P LANNING PRACTICE
Will Metrorail’s New Silver Line Spur TOD?
Only time, patience, and planning will tell. By Paul Moyer, aicp
Building transit lines doesn’t guarantee that
transit-oriented development will occur. TOD takes
good planning, the right market forces, and patience—
sometimes decades of effort. With the resurgence in development of transit and the construction and expansion
of transit lines in many cities such as St. Louis; Charlotte,
North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; and Orlando, it is a
good time to look at best practices learned from the more
mature systems.
The extension of Metrorail service in Northern Virginia provides a timely case study of the challenges facing
TOD, particularly in a suburban environment. Soon the
11.4-mile first phase of the new Silver Line will become
operational, connecting Falls Church in Arlington County to Reston in Fairfax County, with Phase 2 running another 11 miles westward to bucolic Loudoun County.
Heading eastward, the Silver Line extension will
join the Orange Line just west of Falls Church, continue
through downtown D.C. with the Orange and Blue Lines,
and end at Largo Town Center in Largo, Maryland, stopping at all the existing stations along the way. The Silver
Line is scheduled for completion in 2018, although the
first phase will open in 2014.
For an excellent example of the lifecycle that TOD
could experience along the Silver Line, take a look at
Metrorail’s Rosslyn–Ballston Corridor in neighboring
Arlington County (pop. 220,000). The county was considered a suburb of Washington, D.C., until the 1980s,
when county leaders saw that growth was inevitable. But
they knew residents would only accept growth if it didn’t
jeopardize the character of single-family neighborhoods,
so they directed it to areas immediately adjacent to Metro’s Orange subway line.
Such foresight set into motion the development of
a mixed use, transit-oriented growth plan that fostered
high density, seamless mobility, and the creation of a
sophisticated urban environment. Today Arlington is
often described as suburban urbanity, and the Rosslyn–
Ballston Metro corridor has long been one of the strongest real estate markets in the country.
While the Arlington experience may be considered
a model of planned growth and transit development, it
is important to note that the market took more than 30
years to catch up with the original vision and plan for
corridor growth. There can sometimes be a disjunction
between the quality of the TOD planning vision and the
reality of development economics. The benefits may take
decades to unfold, however valid the planning vision.
In learning from the past and anticipating the future,
we can point to several key factors that would impact
development along the new Silver Line, slowly changing
Metrorail’s Rosslyn–Ballston Corridor,
Arlington County, North Virginia, 1988–2012
■ ExisTIng building 1988 ■ building Construction 1988-2012
■ Metro station
MAP courtesy Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB)/MOYER
living and transportation patterns
commonly associated with suburbia.
Critical factors
Time. Planning and patience are the
keys to the success of TOD. The
original planning principles for the
Rosslyn–Ballston corridor remained
largely intact throughout its transformation despite economic slowdowns
and changing market dynamics.
In fact, much of the new density in
Arlington County was programmed
into the three-mile Rosslyn–Ballston
Corridor through a carefully devised
up-zoning policy approved by adjoining neighborhoods 30 years ago.
Before Metrorail came along, the
corridor was a low-rise commercial
area linking stable, largely singlefamily residential neighborhoods
along Wilson Boulevard, which runs
through Arlington County. With the
opening of Metro stations at Rosslyn,
Courthouse, Clarendon, Virginia
Square, and Ballston (a commercial
and office center near Interstate 66),
plus Glebe Road (a major northsouth traffic route), real estate brokers noted that residential pricing
within a quarter- to a half-mile of the
Metro stations was 15 percent higher—regardless of the condition of the
property—than comparable listings
located farther from the rail line.
Good pedestrian accessibility to
mass transit quickly drove up property values, fueling density. But
growth came incrementally—and
the same will be true with the Silver
Line. It will begin with small islands
of development that—with the right
ongoing planning, design, and infrastructure improvements—will grow
into legitimate transit-oriented developments over the following years.
Station location. The placement of a station—underground,
aboveground, or in a highway median—and its physical characteristics
play a key role in integrating the station with the community and how it
impacts development patterns.
The Rosslyn–Ballston Corridor
consists of five underground stations. The density around them is the
highest of all three station types, and
the placement has fostered a seamless development pattern with a continuous street grid and walkway system above the stations that support
24 million square feet of office space
and more than 25,000 residents.
The aboveground Metro stations
are less successful in that regard, but
they offer important lessons. King
Street Station, Braddock Road Station, and Eisenhower Avenue, all
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located in Alexandria, Virginia, have helped spur significant development, but their platforms are still not fully integrated with
surrounding development.
In each case the platforms are elevated 20 feet or more, separating the stations from their surrounding neighborhoods and
creating a physical barrier. All of these stations include large
amounts of adjacent surface parking—creating a greater divide.
These aboveground stations have seen much slower development
than underground stations, although it does depend on the configuration of land infrastructure associated with the station.
One solution would be to integrate the Metrorail stations and
platforms directly into mixed use development instead of treating stations as a separate physical building, which then requires
various treatments to connect with the adjacent development.
This is how underground stations function: They are an integral
part of the buildings and associated streetscape, creating a connection to the station exit.
Rising above I-66’s median, the East and West Falls Church
and Vienna stations illustrate a very different development pattern. Commuter parking and a mixture of housing types are the
primary uses of space next to each station. Their median placement separates the stations from the residential areas, and there
is limited mixed use development or retail development nearby.
These suburban areas have been less impacted by transit.
A 2010 plan for the East Falls Church station proposed mixed
use development on several key sites, including the existing
parking lot. Virginia’s Department of Transportation has issued a
Request of Interest for developers who may want to develop the
air rights above I-66 and a portion of the Metro. These activities
highlight the fact that it has taken three decades for the pressure
to build for further development in this area.
At the Vienna Metro station, located 10 miles west of Washington, in neighboring Fairfax County, the MetroWest development has been in process for nearly 10 years. The town houses
have moved toward completion, but the higher density mixed use
development nearest the Metrorail station has taken longer.
Recently, the developer offered an alternative plan for the
retail center, proposing a significant reduction in density that
would yield a more suburban-style development. The change
reflects current market conditions, the developer argued, noting
that the original plan’s larger mixed use development was unlikely to evolve for 15 to 20 years and describing the revised plan
as a temporary use that will develop more densely in the future.
It’s clear from these examples of long-existing aboveground
and highway stations that it will take the Silver Line—whose 11
stations are all above ground—much longer to become a TOD
than did the Rosslyn–Ballston Corridor.
Existing development. The style, age, and scale of existing development around the planned Silver Line stations will impact new development.
The Silver Line is planned as a 23-mile Metrorail system
extension connecting the existing East Falls Church station in
Arlington to Loudoun County (pop. 33,000) to the west. The
existing land-use patterns around each of the new stations are
suburban, ranging from high-density suburban environments in
Tysons Corner in Fairfax County to lower density suburban areas
in Loudoun County.
The high-density suburban, car-dominated nature of one
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Planning May 2014
area, Tysons Corner, makes a seamless TOD environment difficult. Tysons is characterized by eight-lane main roads, suburban curb cuts, strip development, and two of the largest enclosed
malls in the U.S. One of the new Silver Line stations is located
between the malls, but it is elevated 30 feet above the road and
will require substantial bridging to make pedestrian connections.
The Silver Line is already spurring redevelopment in the
western portions of Tysons Corner, near the major throughway,
Route 7 (Leesburg Pike). One project includes a multistory retail
center including a Walmart, 24 Hour Fitness gym, restaurants,
and 30,000 square feet of office space. Future phases will include
office and hotel uses. This development replaced a car dealership.
Islands of development
As the Silver Line becomes fully operational, islands of new urban TOD projects surrounded by suburban-style development
will take shape for years to come. But some of these areas may
lack connectivity to the adjacent developments or to Metrorail
stations. Metro is constructing a number of overpasses and other
direct connections to rail stations, which will help, but the scale
and style of these islands will have limited impact on the creation
of a high-quality urban environment.
The area around the new Greensboro Metro station along
Route 7, just northwest of Route 123, has been designated in the
Tysons Corner Urban Center Comprehensive Plan as a highdensity mixed use center. Over time, planners and others anticipate that this area will become Fairfax County’s downtown, with
commercial development, market-rate and affordable housing,
urban open space, and pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly streets.
Beyond Tysons, the town of Herndon provides another example of TOD planning. It has engaged my company, the planning
and engineering firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, to prepare a Station Area Master Plan. The plan lays out a framework for redeveloping the areas north of the Herndon station, which includes
adding 3.7 million square feet of commercial development and
2,300 residential units. The planned development would increase
the floor area ratio to 4.0 from 1.0.
Herndon is working on zoning changes and other supporting
plans and policies to encourage TOD-style projects near the station while also providing pedestrian-friendly connections to the
historic village center nearby. The challenge will be to link the
traditional core with the TOD center. In Herndon, higher density
development is somewhat limited because of existing residential
areas near the station, but there is still significant opportunity for
redevelopment.
From these experiences, we can begin to anticipate what to
expect and also plan where to go from here:
Development will slow after the initial wave, and it’s likely
that gaps will occur between existing and newer development
for many years. Developers have submitted plans that essentially
would use all allowed development density—more than 36 million square feet—identified in the Tysons Corner Plan. That said,
build-out could take much more than 25 years. Still to be determined is how these islands of development will connect to each
other to create a seamless, successful TOD environment.
All modes of station access should be planned for and integrated into the system. Vehicles, buses, pedestrians, and bicycles
are all important to creating attractive, efficient, and vibrant TOD
P LANNING PRACTICE
around the stations—as is integrating the rail stations into lives
of residents. Investment in multiple transportation modes and
infrastructure will help get people to the station without driving.
This will require more than simply filling the gaps in the sidewalk network. It will take careful design and improvements to
that network to help people get across wide streets, interchanges,
and suburban areas.
Ultimate success of TOD in suburban environments requires
to reshape each location, while addressing practical
short-term needs each step of the way. Some of the specific elements of these interim steps are:
nn Parking ratios that decline over time as the TOD area
becomes more transit friendly and less dependent on
vehicles;
nn Incorporating interim buildings or other elements such
as pop-up retail that can create some pedestrian vibrancy
until permanent development occurs;
nn Providing continuous pedestrian and bike facilities that
connect the islands of development;
nn Mitigating the impact of construction activities on existing
buildings and infrastructure; and
nn Frequent and open communication. ■
Map Courtesy Dulles Corridor Metrorail ProjecT
bold moves
Paul Moyer is director of planning for Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB) in the
firm’s Tysons Corners office. He has been practicing planning in the Washington,
D.C., area for 26 years, specializing in land use, transportation, and economic
development.
R e s o u rc e s
online Smart Growth in Action: Rosslyn–Ballston Metro Corridor:
www.smartgrowth.org/action/pdf
/cs_014_RosslynBallstonVA.pdf.
An Analysis of the Rosslyn–Ballston Metro Corridor: www
.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/projects/reston/communitydocs
/analysis_zigadlo_costello_rosslyn-ballston.pdf.
40 years of Smart Growth: TOD in the Rosslyn–Ballston
Metro Corridor: www.arlingtonva.us/Departments
/CPHD/planning/powerpoint/rbpresentation
/rbpresentation_060107.pdf.
“10 Strategies for Attracting Investment Near
Transit, Lessons Learned from the San Francisco Bay
Area,” Urban Land Institute–San Francisco: www.
reconnectingamerica.org/assets/Uploads/20111011ULITODReportweb.pdf.
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