Exploring Rosslyn-Ballston

Sorry for the month hiatus but I’ve been busy. As part of my plan to build a “competitive advantage” for Montgomery County against Northern Virginia, I decided to do a little corporate espionage. Yesterday on my day off, I braved killer heat to make a planned walk from the Ballston Metro to Rosslyn. Although I have driven through multiple times, I have never taken the time to carefully walk through, taking in the sights and sounds from what is described as a model for urban planning nationally. Before I go through area by area, overall I will say that I am not impressed. Virginians and planners like to brag about “Rosslyn-Ballston” as being a masterfully designed urban community. True, the scale of the development in that corridor is huge, much greater than anything Montgomery County has seen, but it was quantity more than quality.

Ballston

The scale of the development here amazed me. Nearly every block was filled with a 20+ story highrise. But overally, this one disappointed me. Although often compared to Bethesda, I would say it is a bigger version of Silver Spring. The streetscape was poorly designed and maintained. The streets were virtually deserted. Ballston Mall was pretty crappy compared to the other malls in the area and that parking garage is just awful.


Virginia Square

There is very little sense of identity here. Nothing differentiates it from Ballston immediately to the west except the massive FDIC offices. I question whether they should have built a Metro station here. They should work more around the George Mason campus to make it a “college town” sort of atmosphere.

Clarendon

Clarendon Market Commons was the jewel I expected it to be. Not only was the Barnes&Noble a relief from the hot weather, but Market Commons offered some of the finest storefronts, urban design and streetscaping in the entire corridor. I was surprised to learn the FRIT didn’t develop it because it reminded me of Bethesda Row. There were a lot of underdeveloped properties in the area that I expect to seen built up into high-rises in the coming years. But if it means replacing the Clarendon street scene with the Ballston street scene then they shouldn’t touch it.

Court House


I specifically wanted to come here to see the County Office Building, Judicial Center, and Detention Center. These are located in a high-rise complex with a large surface parking lot in the middle. Unlike Fairfax County and Prince Georges County, with their government complexes miles away from the nearest Metro station, Arlington’s sits on top of one. Not much going on at the street level, but busier than Ballston. Lots of high-rises too, and it seems more residential than Ballston.

Rosslyn

What can I say. I’ve been here a million times and I never get tired of coming back. It’s the 70’s-era downtown of the future. Dark Star (Death Star) Park. Awesome cityscape. The various bridges and public plazas/skywalks offer THE most amazing viewpoints of any urban area in the region and great views of the DC skyline. I wonder how Rosslyn will look 10 years from now, considering that most of the buildings are reaching the end of their lives and the whole town is ready for a major makeover.

Finishing up with Rosslyn (and my 3rd bottle of water) I had 3 hours to go qualify for non-rush hour fares, so I headed across Key Bridge to Georgetown and Dupont Circle.

Conclusion: While the scale of Rosslyn-Ballston is awe-inspiring, if Montgomery County is going to replicate such high-density development along the Rockville Pike from Downtown Rockville to White Flint, then they need to look closer to home for successful urban areas. Downtown Bethesda is the region’s finest business district and among the finest places to live. There was no need for me to visit Virginia for fear that they have an advantage. In fact I am now more aware that Montgomery County has the competitive advantage as an urban center.

Overall impressions:
-Subpar streetscaping that is far below the Bethesda standard
-Intersections were wide and pedestrian unfriendly
-During the day it was virtually a ghost town
-Street level retail is very limited
-Dirty streets, poorly maintained sidewalks, streets, and fixtures.
-Buildings were architecturally bland