The Reston Performing Arts Center: Placemaking or Profit Taking

In what now seems like the distant past of the Reston Master Plan Task Force’s work on Phase 1, members of the task force had a head-snapping moment in one meeting about 2012 when Boston Properties’ Pete Otteni committed Boston Properties to building a performing arts center across the street from the Town Center Metrorail station.  People would actually be able to take the Metro to Reston and walk a short distance to a major theater and see a top-tier stage performance—drama, musical, ballet, opera, you name it!  No one expected Boston Properties to step up and make an unsolicited offer to build a major theater for Reston and the region.

The building of a major performance center was an idea the Reston 20/20 Committee offered in in its paper “Planning World-Class Transit-Oriented Development in Reston Town Center: The Community’s Alternative Vision.”   Reston 20/20 said, “We envision the Reston performing and fine arts center sitting directly south of the Metrorail exit, enabling ready theater access. The center would comprise a substantial performance hall--one seating on the order of 800-1,200 people, a second small (possibly “in the round”) theater for experimental and educational purposes. . . Whether integrated with the performing arts facility or not, the fine arts portion of the center would be large enough to house a quality permanent collection as well as host temporary exhibitions of world-class art. It should also house artist studios and art class rooms on the upper level(s). The studios, in particular, should face south and be open to natural light. It would probably be about the physical size of the National Postal Museum (75,000 SF) in Washington, DC. The fine and performing arts center would adjoin a large park-like plaza with trees, shrubs, benches, and possibly a sculpture garden that could include an underground parking garage beneath the park area that would serve commuters and arts center audiences alike. We anticipate such a theater-museum complex would require about 200,000GSF of development.”

And that offer showed up in Boston Properties’ presentations after the Reston Master Plan was approved.  In a series of presentations to the regional business community, Mr. Otteni presented a concept plan for the development of the area just north and west of the Town Center Metro station featuring a large circular theater just feet from the station entrance.   (See below.)  It appeared that Boston Properties was going to follow-through on Mr. Otteni surprise commitment to the Reston Task Force.  

And then, poof, the proposal was gone.  At the April 20^th “Reston . . . Blueprint for the Future” community open house sponsored by Supervisor Hudgins, Boston Properties had a new concept plan rendering with nary a sign of any planned proposed performance center.  When asked about the absence of the performance center, Mr. Otteni said that the area (“RTC III”—gray in the rendering above) was the most valuable land in Town Center and that the County had agreed to build a performance center in Town Center North.  Town Center North is, of course, a mile from the station and Mr. Otteni pointed out it would be served by shuttle buses, just like the Kennedy Center.  

Subsequently, we checked with a representative of Supervisor Hudgins’ office who said she was unaware of plans to build a performing arts center in Town Center North.  We joked that TCN would be quite crowded with all the County facilities proposed to be built there.  I told her that a knowledgeable attorney told me at the open house that there had been some kind of agreement between the County and Boston Properties to build a performing arts center near the Metro station, but that the agreement had expired.  The Hunter Mill representative was unaware that any such agreement had existed.  Nonetheless, she offered to follow up to find out any details.  

So, not only does it appear that a major performing arts center will not be within easy walking distance of the Town Center Metro station, it also means that, if one is built, it will likely be built by/for the County in Town Center North.  And that almost certainly means that it will be managed by the Reston Community Center and funded through added Reston Special Tax District #5 taxes.   To build such a major performance facility would require a huge investment and large operational expense, especially with the many parameters RCC has already laid out as requirements/features of such a performing arts center.  The prospective impact on STD#5 tax rates would be huge.   Of course, as usual, none of this will be publicly disclosed until it is too late for Reston taxpayers to stop if from occurring. 

NOTE:  When or if we obtain additional information on this situation, we will update this post and write new ones. 

Letter: Reston the destination, Damian Sinclair, Fairfax Times, December 21, 2012

Reston has a unique opportunity to position itself as the heart of a vibrant Northern Virginia region and become the number one destination for visitors outside our region. However, the work required to make that happen has to occur now. . .

Cultural tourism will be the cornerstone of any destination marketing effort. The Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival is one of the top-rated events of its kind in the country and has the potential to continue to grow in prominence. Our Oktoberfest Reston and Taste of Reston, produced by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, and the Multicultural Festival, produced by the Reston Community Center, draw tens of thousands of people into our community.

We are surrounded by a wealth of public art in our backyard thanks in part to the vision of our founder, Robert E. Simon Jr. and the efforts of our Initiative for Public Art — Reston. We have a budding regional event in the Washington West Film Festival, performances at CenterStage that rival those at Washington D.C.’s largest institutions, galleries showing some of the region’s best art and a multitude of other cultural assets that people outside our community need to see.

Reston has the opportunity to market these assets to the region and beyond and capitalize on the opportunity Metro’s Silver Line will bring. . . .

The author of this letter is the executive director for the Greater Reston Arts Center located in Reston.   Click here to read the rest of Mr. Sinclair's letter. 

Letter: Beware What Lies Beneath: Reston Planning, Reston Patch, June 9, 2011, Terry Maynard

The following is a letter I sent to Reston Patch responding to John Lovaas' commentary last week about the lull in Reston Task Force efforts.  

Last week, my friend John Lovaas wrote here at Reston Patch about the seeming lull through the November elections of the Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force in re-shaping future development around Reston’s prospective Metrorail stations.   I have a slightly different perspective.

 John is looking at the doldrums of a smooth tropical sea under a hot summer sun kept calm so as not to disturb the natives until elections for Fairfax County Supervisor are behind them.   Nothing seems to be moving.  It is like a large azure sheet stretching to the horizon and floating on a soft inviting bed.  A slight ripple in the surface is just enough to rock one to sleep.

 What he left out I believe is the trouble—and the opportunities—that lie beneath.
The developer barracudas and their accomplices, the land use attorney sharks, on the task force are working day in and day out to kill constraints on their development.

 Over the last couple of months, they have even proposed an “x-factor” (I kid you not!)—which essentially would mean no effective guidance or constraints on how much and what should be developed around Reston’s Metro stations.

It is a theme they have played throughout the process—“maximum flexibility.”   For developers and their attorneys, that means allowing very high-density commercial development, little residential development, and little or no attention to infrastructure—roads, parks, recreation, schools, workforce housing, the environment, etc.

 More worrisome, the county’s planning staff seems to have bought in to this concept at some level with its “flexible plan framework,” presenting its own version of that idea to the Task Force’s Steering Committee within the last few weeks.  

 In contrast, Fairfax County policy and the bulk of urban planning research on Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)—ostensibly what is being proposed for Reston Metro station areas—call for a balance between workers and residents in TOD areas to maximize use of public transit and minimize congestion and environmental degradation.

 And much research points to the need for residential use to predominate.   For example, recent comprehensive research by the University of Maryland’s Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD) shows that the most “performance effective” TOD areas are “high residential” areas, that is, areas with more than two residents for each worker.  A local survey by WMATA of Metrorail ridership supports the nationwide conclusions reported by CTOD.

 Two of the Task Force’s own members—Fred Costello, an engineer, and Joe Stowers, an urban planner—have even written well-documented papers for the Task Force highlighting the need for a balanced mix of workers and residents. 

 But the barracudas and sharks are ignoring them as much as possible.  

 Besides the barracudas and the sharks, however, there is a beautiful seascape of coral reefs beneath the surface of this calm tropical summer sea.   These reefs, with their highly diverse and colorful flora and fauna, not only live together, but do so in a synergistic manner that serves them all better.

 That is what we should be looking for, indeed insisting upon, in Reston’s TOD areas.  Aside from a one-to-one mix of workers and residents, we should be pursuing abundant natural, recreational, and cultural opportunities—some of which the Reston Citizens Association’s Reston 2020 Committee detailed in its alternative vision for Reston Town Center, for example.

Because Reston’s political leaders have not and will not pursue these opportunities, it is time for Reston’s civic leaders—Reston Association (RA), Reston Citizens Association (RCA), and Alliance of Clusters and Homeowners (ARCH) for starters— to step up and demand the things that will continue to make Reston a livable planned community.

 This includes manageable levels of density, a diverse mix of uses, a complete community of culture, recreation, education, nature, and mobility.  Not to do so could easily turn the Dulles Corridor area into a gridlocked maze of cheek-by-jowl glass and concrete cube office buildings more closely resembling Arlington’s Crystal City than a premier planned community.

 We need to develop a diverse, synergistic trio of TOD station areas for Metrorail similar to a healthy tropical coral reef, not a Caribbean carnivore “killing field”—and certainly the barracudas and sharks want to make a killing.

 And, lest we forget, Reston had a similar “lull” experience just four years ago.  After years of community meetings, charrettes, and committees, the summer of 2007 was extremely quiet in the planning of the re-development of the Lake Anne Village Center area.

 Then, faster than you can say “high-density, high-rise commercial re-development,” the Fairfax County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors passed a revised plan and zoning ordinance right after that year’s supervisor election.  That decision over the complaints of the area’s citizens will see Lake Anne become the focal point of congestion, environmental degradation, infrastructure shortfalls, and more, in the decades ahead—unless Reston’s TOD areas end up worse.

 You can help prevent this outcome by becoming informed and involved.  You can start by attending the June 14 meeting of the Task Force, 7:30 PM, at Langston Hughes Middle School to hear what’s on the table.  And work with RCA’s Reston 2020 Committee, one of RA’s advisory committees, ARCH’s Issue Committee, or speak up at future Task Force meetings to make your views known.


 Terry Maynard
(The author is on the board of the Reston Citizens Association)

Reston TOD Redux: The Reston Transit Charette--2002

You never know what Google will turn up as it churns through the worldwide web.  Today, it grabbed the presentation below entitled, "Reston Charette:  Transit," from July 2002. 

As it describes in the opening viewgraphs, it is the product of a multi-day citizens' symposium (charette) to garner citizen support for Metrorail and to look at what Reston citizens thought would be desirable for transit and transit station areas around Wiehle and Reston Parkway.  It's an interesting read now as we go through the Reston Task Force effort to look at the transit-oriented development (TOD) around Reston's (still) prospective Metrorail stations. 

A couple of observations:

• It highlights "common ground" facilities at Reston Parkway Station, including air rights, a 700-seat performance hall, county and community facilities, and some other amenities at a cost between $105-119 million.  (See p. 7.)  Wow!  What a bargain!  Why now are these facilities considered too expensive?  (Also, see p. 24, which graphically displays "common ground" at Reston Parkway station.  The concept, including redevelopment south of the station, is similar to that presented by Reston 2020 to the Reston Task Force within the last month.)
• It encourages more residential development in the TOD areas, noting "out of balance in massing more and more office volumes."  (p. 10)
• As the Task Force has just recommended, the Metro stations should have the word "Reston" in their title.  They should also include public art, good bike facilities, rideshare coordinator, and other features recommended by Reston 2020 in its working papers.  (p. 32)
• There is no discussion of Town Center North as being part of or linked to the Reston Parkway Station TOD area.
• In general, the development proposed for the two TOD areas is MUCH less than that now on the table for either station area.  Why?

 Reston Charette Transit 07 2002
Plus ca change, plus le meme chose!

Reston2020's Alternative Recommendations Suggest Population Explosion, Reston Patch, December 8, 2010

Group urges task force to keep growth, infrastructure in mind.

The Reston Citizen Association's Reston2020 Committee has presented an alternative proposal to the Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force, urging the group to look at work and residential occupancy forecasts for Reston that may far exceed forecasts.

Data on the alternative town center proposal show's Reston's population could grow from around 60,000 to as much as 156,000 over the next 20 years.

That's why the alternative plan urges planning around future growth expectations; and improved transportation infrastructure; an additional elementary school; 25 percent open space; and a fine/performing arts center. . . .

The rest of this article is here.  

Reston 2020's presentation is here. 

Agenda: RTF Vision Sub-committee, Wednesday, December 1, 2010

AGENDA

VISION SUB-COMMITTEE MEETING

Reston Master Plan Special Study

Date:              Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Time:                         7:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Place:                        Lake Anne Community Center

AGENDA

7:30 p.m.       Introduction

§     Purpose

§     Participants

7:40 p.m.       Administration                                                                               

§     Table of Street Classifications

§     Public Open Space

8:00 p.m.       Public Facilities

§     Schools

§     Colleges and universities

§     Art centers

§     Other

8:30 p.m.       Urban Design of the Public realm

Begin the discussion of the importance of design and place making including the design of the following;

§     Streets

§     Open space

§     Place making and public art

§     Buildings

8:50 p.m.       Next Steps

§     Public Facilities

§     Potential Land Use Scenarios

                       

9:00 p.m.       Adjourn

Planning World-Class Transit-Oriented Development in Reston Town Center: The Community's Alternative Vision, RCA's Reston 2020 Committee, November 24, 2010

Reston Town Center Alternative Vision Report--Final

Presentation for Discussion of Reston 2020 Second Draft Alternative Vision for Reston Town Center, November 16, 2010

Discussion of Draft Reston 2020 AV--11!16!10