Charrette Comes Up With Design for Lake Anne
From the Times Community Newspapers
By Lise Hausrath Simmons
Jan. 22, 2005

Reston's original jewel, Lake Anne, would make a grander welcoming statement to the community under a revitalization and redevelopment plan proposed as a result of an intensive three-day meeting of area residents and a land use planning team of experts brought in from out of town last week.

The design proposal, worked up by a team of four planners hired by the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC), calls for the elimination of the Association of School Business Officials building from the entrance to the Lake Anne Village Center, based on input and feedback from the community.

It also would realign Village Road, making it a straight entry-way to the center, with a view of the lake visible from Baron Cameron Avenue.

The current surface parking lot at the center would be turned into a pedestrian plaza, with low-level retail or office space on each side and, perhaps, residential units on top as part of a mixed-use development.

There would be “Spanish steps” and a fountain or some other attraction to help pull people toward the natural water of the lake, which is at the back of the current, and historic, Washington Plaza.

The Millennium Bank building would be turned into an eight- to 10-story high-rise, and the Reston Community Center (RCC) at 1609 Washington Plaza would be relocated to Washington Plaza Baptist Church.

This would enable whoever is in charge of the revitalization project to bring a small green-grocer type of establishment to the center, housing it where the RCC now stands.

Recognizing the beauty of the open space and natural areas surrounding the lake, the planning team did not call for any major work at that site, where the so-called “J Building” sits.

The proposal calls for a 720-space parking structure to be built to the left side of the current parking lot as you enter the village center, and it would be situated near North Shore Drive.

It also calls for a “welcoming building” to be constructed next to where the Lake Anne Fellowship House now sits, up near the hill off North Shore. This could be an office or residential building, the planning team said.

Recognizing that the Mark Winkler Co., current property owner, plans to redevelop the Crescent Apartments site, the team proposed a high-density development there with a mix of housing types.

They proposed putting four clusters of low-rise units on the 16-acre site, with a tower in the corner of each cluster. Pedestrian paths would connect it all and provide easy walking or bicycle access to the lake.

Knowing that KSI, a development company, has a contract to purchase the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church property near Lake Anne, the planners proposed putting two five-story residential buildings there.

The planning team also proposed putting two small townhouse clusters near the lake, one near the new RCC location and the other near a bend in North Shore Drive.

The charrette, a public meeting designed to come up with a consensus approach for revitalization of the 40-year-old area, was facilitated by David Wilcox, senior vice president of Economics Research Associates of Los Angeles, Calif.

Wilcox, a planner with many years of experience working with the NVRC on charrettes, was joined by John Stutsman, a transportation and urban planner with Kaku Associates of Santa Monica, Calif., and Dennis Dornan and Sameer Chada, architects and urban designers with San Francisco-based Field-Paoli Architects.

The meeting was attended by about 180 people over the three-day period. Hunter Mill Supervisor Catherine Hudgins (D) was there for much of it, and U.S. Rep. James Moran (D-8th), who represents Reston in Congress, was on hand Saturday, June 18.

NVRC Executive Director G. Mark Gibb also participated in the charrette, which was held June 16-18.

'Owning the results'

The first day, which ran into the night, let citizens air their concerns and suggestions about what to do and was run like a focus group.

The second day was shorter for public participants, with the design team closing the meeting early so they could start drawing up possible plans.

On the third and final day, the team presented the community with four possible revitalization options, starting with minimal development buttressed by better landscaping, lighting and marketing.

The four proposals intensified development on a continuum, and the so-called Option D, which would have involved major development, was resoundingly rejected by community participants.

The planning team then met once again and came up with the so-called final option, Option E, which charrette participants seemed to embrace.

“There is a sense of arrival at the plaza at the top,” Dornan explained.

“Our intention is that you own the results of the charrette,” Wilcox told the community, while adding that the design proposal could be “improved” as the revitalization process goes forward.

Working on it since 1998

Fairfax County designated Lake Anne a revitalization area in 1998, wishing to inject more life, and population density, into the place.

The existing merchants, who are members of the Lake Anne Residential Condominium (LARC), tend to suffer a drop-off in business in the colder months, and part of the reason for revitalization is to keep those merchants viable.

Revitalization proponents also want more people to be drawn to Lake Anne since it is such a beautiful part of this internationally famous planned community.

The complicated ownership structure at the center makes the project more difficult since it is hard to get everyone to agree on what needs to be done.

Martha Green, president of LARC, said there is an effort underway to try to get the various property owners at Lake Anne working together to present a united front.

She also said about $1 million from the condo association is now available for upkeep and maintenance projects at the plaza, which is showing signs of age.

Wilcox noted there seems to be agreement among the merchants to form a business improvement district, which would help boost the village center's profile.

Sponsors of the charrette included Oracle Corp., Northrup Grumman, the Hyatt Regency Reston hotel, VDOT, Dominion Virginia Power, the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development, Reston Association and the NVRC.

During the course of the charrette, the land use planning team spent much time near the lake, walking its perimeter and eating at its restaurants.

“It's a marvelous location to have more housing,” said Patty Nicoson, president of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association.

“This whole idea is smart growth,” Gibb agreed. “Part of the beauty of this is we're coming to consensus.”

© Times Community Newspapers 2005