A "kick-off" meeting for the Rock Spring amendment process is tentatively scheduled for early September, and a scope-of-work briefing is expected in October.
Rock Spring is made up of mostly office parks, and the county's moribund economy has left it with a 19.3 vacancy rate - 10% of all vacant office space in the county. While common sense would suggest county leaders should begin to address the reasons why the large corporations who would lease space here are bypassing us for Tysons and Loudoun - our business-hostile environment, congested roads, high business costs, and lack of direct access to Dulles Airport - those economic development changes are, strangely, not being discussed.
On the table for this amendment, rather, the planning department says, are "a new street network, public use spaces and amenities, residential and non-residential uses, sustainable environmental measures, infrastructure needs for the area, and linkages to" the proposed North Bethesda Transitway.
The latter was once an ambitious plan to construct a monorail between Westfield Montgomery Mall and Grosvenor Metro station, in 1991. Passing through Rock Spring, the monorail was forecast by planners to attract 10,777-13,982 riders per day. With 7-minute headways, the monorail was budgeted at $64 million, with annual operating costs estimated at $1.7 million. It was claimed that the monorail would get 4,600 drivers out of their cars daily.
Of course, that was a more ambitious time in Montgomery County. Those who recall some of our current elected officials raging against Maryland's biggest backer of Bus Rapid Transit, Gov. Bob Ehrlich, and arguing that rail was far superior to BRT, are likely having a good chuckle hearing them now proclaim BRT as the future of transportation. Buses are what we've devolved to in terms of "forward-thinking" transit projects.
So the "North Bethesda Transitway" is now going to be a "rapid" bus route. And instead of a sleek monorail helping Bethesda residents "live where they work," the BRT will primarily be utilized to claim Rock Spring is "on rapid transit" to facilitate residential development.
Rock Spring does have good access to our existing interstates, and a revitalized Westfield Montgomery Mall nearby. That access brought interest from development firms like Peterson and DRI, who had proposed "Rock Spring Centre" there.
Just as you may note the "dumbing down" of transit ideas since 1991 in the county, consider how much better the Rock Spring Centre plan sounds than the rumors we're hearing now of acres of townhouses and apartments - and the cars they'll produce trying to get to jobs in DC and Northern Virginia every morning.
Rock Spring Centre was proposed to have 210,000 SF of retail and restaurants, 550,000 SF of class A office space, 90,000 square feet of entertainment uses including a Silverspot cineplex, a 200 room hotel, and - get this - only 161 residential units. While many residents had concerns about the project, it did sound more like the proverbial live-work-play development, minus the missing Metro station. RSC did get approval from the Planning Board in February 2011, and was to be delivered in 2014.
Alas, by the next year, Peterson had pulled out of the project. I was disappointed at the time, given how great their National Harbor project had turned out.
In order to be "smart growth," Rock Spring is going to need jobs and office space as a component of the project. That's going to require not just a planning effort, but coordination with a political effort at the county and state levels, as well.
27 comments:
"large corporations who would lease space here are bypassing us for Tysons and Loudoun - our business-hostile environment, congested roads, high business costs, and lack of direct access to Dulles Airport"
It's funny you forgot to mention the main reason businesses are moving to Dulles--transit (i.e. the Silver Line). Roads are far more congested in Tysons than they are anywhere in MoCo, including Rock Spring. Another Potomac crossing wouldn't benefit Rock Spring tenants either since the Legion Br will still be the fastest route.
Btw what are these large corporations that are leaving Montgomery County and moving to Loudoun? Maybe you should check the office vacancy rate along their Route 28/Dulles Corridor.
LOL, same old recycled bimonthly rant, including the cliched "moribund economy", with the words "Rock Spring" added here and there.
5:43: Metro is one reason - but highway and future Metro access to Dulles are even more important to these companies.
No, the new Potomac Bridge would be faster to Dulles, as it is just across the river from the I-270 corridor along Route 28. The toll to cross the bridge would be cheaper than Dulles Toll Road, for sure.
Northrop, Intelsat, Hilton Hotels, Volkswagen are just a few that chose NoVa over MoCo in recent years.
"Lack of direct access to Dulles"
What BS. Rock Spring has a nearly direct route to Dulles right now. Building an Outer Beltway would not help Rock Spring in the slightest. If such a route were built sometime in the future, trying to drive from Rock Spring to Dulles using the new bridge would involve an insanely long detour.
"LOL" 6:03, If you get past the opening paragraphs you'll find lots of very detailed stats and facts about Rock Spring. Forge on. You can do it!
6:18: The new bridge will no doubt make the American Legion bridge and Beltway less congested. But I-370 or Rockville Freeway to VA Route 28 via the new Potomac River bridge would be more direct. And less costly in tolls.
"But I-370 or Rockville Freeway to VA Route 28 via the new Potomac River bridge would be more direct."
Not from Rock Spring. You're insane.
Claiming there is already a "nearly direct route" to Dulles Airport from *any* point in Montgomery County would itself qualify as "BS".
6:24: I have to assume you don't regularly take the Legion bridge during rush hour if you think someone could get there faster the current way from Rock Spring to Dulles, than via a new crossing.
You said "more direct", moron. Just admit you made a mistake, just once in your life.
Well if you drive north from Bethesda 10 miles catch the outer beltway and then drive 15 miles west to the new bridge then 10 miles south to Dulles. 35 miles later you are there.
Versus 23 miles via the present route.
Dyer wants us to spend several billion dollars just for the sake of attempting to revive a single obsolete office park complex, by building a highway that will go nowhere near it.
He makes Michelle Bachmann and Louie Gohmert seem like geniuses, by comparison.
Folks, the Legion bridge stretch from 270 to the Dulles Toll Road is jammed most of the day both ways. Get your head out of the sand.
Time to talk about solutions, like another crossing.
"the Legion bridge stretch from 270 to the Dulles Toll Road"
You sound kind of inarticulate.
Volkswagen makes a big deal about being near Dulles. That was key for them.
They have huge ads plastered all over the airport touting it. Stop trying to dispute facts, you're losing credibility. Dyer is on point.
If you travel for business, you need Dulles access. During a weekday, you're not going to be able to get from the Rock Spring area to Dulles in a timely fashion. It's total gridlock going south from the afternoon through the evening.
Maryland has added nearly twice as many private sector jobs as VA in the last 12 months, and that doesn't even account for VA being a more populous state. Anyone who points to MD as "moribund" while claiming VA is better is flat dumb. Sorry, Dyer, but you're showing your stupid side, per usual. Can't you just stick to reporting on Montgomery Mall openings instead of pretending like you're educated on economic matters? My eight year old daughter knows more about economics than you.
"If you travel for business, you need Dulles access."
Nope. Just hop on the Metro and head down to National. Much quicker.
11:47 Do you travel much for business? You do know that National doesn't offer the same routes as Dulles, right?
I'd caution anyone planning to "hop on the Metro" to catch flights. Leave plenty early considering our Bethesda station has frequent closures, as Dyer reported on earlier this week.
9:18: It sounds like you're not only trying to shift credit for the Hogan jobs to O'Malley, but you're also not telling people that Maryland did not add more *high-wage* jobs than Virginia in the last 12 months. Montgomery County did not add more jobs than Fairfax County in the last 12 months. We're talking about MoCo specifically here, after all.
11:47: As 3:37 correctly noted, any modern, international business person who tried to operate out of Reagan National or BWI to reach the emerging business capitals of the Middle East and Asia would either be broke or fired. Dulles is what the corporations need for that reason. And we need the corporations!
"Hogan jobs"? Are you fucking joking, Dyer? Jesus you're annoying. Yes, because employers magically decided to create jobs at the drop of a hat. You clearly know exactly nothing about running a business.
3:30: I'm just responding to your claim that "adding private sector jobs" somehow means high-wage jobs. The number of jobs added in MD has indeed been trending upward recently under Hogan - a.k.a. "Hogan jobs".
However, most of these jobs are not in high-wage sectors, no major corporate headquarters have moved here, and we are losing jobs at the same time. And those are statewide numbers, not MoCo-specific.
So my overall position on economic development, and what we need to do to turn around MoCo's moribund economy and attract high-wage jobs, remains sound. The facts can indeed be "annoying" at times.
"The number of jobs added in MD has indeed been trending upward recently under Hogan - a.k.a. 'Hogan jobs'."
Keep doubling down on the Stupid. Just keep embarrassing yourself.
5:47: Why would I? You've pretty much got that angle covered.
Meanwhile, I'll continue to inform the public with "the rest of the story", not just the MoCo Machine's version of reality.
Rock Spring has reasonable access to Dulles Airport for business travelers. The trip to Dulles averages 45 minutes. Only significant back up is coming back into Maryland across the bridge. Obviously exceptions in the midst of rush hour, but I’ve made the commute for 20 years with little problem.
Rock Spring has a very favorable location because there is quick access to I-270, 495 in both direction and reasonable access to DCA, BWI and Dulles – Dulles is most important for international travel, but for shuttle service or Amtrak, Rock Spring beats NOVA. Access to BWI is a plus.
Metro access is reasonable, but would be dramatically improved by a true BRT link to White Flint or Grosvenor.
Rock Spring is an easy fix in my view. BRT is the key - put that reliable mass transit link from Montgomery Mall to White Flint/Grosvenor in place and the area will take off. Rock Spring Centre would be spectacular, but the David/Camilier family has to get their act together.
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