The Tysons Corner - Issue #3

ENGINES OF THE ECONOMY

mAPLE AVENUE

RETURN OF THE

THE REDEVELOPMENT CYCLE TRIGGER

ISSUE #3 MAY 7, 2012

FAIRFAX PARKS GETS VOCAL

THETYSONSCORNER.COM PAGE 2

COVER PHOTO BY

mkopka

NORDSTROM WALKWAY

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY AND

GRAPHICS WITHIN THIS

PUBLICATION RIGHTS

RESERVED TO THE ARTIST

PAGE 3

THE ECONOMIC

POWER OF CITIES PAGE 7

A REVIEW OF

MAPLE AVENUE

RESTAURANT PAGE 12

WHAT MAKES IT A

GOOD TIME FOR A

PROPERTY TO

REDEVELOP? PAGE 20

A NEW BLOG BY

FAIRFAX COUNTY

PROVIDES INSIGHT

ON PARK EVENTS PAGE 11

CONNECTION

NEWSPAPER

QUESTIONS

FUTURE OF

TYSONS CORNER PAGE 4

WE ARE LOOKING

FOR WRITERS PAGE 11

This past week the Connection

Newspaper carried an article which

was critical of the future envisioned

for Tysons Corner, specifically with

respect to how the recession has

evidently stopped all plans. “But now

in 2012, the hopes of that glorious

vision have run into the reality of a

post recession Northern Virginia and

the tightening of federal

expenditures that could spell

limitations in the future.”

Well we think that’s bogus

information Connection Newspaper.

We’d like to know why you believe

the new plans have been derailed.

Several extremely large investors are

moving forward as fast as they are

allowed to because the market has

shown that it wants more housing

options in Tysons Corner. Lerner,

Macerich, Clark, Avalon and Greystar

are all under construction and will

end up bringing nearly 3000 units

online by 2014 with investments that

are counted in the billions not

millions. J.P. Morgan reaffirmed the

fiscal solvency of the Greystar project

in providing funding stating;

“We believe Tysons Corner will

continue to grow and expect to see

development in a number of areas,

including of Class A office space,

multi-family housing and mixed-use

projects…Given the expansion of the

Metro to Tysons Corner, this area will

be an even more attractive place to

live, work or visit in the future.”

The Connection Article goes on to say

that Tyson’s plan was for a walkable

community, to change its current

preference towards roads, and says

that this runs into constraints given

the current economic environment.

Again, total non-sense, all of the

developers are on board with creating

more retail friendly, marketable areas

for residents, because as developers

they understand providing this

atmosphere will increase their net

gains.

Who has opposed it? The biggest

developer and land owner in Tysons

Corner, VDOT, who almost a year

after the first zoning submissions

were filed still has not released their

ellusive findings on the

Comprehensive Plans impacts to

traffic. VDOT has stated that their

goal was to temper back the density,

which would throw off all of the

economic incentives for developers to

provide anything but the status quo.

This has NOTHING to do with the

recession and it has EVERYTHING to

do with ideology at the state level

dictating land use on Fairfax County.

Next inaccurate statement by the

Connection comes in the form of a

typo and misinformation, “The

Metrorail has arrived and is slated to

be completed some time in 2013; four

stations in Tysons and one at Wiehle

Avenue in Reston. The $2.9 billion

project was on budget until this

spring when the Washington

Metropolitan Airport Authority

acknowledged that it was $150,000

million over budget.”

Well first $150,000 million would be

$150 billion (that would be quite the

cost over run). Clearly this was just a

mistake, and should be $150 million

however the sentiment itself is

markedly false as well. This $150

million was and remains a cost that

was known at the time of the contract

formation. It is an issue of the original

bid documents not being delayed in

order to further investigate the

possibility of this cost. It has always

been known as a possible cost

increase and should be viewed as an

amendment NOT a cost overrun. This

is a subtlety that people who are

involved in cost estimating might

understand but that the layman

would not. Regardless painting it to

be a sudden cost overrun is just not

accurate.


THE CONNECTION SENDS THE WRONG MESSAGE

PAGE 5

The article goes on a tangent, discussing

the future of western Fairfax’s and

Dulles’ metro line. “Whether the second

nearly $3 billion phase from Reston to

Dulles will go forward is in serious doubt

unless Loudoun County votes to pay its

share (answer in July) and millions of

additional dollars come from Virginia and

the federal government. Fairfax County

has already voted to pay its share of

Phase 2. Up to now this entire project is

backed primarily by tax payers and the

drivers along the Dulles Toll Road.”

Firstly we are rounding the cost up $300

million dollars to call it 3 billion… I would

not say that 2.7 billion is “nearly” 3

billion dollars. Secondly, PHASE 2 is not in

trouble of being constructed, just delayed

to redesign the routing to remove the

Loudoun County station and possibly the

removal of the Innovation Metro station

(or atleast the removal of a parking lot

located there). MWAA will build silver line

to Dulles no matter what. What is in

question is how much of that cost will

need to be incorporated by toll road

pricing that will back private bonds, and

how much will be provided by the

municipalities.

Additionally, the Connection notes that all

of the cost is being provided by the Toll

Road and Tax Payers. This is true

technically, but what they don’t say is

that a lot of the cost is being paid by

Developer tax payers, not the general

public. Fairfax county residents are only

paying for $150 million of the project

cost, Fairfax county as a whole is on the

hook for $900 million.

So what gives? The very successfully

implemented Special Tax District. All of

the people who complained that Phase 1

was being carried on the backs of the

public to grant money to a select few

developers clearly didn’t realize that

most of the cost was actually on the backs

of those same developers.

In Phase 2 it will be the same with almost

all of the anticipated Fairfax share coming

from a Reston special tax district on new

development, something that Reston

developers also volunteered. This would

only be important if you wanted to share

accurate information though.

The Connection goes on citing Thomas L.

Cranmer of the Fairfax County Taxpayers

Alliance (gee I wonder which political

leaning he has)

“The taxpayers have generously provided

subway stops for developers.” He is one

of a growing clique who thinks that Phase

2 of Dulles Rail will be an economic

disaster, based on faulty estimations of

cost.

Again the fact is the developers are the

ones paying for this in a vast majority of

the funding.

In the Connections defense they do get

something right, Mr. Cranmer is in a

growing clique of the population who is

being misinformed, frankly by poorly

written stories like the Connection’s.

The article continues on its tax-centric

first message by stating “Housing values

have fallen due to recession, but the high

taxes of the mid-2000s have remained

high.”

1.07 cents per 100 dollars is a

historically “high” tax rate? It’s actually

one of the lowest historical tax rates in

our County in the past century. I suppose

fact checkers might have been sent home

for that statement.

The Connection’s citing of federal

contracts dwindling continues to be on its

head about actual facts. Is the prospect of

federal contracts being reduced a real

possibility? Yes, a 5-10% reduction in

federal contracts in this area is possible,

but the Connection also doesn’t realize

that in the past 10 years Tysons Corner

and Fairfax as a whole has successfully

diversified its major corporate private

work to include significant biotech,

healthcare, financials, and high tech

employment in addition to Defense and IT

contracts for the government. While 5-

10% reductions will hurt part of the

economy, the growth in other sectors is

showing that it will not slow the economic

prosperity of the region, and at a

minimum it hasn’t shown significant signs

as yet.


Next up by the connection; “IN 2009, the

Fairfax Planning Commission estimated that

to make Tysons Corner into the city of the

planning vision would cost $15 billion for

roads and transit not including the Dulles

Rail costs. Who is going to pay this enormous

cost is the argument now reverberating

around Fairfax.”

WRONG.

This is just not an accurate number, the

current number stands at 2.1 billion dollars. I

have ranted over and over on TTC, even this

number is completely out of whack. First, the

study period is a 30 year time frame, which

makes all numbers seem huge. Taking this as

a yearly cost it would be $70 million per

year. Now when you actually look at the

costs of creating an urban Tysons, removing

$500 million dollars in non-actual costs for

ROW and road grids which developers will

provide organically in construction, and $700

million for road projects that are not even

part of Tysons Corner, we end up with an

actual cost over the next 30 years of $900

million, or per year $30 million. Not an

absurd amount based on the fact that the

annual budget for Fairfax County is nearly $4

billion. This therefore would constitute

0.75% of the County Budget… hardly

something that is a pipe dream.

The Connection stays on course attacking

developers with their final statement “One

proposal was a 50-50 split with owners and

developers of Tysons paying 50 percent of

the cost and the taxpayers the rest. But Rob

Jackson of the McLean Citizens Association

argues that it should follow the pattern of

the Route 128 project with the developers

paying 75 percent. Others believe that the

developers, who will be the principal

beneficiaries of the redevelopment, should

pay 100 percent.”

This is the most dangerous of all statements,

because it paints the developers as cheap

antagonists. The truth is the largest

disagreement remains what the funding will

go towards, not how much. If you are saying

that widening Route 7 between Tysons and

Reston helps Tysons developers reformat the

city into an urban environment, then clearly

you don’t know the first thing about mixed

use development.

If developers were in charge of providing

pedestrian and bike facilities, currently

anticipated to cost less than $100 million

over the next 30 years they would be all on

board. Heck if it meant making their

properties more marketable, they would be

willing to invest far more, just as they did

with the metro. And based on the fact that

Tysons developers have already built Fairfax

an entire metro system with very little help

from Fairfax (mostly just Federal funding) it

is just ridiculous to say that the developers

aren’t doing their part.

Its time for the County to do their own

part, with political strength not money, and

tell VDOT to stop demanding road projects

from the new city that no longer wants them.

If VDOT wants to build a road that undercuts

the fiscal stability of the Silver Line and Toll

road by attracting people to keep driving into

work, all the while doing so for free by

creating an artificial highway, then let VDOT

and those commuters pay for it.

I have no personal problem with the author

of this Connection article. I don’t know

Nicholas Horrock, so I have no idea why he

wrote this story and if he meant it to be so

outrageously biased in sentiment. What I do

know is that spreading false information is a

dangerous game, it continues to make people

believe that the very parties who are

investing billions into our region, helping our

economy, improving traffic problems through

infrastructure improvements, are some how

to blame because at the end of that

investment they will make a profit.

If the developers make a profit, it will mean

that we ALL make a profit because their gain

is the gain of the taxpayers in the form of

high density taxes that will easily overshadow

the anticipated 30 million dollars per year in

Tysons Corner infrastructure cost. Let’s start

questioning the status quo and rationalize

the way forward out of the traffic and land

use mess we have found ourselves in.

PAGE 7


CITIES: ENGINES OF

THE ECONOMY

Over the past year a lot of questions have been

asked whether creating an urban center to

Fairfax will bankrupt our region. One thing has

been lost in the discussion, if a city pops up then

regardless of the cost of infrastructure it is

essentially impossible for the county not to

benefit. The Tysons Corner area has been

typified for decades with massive parking lots,

the lowest form of development, even though

the land values in the millions of dollars per acre

would deem the area prime for an urban district.

For years Fairfax has allowed a piece meal

development plan which banked billions in tax

revenue, but did not leverage that revenue into

a central concept for the emerging city.

Billions of dollars might seem like a stretch, but

actually, over the past 10 years, Tysons Corner

has easily surpassed this value. Our analysis of

tax assessments for real estate within Tysons

Corner has shown that properties such as

Lerner’s Tysons II, Solutions Plaza, and Capital

One all surpass $10 million per year in tax

payments. In fact there are nearly a dozen

cumulative properties within Tysons which

exceed this mark.

If the city is already making this kind of revenue

for our region then what is the point of changing

anything? Well it was all unsustainable. As early

as 2001 the area had become more known for

pavement and traffic, than a corporate hub. No

one thought of supplying a residential demand,

that existed, due to Tysons Corner’s central

location.

More importantly, while high rises began rising,

feeding the need from corporate partners, retail

establishments were finding that they could not

rely on a steady stream of customers. The

problem was the daily mass exodus which lacked

the characteristics to help small businesses

thrive. While weekenders kept both malls

profitable, small strip mall retailers and

independent restaurants continued to fail. As

more road widenings were incorporated to assist

commuters travelling out of town, prime

locations with natural walking paths evolved

adjacency to congested and hazardous highways.

safa

PAGE 9

CURRENT TAX PAYMENTS IN 2011 FOR

A PORTION OF TYSONS CORNER

FUTURE TAX PAYMENTS BASED ON

CURRENT ZONING APPLICATIONS

IN THE PORTION OF TYSONS

CORNER WHICH INCLUDES

LERNER, SOLUTIONS DRIVE,

AND GREENSBORO, THE 2011

TAX ASSESSMENTS SHOW

THAT $25.7 MILLION IN TAX

REVENUES WERE PAID.

IF WE NOW OVERLAY THE

PLANNED DEVELOPMENTS

INCLUDING SAIC/DITTMER,

THE NEW LERNER OFFICE,

RESIDENTIAL, AND RETAIL

TOWERS, AND THE TYSONS

CENTRAL DEVELOPMENTS WE

FIND THAT THE TOTAL

REVENUE BECOMES $52

MILLION. THIS IS JUST ONE

TENTH OF THE TOTAL

REDEVELOPMENT AREA

ASSOCIATED WITH THE

TRANSIT ORIENTED DISTRICTS

IN TYSONS CORNER.

FOLLOWING THIS THROUGH

WE COULD ANTICIPATE WELL

OVER $150 MILLION IN TAX

REVENUE OVER THE NEXT

TWO DECADES.


CURRENT TAX PAYMENTS IN 2011 FOR

100 ACRES (500 UNITS) IN BURKE

Let’s give some context to the

values presented. in an affluent

region of Burke with fairly

consistent subdivision houses and a

strip mall encompassing 100 acres

attains approximately $2.2 million a

year. Given the likely 200 or 300

school aged residents in these 4

neighborhoods, the maintenance

required for the roads and common

green areas, and the existence of 3

separate parks it can be anticipated

that this neighborhood provides no

surplus to the county for public

improvements. Many people believe

this should be the case, that tax

rates should be created to only

provide for the base capital needs of

a jurisdiction.

I agree, however the needs of these

residents exceed just the area

directly located above when there

are no jobs located in this

neighborhood. When highways, mass

transit, public water, sanitation, etc

are necessary then in order for this

neighborhood to not bankrupt the

county it must have it’s taxes

raised.

Or

Dense regions such as Tysons Corner

should be invested in, to spur

growth that outpaces residential

neighborhoods by orders of

magnitude, and can keep tax rates

for residents as historically low as

we currently enjoy.

When 100 acres of an affluent

neighborhood provides the same tax

base as a single high rise you can

see how important creating a

healthy city will be to the future of

our region.

The argument to reduce Tysons

urbanization plans do not pass the

logic test. When urban failures such

as Miami are evoked when

discussing the comprehensive plan it

does not fully understand the

uniqueness of Northern Virginia.

Unlike Miami, the economic strength

of this region is established. The

planners are not trying to create

artificial jobs through these

concepts, they are trying to address

traffic and housing price concerns

that are forcing stagnation.

When we provide more space for

people to live and work, and when it

is provided in a manner that also

helps retail thrive with a natural

customer base, we are inducing

innovation. People with great ideas

can find a workshop setting, can

communicate faster, and find

employees who can afford to live in

the area. This is the final benefit of

urbanization, a healthy genesis of

new thoughts becoming new

businesses.

Those who oppose the plan say that

we are wasting money on Tysons,

pointing to the 2.1 billion in

transportation costs, and 3 billion in

metro. What they don’t define is

who we are. The public and

residents are not on the hook for

much of this, really only a few

hundred million spread over

decades. What is lost is this

investment won’t be needed unless

the plans are a success (we don’t

need the infrastructure unless

something is going to be built. This

is a low risk investment whose

returns will take months to repay,

not years.

The Tysons Corner is a

website in its infancy,

started in 2011, created

to discuss the local issues

specific to eastern Fairfax

including the regions of

Tysons Corner, Falls

Church, McLean, Vienna,

and Merrifield. Our goal is

to provide a deeper

analysis of progressive

topics centered around

the new urbanism

concepts of a 21st century

Northern Virginia. We

have seen the region grow

from a quiet suburban

community to a cultural

and economic contributor

of the east coast rivaling

other more established

cities. The area for many

years grew without

direction leaving a

disconnected community

of micro-developments

without any coordinated

design concept. Our goal

is to create a unified,

or cacophonous, voice of

residents and interested

parties to discuss what the

future vision for the

region could or should be.

We look to fill the

questions that many have

and provide the depth of

coverage that is difficult

for overall news

publications to provide.

We are currently

looking for interested

bloggers who are

looking for a forum to

discuss their ideas as a

writer for TTC. This

could be done as an

exclusive TTC format

or as a crosspost with

other independent

blogs. If you are

interested in reaching

a large base of readers

specific to this region

think about joining.

Please feel free to contact us;

[email protected]

PAGE 11

FAIRFAX PARKS

GETS VOCAL

If you have been a resident of Fairfax

County for a while you might have

noticed we have a lot of park land in

our county. Between the recreational

parks for little league teams and

adults to the natural preserves and

trails that wind through Fairfax our

County has made a huge effort in

preserving the beauty that drew early

colonists to our region. Unfortunately

new comers to the area, of which

there is always a steady flow, might

not be aware of everything that the

Fairfax County Park Authority has to

offer. So Fairfax is getting vocal with

the start of their new discussion blog,

started last month, that discusses

various events and happenings for the

Park Authority. This week's story is all

about the Farmer's Markets that are

available in every corner of Fairfax.

http://ourstoriesandperspectives.com/

mailto:[email protected]









PAGE 13

OF THE


I have no idea what took

me so long to try Maple

Avenue.

It shows how many great

restaurants are available

in our area.

Duck Two Ways photo

There were so many great things that I took

away from my visit to Maple Avenue

restaurant that it is difficult to know

exactly where to start. The story of the

chef, Tim Ma, is a good place to start. Tim

started as a colleague in the field of

engineering, in fact I first learned about

Tim when he catered a work event

coordinated by my boss, who was a

coworker of Tim’s when he still wore the

office uniform. After working in the field

he found that his real passion existed

outside of the realm of change orders,

design documents, and water reports. He

left the lucrative and steady work force of

engineering to follow his dream of being a

chef.

As a part time foodie this story speaks to

me. We in the engineering field are often

confined to the realm of the right brain,

what is the most efficient design. Food is a

realm of creativity. Like great stories, great

food is a tough trick to create without

plagiarizing or creating a hackneyed

cuisine. Chef Ma brings a unique voice to

every meal possibly by being an outsider to

the process for so long.

PAGE 15

The decor presents this anti-restaurant

concept aptly. Instead of creating a 100

seat dining atmosphere, the location has

been selected to be intimate and small.

Right off the bat this shows that money is

not the primary motivator, the experience

remains first and foremost. When you sit

down you feel more like you’ve been

invited into someone’s home than into the

traditional business operations of a

restaurant.

The menu is focused and precise but

contains more flavors than the 30 or so

items would suggest. I had to try the Duck

Two Ways when I saw duck prosciutto with

shaved foie gras torchon. This dish is so

complex in flavors that every bite was

unique. The duck prosciutto created an

earthy base complimented by a rich Belazu

balsamic which provides a sweetness to the

dish. The shaved foie gras with the wild

greens kept the appetizer light, and unlike

many decadent salads it was very easy to

get an even fork full of each piece. This

was the best salad I have ever eaten. The

problem now becomes that anytime I

return it will be difficult not to reorder it.

This was the

best salad I have

ever eaten.


PAGE 17 PAGE 17

The entrée, butter

poached scallops, was

just as impressive as my

appetizer. The potato

puree with the

champagne sauce was, in

lay, the creamiest mash

potatoes you could ever

hope for. The sauce was

velvety which was very

crucial to the composition

of the plate as a bedding

of the equally smooth

butter poached scallops.

The smoked jowl hash,

which I have to admit I

had no idea what it was

until it came to the table,

had a southern home

cooking feel to it, it was

comfort in every bite.

The plate was well

thought out, unique, but

familiar in many ways. I

got what I paid for with

this dish. Instead of the

cost of the meal going

towards overhead and

operations while giving

the patron the same old

recipe, it was clear that

the cost was almost

completely incorporated

in providing excellent

ingredients paired in

harmony.


Not to be outdone, the

risotto was also

excellent, with a

delicious base which

reminded me of fondue,

with a gruyere cream

sauce. The crostinis

smelled and looked great,

and I would have tried

one if it hadn’t been for

the death stare I received

from my girlfriend as I

tried to get a piece.

I was told before

attending to save room

for dessert, thank you DL

Thurston (see his blog

dlthurston.com). I am

glad we did because the

Yuzu Lime Pie with the

home made marshmallow

was the cherry on top of

the meal. Its not usual to

find a restaurant that

focuses on dessert in

equal priority as the

dinner, but in this case

Maple Avenue provides a

dish that stands on its

own.

I’ve always found that

key lime pie/tart/etc is

one of the most varying

desserts in terms of

execution. Some places

make it too tart and

bitter, some making it

sugary sweet. When you

find a good key lime

custard it reminds you

how poor in quality the

knock offs really are. The

rich brown sugar and

graham crackers provide

a depth to the sweetness

and the marshmallow

makes me now which that

I could put this topping on

everything that

traditionally is finished

with whip cream.

Our meal, which by the way was

my two year anniversary with my

girlfriend, was exactly what I was

hoping for from Maple Avenue. It

was intimate. It was all delivery

and no brand name. What’s that

mean? The bells and whistles

which cover up the inadequacies of

bigger restaurants aren’t needed

here. Maple Avenue stands behind

its food, not its austerity, and it

delivers a genuine, masterful meal.

PAGE 19

Support the arts

and creativity in

our schools

Photo: Tysons Corner, taken

at Anthropologie by aspiring

photographer Taylor Worsley


THE REDVELOPMENT

CYCLE TRIGGER In our story, the Economics

of Redevelopment, we gave

a financial background as to

why some mid rise

structures can remain in

urban settings while others

are torn down for true

skyscrapers. When one

views how much a building

makes, and how much it

could make by removing

inefficient land uses such as

parking spaces, above

ground storm water

management ponds instead

of rainwater harvesting, and

mechanical facilities at

ground level instead of at

the penthouse you can see

how the land value makes all

the difference.

When land is cheap it

doesn’t make sense to

increase the cost of building

construction to save a little

space, but when an acre

costs upwards of $10 million

a design should consider the

cost saving up going vertical.

When land prices reach

these levels planners and

zoning administrators should

understand that given

certain density maximums

they run the risk of allowing

a property to stagnate when

the benefit of new

development is not

outweighed by the minimum

return on investment.

The price of land and land

use policies, given the same

employment and residential

base, is why some cities rise

while others wither.

Photo: Chicago Skyscrapers, jNIGIM

PAGE 21

When parking lots sit on a

property worth $10 million

dollars per acre, each parking

space has an equivalent cost of

$50,000. When a parking lot

contains 100 spaces this cost

can get huge very quickly.

Beyond the cost of the original

purchase itself ($5.0 Million)

going without production,

leasable space, there is also the

taxes that the owner pays on

essentially un-used land. Now of

course parking is a necessity

even in the densest urban

settings, however constructed

parking within a building takes

1/5th of the land needed for

surface parking and takes up NO

equivalent space when it is

incorporated in the structure of

a building.

The reason why a building as

shown doesn’t incorporate

parking garages as part of it’s

structure is due to the

cost/benefit of doing so at the

time of construction. When a

county will not allow a certain

height to be surpassed then the

builder can either go below

ground (which causes extensive

costs in excavation) or to eat up

leasable space above ground.

The latter rarely ever happens

unless the owner is allowed to

build a structure vertically

larger to accommodate the loss.

Excavation is typical when the

building sales can return the

difference. So in this example,

where the parking lot has an

indirect cost of $5.0 million

capital, $50,000 annual tax, and

$25,000 annual maintenance at

a certain point it makes more

sense given demand to pay more

up front to redevelop.

In Tysons that parity point is

here in many cases and

approaching in almost all. A

parking space of 180 sf in the

new comprehensive plan would

be replaced with 4500 sf of

developed space. Residential/

retail/commercial spaces can

vary between $15 to 40 per

square foot. The parking space

which cost $50,000 can now

make $100,000 annual

revenue. The question becomes

is there enough benefit to

outweigh the extensive (often

more than $100 million) in

construction cost in a timely

return?

Documents

The Tysons Corner - Issue #3