It’s been over two years since we brought up a concept to deck over Route 123 in the downtown of the downtown of Fairfax, the heart of Tysons. Whew, that was a long time ago, and hopefully this site has gotten a bit better since that time. Within that analysis it was shown that the initial cost to deck 123, at around $10 million per acre, is actually within the current range of land values in Tysons, especially in this area closest to Metro where Lerner and Macerich both have limited room to grow further.
By combining the cost of structural foundations for the buildings above, with the decking structure itself, the project could be feasible without any public funds. Providing allowance for true high rises at this central location, where it would make the most sense, would provide the incentive necessary (along with deferred land costs) for a private developer to provide not only a deck, but one that can incorporate pedestrian and park friendly concepts.
Since the time of that analysis Lerner and Macerich have both moved forward with atleast 1 component of their already approved master plans, with One Tysons by Macerich nearly being complete and 1775 by Lerner on floor 4. So we have returned to the original plan, incorporating what is already planned in this region of Tysons to see how the concepts could be tweaked. At the same time, we thought we’d take a whirl with our database of sketchup models to take what was a 2-d illustrative and render it with building heights.
The proposed concept has been reduced to seven high rise buildings, and one ancillary building for a large central park in the heart of the decking area. The average height of the buildings is around 45-stories, some of which will need to be podium parking (though with its proximity to metro less than other locations). Podium parking can be hidden to a great extent via ground level activation, retail, and restaurants. The total developed space would be around 7 million square feet of mixed use development, a very tempting prospect for major land owners like Macerich and Lerner. It would also hold a prestigious point for whomever partners on the project, by giving them the tallest buildings in the DC metro area, with the tallest shown being 600′.
There is nothing particularly set in stone about the height shown, other than its for demonstration purposes to show that heights of 600′ will not create any harm to anyone near by, but what it will do is consolidate limited space on the air space, leaving a sizable amount available for a large signature park and gathering space. Without these heights, it would be hard to garner private interest in the decking and having a public park space provided as well, the economics would be working against such a concept.
The ancillary space could be retail, but it could also be a much needed secondary or high school, with direct access to a large recreational space it would be one way for Fairfax County to solve the need for urban school lands, while maintaining typical school functions and fields. During non-school hours and events, the space would work as any public space would.
If this concept sounds far fetched, it really shouldn’t. The structural components that hold high rises are massive. Incorporating those costs into piles, foundations, and trusses of an elevated deck would help accomplish two goals with the same funds with limited increases in cost in the grand scheme of things (consider a 600′ building can cost upwards of $400 million anyways). Considering the area will only require approximately 1.5 to 2 acres of decking, we already have evidence it can be done economically, see the 1.5 acre decking project that is nearly complete at One Tysons.
Of course, this project won’t happen tomorrow. It won’t happen until either Lerner, Macerich, or a 3rd group runs out of other quicker to develop land, but that doesn’t mean that we should wait until that happens to consider the concept. The longer we wait, the less viability this concept has in being incorporated into the master plans of any land owners or the County. Even if it takes 20 years to become a ready to build project, it should be something we think about as a solution for the sure to be limited land area and growing divide that Route 123 will create.