Alexandria, Private Developers Tout Ambitious Beauregard Corridor Revitalization Plans

Alexandria city officials and their private-sector partners have spent February on a virtual barnstorming tour, touting their plan to revitalize the Beauregard Corridor in Alexandria. The thirty-year plan calls for the 440-acre, seven-neighborhood area to undergo a dramatic increase in density (from 5.5 to 12.5 million square feet, including 703 new dwellings) while preserving and enhancing its unique topographical and green features. The remaking of the corridor is a joint venture between the city and the Beauregard Corridor Developer Stakeholders, a group whose membership includes local developer The JBG Companies, Duke Realty, Hekemian & Co., Home Properties and Southern Towers.

Big picture, the Beauregard Small Area Plan seeks to do what nearly all present-day redevelopment does - reverse the missteps of the past. Surface parking becomes public green spaces, sprawl becomes density, and auto-centric planning gives way to pedestrians, bikes, and mass transit. Planners envision the area transforming into a “garden city,” citing Roland Park in Baltimore as a model, with curving streets, courtyards, front yards, and greenways, all of it roughly bisected by the newly landscaped North Beauregard Street.

Planners also recommend the strict definition of seven distinct neighborhoods – Greenway, Garden District, Town Center, Southern Towers, Adams, Upland Park, Seminary Overlook – each with a central park. Developers have already claimed their neighborhoods; JBG (whose parcel looks to be at least as large as the other four parcels put together) has staked out almost the entire western half of the corridor (Greenway, Garden District, and Town Center. Hey, at least they didn't go with “JBGTown.”) Directly adjacent to the east is the oblong Duke Realty parcel (Adams), and along the east side, from top to bottom, are the more moderately-sized parcels of Hekemian (Upland) , Southern Towers, (Southern Towers) and Home Properties (Seminary Overlook), respectively. The logic behind the demarcation of the neighborhoods - which at present range from low to medium density - isn't entirely clear. The developers do own property within the borders of their designated neighborhoods - JBG, for example, already owns the Shops at Mark Center, as well as various apartment buildings along North Beauregard, and Home Properties owns apartments in Seminary Hill - but it's unclear how the apportioning was done (and by whom?), how binding it is, and how many of the purchases predated the mapping process.

It's still early for details about specific businesses, and representatives at recent meetings were vague or simply had nothing to report. However, planners have included three retail nodes in their plans – one in the west, in Town Center, and two in the east, in Upland and Southern Towers. These will be coveted locations for businesses – though Landmark Mall is close by, slightly to the southeast.

In exchange for access to development opportunities in the Corridor, the conglomerate has agreed to contribute just under $150 million towards a new fire station, road improvements, green public spaces, and affordable housing. The public reaction has not, however, been unanimously positive. On the public comment page the city set up, many citizens pointed out that the "townhome" style housing options would price out many of the current tenants. Others questioned the urgency behind the rollout, and wondered if it was a veiled effort by the city to raise density in the area to make up for lost tax revenues from the massive DOD facility at the Mark Center. Some questioned whether the proposed degree of density could be supported without a Metro stop (which isn't forthcoming), while still others objected on aesthetic grounds, calling it a "stepford wives" community.

The city replied by citing the surrounding areas and their projected development figures – Landmark/Van Dorn to the south plans 12 million square feet(!), Bailey's Crossroads to the north will get 5.5 million square feet - which, they say, will drastically alter

transportation and development patterns in the area, isolating and undermining Beauregard if it doesn't follow suit. Whether this is a real worry or the municipal equivalent to “keeping up with the neighbors” remains to be seen. That being said, the plan as it stands does look to be a clear improvement on the present state of the area.

If you have an opinion you'd like to share with the city or with developers, the next community meeting is on March 6. You can also weigh in online, on the citizen comment board.

Crescent Falls Church Construction Complete, Minor Finishing Touches Await

A representative of Texas-based Hanover Company confirmed that construction teams have nearly wrapped up the Crescent Falls Church project and the building received their Certificate of Occupancy earlier this summer. This is Hanover's second major development in the Metro area, having completed Ashton Judiciary Square in 2009. The 6-story, 214-unit Crescent, a mixed-use and multi-family residence in Arlington near the East Falls Church Metro, was delivered only ever so slightly behind schedule, originally set to finish earlier this spring. Given that the developers planned to start leasing this summer, and now report the building 25% leased, there is plenty for Hanover to celebrate in a downmarket summer that has seen many more groundbreakings, affordable housing plans, and proposal extension requests than ribbon cuttings. The finished community neighbors the Washington & Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) and Falls Church Park, but the area surrounding East Falls Church Metro remains underutilized - largely a commuter zone, often simply passed over by shoppers on the way to Tysons. This development is part of a larger effort by Arlington and Falls Church officials to encourage denser redevelopment that will help transform the vicinity into a more urban, mass-transit friendly locale.

The new building is stockpiled with the standard amenities: private screening room, concierge, daily hot beverage service, two courtyards – one with a fire-pit and outdoor grilling and dining areas, and the other with dual-sided fireplace and outdoor grilling and dining areas. Like Hanover's previous venture in Penn Quarter, the apartment building focuses heavily on a variety of sustainable features. Developers believe that its metro location, recycling center, technical features, "oversized" bike room, and underground parking garage with priority for low-emission vehicles will help the building receive LEED certification upon review.

Hanover's nationwide record of apartment construction and operation likely helped the company muster proper financing and get this project completed. Other projects originally expected to be delivered on a similar time-line continue to limp along through the recession with little material progress to show for their efforts. Akridge's nearby Gateway development, set for the 500 block of N. Washington Street and unveiled way back in 2006, has yet to get off the ground. Delayed by the economic downturn, developers continue to bicker with city officials over the ratio of commercial (offices and retail) to residential square footage. Akridge is proposing one 73-foot, 5-story office building with 71,000 s.f. of office space and 12,000 s.f. of retail, coupled with a slightly shorter second 5-story building, this one offering 200 units (averaging 800 s.f. in size) and 2,500 s.f. of ground floor retail space. Their current plans offer a 70-30 percent split between residential and commercial, but officials look to push developers closer to a 50-50 setup.

Hekemian's "Northgate" development, a mixed use project, including 124 rental apartments, on the N. Washington St. side of the old Pearson Funeral Home, also had an initial expected completion date in 2010, but continues to trudge through the final site plan approval process and futilely fish for financing packages. A site plan amendment to incorporate the approved North Washington streetscape design is currently under consideration; it is unknown when construction will start.

Falls Church real estate development news

New Rentals for Falls Church

FALLS CHURCH, VA - Landlords are finally getting their due. As the rental market makes a roaring comeback, developers are now aiming for, rather than backing into, the rental market. For the first time in more than 30 years, a developer is planning market-rate, rental residences in the center of Falls Church. And while several nearby projects shifted from for-sale to for-rent as the market shunned sales, developer Hekemian & Co. intends a new apartment building on three prime parcels within walking distance of the Northern Virginia township's Metro-serviced downtown. Though that would seem like a boon for Falls Church real estate, retailers and residents alike, its move that has drawn flak from local homeowners, yet given local civil servants a reason to be in good cheer. Annapolis-based Hekemian plans to bring a 304,000 square foot mixed-use development called the Northgate to the intersection of North Washington and East Jefferson Streets. Using designs prepared by MVA Architects, the Northgate development will feature 119,164 square feet of residential area, which will include 95 “luxury residential rental apartments” and 10 three-story townhouses in the rear. In an interesting twist, the developer has proposed initiating a VIP program for prospective residents that provide “move-in discounts for city employees, including teachers” – meaning no security deposits or application fees for eligible tenants. Hekemian is also setting rent on 7 of the available units at an affordable rate, so paycheck-impaired educators can look forward to a double discount as well.

The residential component is to be coupled with 22,396 square feet of retail at targeted at “higher-end retailers and services” (i.e., “a white tablecloth type restaurant” or art gallery) and 15,125 square feet of separately accessible office space, though specific tenants have not been named, and developers typically court popular opinion with such desirable tenants. Given the bevy of uses in play on the parcel, the building height will vary from 4 to 5 stories, with the townhomes standing along the building’s rear to provide a buffer with the neighborhoods beyond. The sites at 436, 458 and 472 North Washington Street currently house a cluster of single-family homes, a funeral parlor and its adjoining parking lot, respectively. Convenience aside, some local homeowners in the suburb were initially concerned about the presence of a 55 foot shopping and apartment complex on the corner. Since the project first surfaced publicly in early 2007, Hekemian has retooled their plans multiple times, in accordance with the wishes of the Falls Church Planning Commission. Those changes resulted in the loss of 19 units and subsequent creation of the townhouse buffer. Even so, some remain concerned about the developer’s push for a variance that would allow them to build up to five feet from the property line, instead of the normally regulated twenty.

While still under negotiation with the Board regarding an acceptable traffic pattern, the developer has since sought to curry local favor by promising up to $20,000 worth of streetscape improvements and shooting for an ever-popular LEED (environmentally-friendly) certification.

Though Northgate has been consistently planned as rental residences, it's been beaten to the punch by others - like Pearson Square and Avera Station - that were initially conceived as condo developments, but wound up rental due to the lack of confidence in the housing market.

Falls Church Virginia commercial real estate news