| Would
expanding Tysons Corner mall double the county’s
trouble?
by Brett Lieberman
Virginia Business
May 2005
On weekday mornings in Northern
Virginia, Beltway traffic slows to a crawl. Yet the
pace picks up after
motorists pass the two exits that deliver many of Tysons
Corner’s 150,000 workers to their offices. During
the holiday season, residents don’t even think
of going near the mega shopping/office complex at Routes
7 and 123 — which attracts more than 20 million
visitors a year — because of the area’s
notorious traffic.
Despite complaints about congestion,
the likely expansion of Metrorail to Tysons Corner
Center is setting the
stage for more development at what is already one of
the country’s largest malls. Property owners
are willing to pay up to $400 million (through special
tax assessments) of the first phase $1.5 billion price
tag to extend the Metro because of the development
opportunities it will create.
The largest of the proposals
so far would double the size of the existing mall
to more than 5 million
square feet. Wilmorite Properties, Tysons Corner Center’s
owner, is proposing a ring of office buildings, residential
towers and hotels around the shopping center. The mall
already is involved in a 385,000-square-foot expansion
that includes a 16-screen theater, five restaurants
and several stores. That expansion alone would boost
Tyson Corner Center from the 10th to the sixth largest
mall in the U.S.
Other proposals would add
more offices, condominiums and street-level retail,
and reconfigure roads to make
them more pedestrian friendly while turning the bustling
area into a mini-city. In theory, four planned Metro
stations would take cars off the street, easing congestion.
Yet, opponents say the new development could mean more
traffic. That has some people questioning how much
is too much. The developers remain undeterred. “The
downtown of Fairfax is the wonderful victim of its
success. Most parts of the country and world would
kill to have the problems and challenges we have,” says
Antonio J. Calabrese, an attorney with Cooley Goward
LLP, the firm representing Wilmorite in its efforts
to expand.
Local leaders note that increased
density alone may not be bad. “When I look at density I look at
is it appropriate for the area, does it enhance the
community in which it’s located and can it offset
the impacts?” says Gerry Connolly, chairman of
the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, whose close
ties with local developers have been criticized.
Much of the proposed development
is contingent on expansion of the Metro, which is
looking to the federal
government for about 50 percent of its funding. Done
right, the expansions will help Tysons remain the area’s
economic engine. Done wrong, holiday shopping will
be anything but joyous.
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