark the unofficial “town square” of Ballston; across from the buses on Stuart.
Westin Entrance -- Behind the hotel’s circular drive is a pergola and slated-lined walls with inset water cascades. When café chairs are present, this is welcome public space that is a great place to catch some rays at lunchtime.
Liberty Center – If minimal design strikes a cord, here’s Ballston zen retreat. Low slung benches line-up along a ground-level sheet of water that sprays a center row of undulating water bursts. A modernist backdrop “wall” of mosaic glass seems appropriate in such a dramatic setting on Wilson between Randolph and Quincy.
The Flame – No sculpture in Ballston has marked the urban landscape as distinctly as “the Flame” at the SW corner of Fairfax and Glebe. Contemporary benches and a brand new collection of grasses and crepe myrtles allow for seated visitors. This will seem a more park-like setting in a year or two.
NSF Pyramid -- Sunk within its below-grade cobblestone basin, the National Science Foundation’s black granite pyramid with a brass tip probably looked better on the drawing board then in reality but the curved granite benches under the pink tulip magnolias are very inviting and very popular. The corner of Stuart and Wilson is a daytime destination.
NSF on Ninth -- Where Stafford Street and Ninth Streets meet, NSF’s has a second park that is festooned with walls of pink impatiens and shady benches hidden from the street. Over the years, this little park has grown more and more appealing.
Waterfall on Quincy – Sometimes the very best of intentions don’t quite pan out. The brown tile “waterfall” at Quincy and Fairfax looks a bit institutional; at least the gardens surrounding it are sure to mature into lush greenery.
Metro Center on Fairfax – Alright, it’s a glorified bus stop but it’s mobbed with seated lunch-munchers and folks enjoying the shady trees. Cyclists congregate and planted flowerbeds sometimes look nice. All and all, it feels like a park.
Quincy Lane Cut-thru – Behind Tara Thai’s sidewalk cafe, from Fairfax to the library property on Quincy, there’s a slender green thread of a park where pedestrians can stop and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. This is not the place to go for landscaping but one can be far from the maddening crowd.
Mosaic Park – Last month’s column feature shows a great deal of promise once Founders’ Square rolls along.
Coming soon: Besides more Mosaic Park, look for the impressive plans for Founders’ Square, when implemented, to attract future strollers. The upcoming complex at Wilson and Glebe will have a park (over parking) that is certain to entertain the VA Tech students inside. At Quincy and Fairfax, Ballston will get both a block-long park and a live theater, next door to the County Library.
As for the empty triangle across the street, the County just announced a design competition among VA Tech students for a host of creative designs, including a public dance facility. The miniature golf course appears up in smoke at this time.
After our scenic Ballston walkabout, we return to the Hyde Park grounds along Glebe and Henderson. The land surrounding our building is not a park at all, but a mature, dignified green buffer zone that is actually larger overall than most of the little parks on tour. Ballston’s finest park of all is the Hyde Park Plaza on the roof of our parking structure. With a winding brick path, a gentle hill, a teak picnic pavilion and lovely seasonal plants surrounding a lush green lawn, this private getaway is perhaps the Hyde Park’s most overlooked asset. Visit it more often. After all, it’s yours.
September 2008
Piecing Together Mosaic Park
Let’s start with a quote from County Board Chair Walter Tejada: “Founders Square replaces a bus garage that paid no property taxes with an outstanding mixed-use development that will provide transit-oriented offices, homes and shopping in the heart of Ballston. In addition, residents will get a bigger, better Mosaic Park.” Mr. Tejada refers to the community benefit of the land exchange that will significantly expand Mosaic Park in granting bonus density and height for Founders Square.
These days, Mosaic Park is a spare 1.08 acre playground for kids but as a landscaped “park” it’s a bit of an odd-duck. Bordered by Quincy, 5th Street and Pollard Streets, the park’s few trees are immature and the parched lawn is just heavily-mowed crabgrass for the most part. There’s a climbing wall and a 3-D Spider Web that look like props from “The Jetsons.” Fortunately, the two modish climbing apparatus are often teeming with kids. That’s good; it’s in use. A further expansion of Mosaic Park with new landscaped areas dotted with benches and some donated amenities (to be announced) would be a huge neighborhood benefit. The two tall residential towers going up at Founders Square will be directly across from it on Quincy. Fifty-one percent of the entire footprint of Founder’s Square is open space and it will flow seamlessly into Mosaic Park for added pedestrian greenway. Good for Ballston.
When? We’re all eager to view the landscape plan for Mosaic Park, but a final design is at least a year away. When completed, Mosaic Park with cover 2 and one-half acres. The new areas of expansion are the current asphalt Metro parking lot and the tiny, in-fill property that Mack’s garage sits on. The County already owns cleared land fronting Pollard Street. Once the Metro buses move, likely by spring 2009, their parking lot on Quincy will then convey to the County. Mack’s faces eviction and will have to relocate. The landscapers will then fill-in behind the bulldozers. Gone is any further discussion of relocating the recycling station across Quincy Street. A new County drop-off location will be announced soon. (Informed gossip: it may be an area near the new high school.)
What’s New? The land swamp may not be finished. The County is negotiating with the folks who own Gold’s Gym, for property they own that could evolve into the northern edge of the park. It’s currently their rear parking lot. The County is serious about Ballston having an open green area in our burgeoning downtown’s busy southern corner.
Nicest Feature -- Its location! Just across the street from Founder’s Square planned glass block sidewalk parkway, the new park is welcome transition into a residential neighborhood, just as the multi-use park next to the main library on Quincy blends into its surrounding area. The Shooshan Company’s contributions, above and beyond the land exchange, means the new park is sure to feature some nice amenities. I take the name literally and would enjoy a collection of outdoor public art pieces composed of mosaics being an unusual focal point to attract and entertain park visitors. They can call it … Mosaic Park!
Tom Lauria
August 2008
County OKs Founders Square Project
In a PowerPoint presentation to the Hyde Park during the July 16 Board of Directors meeting, developer John Shooshan and attorney John Kinney presented the final renderings of the Founders Square site plan. The redevelopment to replace the Metro bus yards recently sailed through the Planning Commission with 9-to-1 approval. On Saturday, July 19, The County Board swiftly gave Founders Square a final OK. We expect construction to commence by early winter, 2008. It’s a huge project and it will take years.
The evolved, second-generation schematic renderings of Found Square show increased emphasis on ground floor retail and open public spaces, parkway and sidewalk cafes. There’s now a twenty-foot wide walkway between Quincy and Randolph the cuts down the middle of the project. It is clear Ashton Heights voices were heard on this matter. An “axis-to-the-mall” pass-through in this block has been discussed for decades. Lo and behold, it is finally here.
When? Construction of the one story retail annex on Quincy (for now, the recycling lot) could start as early as this winter. Chicken shack “Super Pollo” has a long lease but agreed to transfer to the one-floor, neighborhood-facing retail area. The super-secure Department of Defense tower for DARPA and the 12 floor residential tower on Quincy are slated to start construction by spring 2009. In Phase Two: a 15 floor office building (now the Shell station) and its 17-to-19 story residential tower at the corner of Quincy and Wilson will open in 6 to 7 years, given the current market conditions.
What’s New? Environmentally-aware HP residents, rejoice! The aging asphalt bus yards are an EPA “brown field” classification – not good. Founders Square as a development site was just awarded a LEEDS Platinum level certification. That’s an unprecedented designation for new eco-savvy new projects, and it will be right next door. A Total of 51% of the 5.35 acre site footprint is green space, open to public and adding fresh air and light. The developers noted the site’s many green areas are being designed by a “world-class” landscape architect firm. They plan two edgy slim-panel water curtain fountains that look great in a slide. We’ll see. The buildings themselves will be LEEDS Silver rating when they are finally erected.
Nicest Feature – We return to that important new sidewalk/promenade that cuts through that huge block. It will be dramatically paved with translucent, recycled glass block. The 20 foot wide glass path is edged with the two fountains, space-age lighting and lined with sidewalk cafes and benches. It promises to be a unique destination in its own right.
With final approval in hand, there’s still time for a few site amendments. The County wants a larger, greener, more expensive Mosaic Park (which will be discussed here next month) and they are willing to trade extra stories is nearby towers for a few developer-provided amenities.
Tom Lauria
July 2008
Mid-Year Update of Previous “Ballston Updates”
It seems that many HP residents are paying attention to this “Ballston Update” column. Lately this author has been pleasantly peppered with questions about projects previously discussed here. So here’s a mid-summer’s progress report on our neighborhood.
Miniature Golf Course: The planned, architecturally-inspired miniature golf course at the grassy triangle of Glebe, Randolph and the skating rink complex is very much in active development. The County proudly is calling for “world class” design but so far no deep-pocketed developer has committed to partnering with the County. And there’s a rumor the Washington Capitals don’t like the idea. Token neighborhood resistance has come from Ashton Heights and Buckingham homeowners who want a simple, tree-lined green space with a fountain. The Hyde Park is much closer to the site and could impact the decision if called upon. We’d want to review finished drawings of the final site plan before making a fuss. Few of us will actually use a little green park. And the novelty of a one-of-a-kind urban miniature golf course would be quite newsworthy. Yet another Ballston landmark; right on our door-step.
Founders Square: Since meeting with the HP last October, the developers have made great progress in finalizing the Founders Square site plan’s lengthy approval process. They go before the Planning Commission on July 7th and The County Board on July 19th. We are prepared to support the site plan. Look for a date soon when the Shooshan group will make another presentation to the HP.
800/900 Glebe – Viriginia Tech: Many HP’ers have commented on prominent article in the Washington Post about Virginia Tech’s $80 million, seven-story office tower with 144,000 square feet of research and classroom space. Its footprint is the former Staples store. Can’t wait for the first floor science-themed discussion cafe Cafe Scientifique to open. Here’s a lesson in PR: The Post article confirmed every detail about VA Tech that was discussed in this column two months ago. In the news world, there’s a disconnect between when real estate developments are actually finalized and when big media recognizes it, if ever.
The new Market at Glebe and Pershing: The store won’t be Trader Joe’s, and that’s too bad for us gourmet bargain-hunters. A small development team from Prince Williams County, who already own the Ventura Grocery on Cockrell Road in Manassas, are actively seeking to develop the retail market segment of the Buckingham Shopping Center redevelopment and sources tell us they are close to deal with the County. A spokesman describes the store as a general grocery with a focus on Latino foods. The 5000 square foot market will sit where CVS is now. During construction, CVS will move into the current Glebe Market building. The new market will feature a coffee shop and a cafeteria that sells prepackaged foods. They’ve got the room for a sidewalk café, let’s home they take advantage of it.
Coming Soon: We will be talking to the American Service Center soon and will update HP residents when new information warrants on the status of the site plan.
Tom Lauria
June 2008
One Up, One Down at Fairfax Drive and Quincy Street
Word is out that the two-building project spearheaded by Donohoe Construction as the developer, has faltered. The County has closed the books on site plan. That means CarPool is alive and well this summer and beyond, so if that’s your place, enjoy.
On the other hand, WCI Communities’ “The Club on Quincy” received the final County approval in November 2007 for a 12 storey condominium over what is now Arlington Funeral Home and its parking lot. According to the Washington Post, “Residents will be able to lounge on a landscaped deck, swim in a large pool, relax in an outdoor spa or admire a decorative fountain.” The plan also calls for an elegant party room with catering kitchen and this novel idea: a news lounge with coffee service for residents to share the daily newspapers and visit with each other in the morning.
When? The Club On Quincy’s sales website is up and taking inquiries. The developers expect to break ground in early 2009.
What’s New? The recycling of an old funeral home into a new high-rise structure is new and different. The project allows Arlington Funeral Home to remain in basically the same location. It will have its own parking level and formal entrance.
Nicest Feature – On the side of building that fronts on Quincy, the residential building with 120 units will have a landscaped entry plaza and a small live-theater adjacent to Arlington County’s main library. The two entities tie-in together beautifully, at least on paper. We’ll see; the potential is there for a nice cultural corner in busy Ballston.
Tom Lauria
May, 2008
The Ballston Science and Technology Alliance to open Café Scientifique
Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, The Ballston Science and Technology Alliance (BSTA) is a non-profit organization established to serve those engaged in and interested in science and technology. They regularly meet in the atrium of the National Science Foundation complex (catered by “The Front Page” Restaurant) but are working toward a permanent new home.
Why Ballston? Ballston is home to many of the premier science and technology research firms and organizations found in Arlington, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), DARPA, Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), and a variety of private organizations, including CACI, one of the top defense contractors in the country, The Nature Conservancy, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the National Security Administration. Ballston is also headquarters to Plateau Technologies.
When? BSTA wants to engage the general public in a dialogue about contemporary science and technology and its impacts on everyday life. BSTA is working with JBG developers and Virginia Tech to develop a purpose-built science center and internet café on the first floor of a new office building approved for the Peck/Staple site on Glebe Road. So we’ll see it when 800/900 Glebe is complete. For now, an ad-hoc Café Scientifique is on-going at the NSF.
What’s New? Upon Introducing Café Scientifique, BSTA is updating the venerable salons of the 17th and 18th century. The French made food and drink a requirement along with the discussion of science and technology and their impact on society. The British formalized concept in 1998 and started over 30 cafes throughout the UK. The idea is to promote public engagement with science and to make science more understandable and accountable to the public. Everything old is new again; welcome to the plugged-in salon, with lattes, sandwiches and wireless internet on the side.
Nicest Feature -- It’s not a chain! Unique destinations give neighborhoods a sense of their own identity. Café Scienifique will solidify Ballston’s reputation and niche as a scientific hotbed. Nationwide outlets, like Starbucks, have their place in a downtown environment but nothing beats the local haunts and this one promises to be one-of-a-kind in the D.C. area.
April 2008
Final Approval for New Project at Glebe and Wilson Turns Peck into Tech
The Arlington County Board’s rapid final approval last month for a major mixed-use project at 800/900 Glebe at the corner of Wilson Blvd. and Glebe Road must have set an indoor track record for speed. Developer JBG, Inc. will soon replace the former Bob Peck car dealership and Staples store (and the immediate neighborhood to its west) with two office buildings totaling 415,000 square feet with a landscaped public plaza, as well as a snazzy block of 28 deluxe, high-tech townhouses on both sides of Wakefield Street and a new 4-storey, 90-unit apartment building with an affordable rent structure that replaces Jordan Manor’s very-tired 22 units on Wilson. In all, it covers 4.83 acres and it’s all a go! Wait, there’s more: Virginia Tech is prepared to lease one of two offices buildings for a research center and urban campus. In this deal, the Hoakies are coming to Glebe and Wilson!
The 10-story office building right at the corner includes 282,989 square feet of office space and 26,292 square feet of ground floor retail space. The seven-story office building, mid-block along Glebe Road, will include 132,827 square feet of office space and 9,949 square feet of ground floor retail. A landscaped 6,600 square foot public plaza will separate the two buildings. Underground, a 933 space parking garage will accommodate plenty of commercial traffic. Someday, the Westin Hotel will overlook a verdant park and not empty garage bays.
When: Even after final approval, construction projects can take many months to begin to the big dig, even if the developer is ready. Having a major tenant on deck can seemingly give any project-launch a pair of wings. 800/900 Glebe will no doubt be built in stages. IF they start digging by summer, we’ll see a tall new crane by Thanksgiving. It would be the first of several cranes over the next couple of years.
What’s New: The speed and civility in which the Bluemount Civic Association, the County and the developers got it done. Everybody in the boat rowed in the same direction.
Nicest Feature: Soon to be part of the view of Hyde Park residences facing west, 800/900 Glebe is designed by architecture firm of Cooper Cary and they clearly reference master architect Frank Gehry. At the prime corner, a sharply-angled curtain wall of wavy glass “breaks through” the staid stone façade. The Washington Post described it as “an unfurling sail.” In the rendering, there’s a post-modern lightness to the design, much like the angled-glass ice rink across the street. 800/900 Glebe give Wilson Blvd. a western focal point and some much-needed glitz. This is a building people will stop and photograph.
March, 2008
Another Major Change in the Neighborhood: 461 North Thomas
The aging, low-rise, red brick apartment building at 461 N. Thomas St. (the building behind the Hyde Park's pool) is being prepared for demolition. The tenants moved away in January and the lower floors of the building were quickly boarded up. A spokesperson for the property's owner, Dittmar, recently told Steve Thurston of the Buckingham Herald Tribblog, that demolition would be soon, but “very much a function of the time it takes to terminate utility service” which is out of Dittmar’s control, the representative said. Dittmar is currently developing "The Amelia" on Wilson Blvd., across 9th Street from Tower Villas on the site of the former Pizza Hut. The company's investment in Ballston is extensive and growing, even in this slower real estate market.
When: The process for what will replace 461 North Thomas is on-going, added the Dittmar representative. “We’re in the process of working on plans as we speak. They haven’t been finalized,” the representative said, adding that it would be some sort of multi-family, market-rate apartment building.
“Any developer is going to strive to maximize the use of the property. If you don’t do that, it doesn’t make any sense,” the representative told Thurston.
A review of County zoning restrictions prohibits a high-rise or mid-rise in that space. According to the Arlington County Zoning Office, the building is being redeveloped “by right” meaning the company that owns the property, listed as “461 Thomas Street LC,” can redevelop the property as they wish, so long they stay within established county guidelines.
Thirty-three units maximum can fit on the 40,040 square foot lot, but any new building(s) cannot exceed either four storeys or the 40-foot height restriction, according to County zoning officials.
What’s New: After years of being surrounded by residential buildings that have seen better days, the Hyde Park now finds itself in the center of a major revitalization that now stretches beyond Ballston itself.
Nicest feature: Continued sunlight! The low-rise profile of the proposed new building or buildings means plenty of western and southern sunlight will continue to shine on the Hyde Park units and pool area facing south. Since we don't know what Dittmar's project will look like, at least we know the zoning limitations on its height and footprint will not affect our quality of life. |
