Wiehle Station Site Development: Comstock Reston Station HoldingsThe Reston Citizens Association Board and RCA’s Reston 2020 CommitteeStatement before the Fairfax County Planning Commission, March 25, 2010I am Richard Stillson and I am representing The Reston Citizen’s Association Board andits Reston 2020 Committee. I thank you for the opportunity of presenting our views about theComstock proposal for development at the future Wiehle Ave. metro station.We urge the Planning Commission reject the Comstock Rezoning Application as presented. We understand the need for a parking facility to be constructed in time for theopening of the Wiehle Avenue metro station and we think that the partially underground facilityand the plaza over the parking garage proposed by Comstock—Phase I in its proposal—is better than any alternative that has been suggested.We strongly believe, however, that Comstock’s plan for development on top of the plazais greatly flawed and that the Commission should turn it down. At a community meeting of theReston Task Force on Saturday, March 20, the almost 200 participants clearly voiced a view thatthe site should exemplify the excellence in architecture and community planning that has madeReston famous for over 40 years. Restonians envision the Wiehle Avenue Transit-OrientedDesign (TOD) area as a 24-hour a day destination, and a rich educational and cultural center, building on the educational institutions already in the area. It should not be primarily a place for commuters to park their cars. The Comstock plan for development on the plaza falls woefullyshort of these expectations. Moreover, the Comstock proposal is inconsistent with current and prospective Reston Planning Principles and the County’s guidelines for TOD.The flaws in the Comstock proposal for development on the plaza have been extensivelydiscussed and documented, and are available to the Planning Commission. The RestonAssociation, the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee, and the Reston AssociationTransportation Advisory Committee have all submitted detailed critiques of the Comstock Plan.We agree with and endorse these papers prepared by Reston’s civic groups. Moreover, a number of individual citizens have provided you with criticisms and suggestions for improving theComstock proposal.In our view, the worst problems of the Comstock proposal are:One, the excessive parking garage, in addition to the metro parking, which will result inwell about 6,000 congestion-inducing parking spaces overall for the five acre parcel.Two, the height of the buildings on the south side of the plaza which will cast the plaza inexcessive shadow,Three, the presence of traffic on the plaza which will restrict the pedestrian movementand ambiance of the plaza,We feel that these shortcomings can be substantially ameliorated with changes to theComstock’s proposal. For example, concerning the problems of excessive parking andcongestion, one can:
2First, reduce substantially the minimum parking requirement for this block to be morein line with the County’s transit-oriented development policy “best practices.” Inthis area, one should not need 3,000 spaces additional to the metro parking. If about6,000 parking spaces are built, we can expect more than 6,000 vehicles to travel theredaily, most at peak traffic hours. You build it and they will come. Moreover,reducing the parking requirement should reduce the number of floors of aboveground parking, permitting Comstock to create a better looking complex with a smaller building footprint and larger plaza area.Also, some or most of the underground Metro-related parking may be not benecessary when Metrorail is extended to Dulles and Wiehle Avenue is no longer aterminus. The planned parking at Herndon-Monroe and Route 28 should be morethan sufficient to meet the needs of commuters arriving from Loudoun County and beyond. The excess metro parking can then be used by the residents and officeworkers. AndFinally, the parking requirement and congestion can be reduced if the site’s mix of uses emphasizes more residential construction and less office space. This would helpto make the Wiehle TOD area a 24-hour community destination, not primarily a dailycommuter stop. The current Comstock proposal offers residential construction belowthe Plan’s authorized overall limit of 40 percent for the site and this proportion should be increased.As we have said, Restonians want the plaza at this Metro station site to be a large,attractive, sunlit public place for people to use and enjoy. For that one needs to reduce the heightof the buildings on the south side of the plaza and substantially reduce or eliminate cars from the plaza. Otherwise, Comstock’s plaza will end up serving as a congested “kiss and ride” drop-off,a crowded hotel entrance, and a pick-up point for commuters and shoppers. But cars on the plaza and tall buildings to the south are not necessary. Consider, for example,Although Comstock has argued that the hotel requires an aboveground access for visitors, a quick look at major hotels elsewhere shows this is not the case. For example, the Westin Peachtree Plaza in central Atlanta, a huge five-star hotel, has anunderground entrance. Comstock could build the same type of partially undergroundentry on the north side of this block.Also, one can reduce the heights of the buildings on the south side of the site andincrease the heights of the buildings on the north while maintaining the overalldensity of the parcel at the currently authorized level. We understand that this wouldrequire more substantial footings in the underground parking garage and further amendment of the site’s height limitations. The financing for these footings must befound.Finally, additional building space on the north and west of the parcel may be obtained by exercising air rights over the proposed Reston Station Boulevard, thus maintainingthe overall parcel density with lower buildings on the south of the site.
3Beyond approval of the partially underground parking garage and plaza, there is no needto act swiftly on this proposal. Given the state of the real estate market, it is unlikely that therewill be any commercial development on the site for several years. Comstock acknowledged thatit would likely build only the Metro parking garage by 2013. We urge the Commission toapprove the parking lot and plaza on the Wiehle Avenue Block 1 site, but direct Comstock torevise its proposal for building on the plaza. Comstock should be able to develop a plan that is profitable, attractive, consistent with County TOD policy, and meeting Reston’s needs. Theresulting development should be one that the County, Reston, and Comstock can all be proud tocall the cornerstone of TOD development in the Dulles Metrorail corridor.
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