Northern Virginia’s thriving office market was paramount in my decision to enter a competitive, commission-based profession. Fairfax County’s continued support for mixed-use, metro-centric zoning reaffirms this choice. Zoning laws can prevent you from running your tech startup out of your parents’ basement or building an office condo in that vacant lot at the end of your street. This type of single-use zoning contrasts with the policy changes taking place in Tysons Corner, because mixed-use development layers residential, commercial, and industrial components in higher density areas – preferably around transportation nodes – to create walkable communities ideal for living and working. The success of the R-B (Rosslyn-Ballston) Corridor, specifically Ballston, exemplifies the benefits associated with this type of development when compared to its Orange Line neighbor Falls Church.
The Orange Line and careful urban planning transformed Ballston into an acclaimed urban community. The completion of the Metro sparked a wave of development that has reverberated through the past four decades. Since 1993 Ballston’s rentable building area (RBA) has more than doubled from 3.5 million to 7.6 million SF of office space. Northern Virginia’s effective office rental rates typically grow on average 2.5 to 3% annually. Meanwhile Ballston’s average effective rental rate has risen from $20 to $42 per SF, which equates to about 4% annual growth and a dramatic increase in property tax revenue. Ballston’s office space is now slightly more expensive than Rosslyn’s aging product despite Rosslyn’s superior proximity to DC.
The genius behind Ballston’s rapid development is that commercial and residential land uses function symbiotically. People want to live in Ballston, because the town includes a range of residential possibilities and abounds with opportunity. Businesses gravitate there, because the area is replete with a young, educated work force and contains quality office product (among a variety of demand factors). Whether in the office or at home, you rarely have to drive to eat or shop for either. Ballston’s small streets and large sidewalks exemplify the concept of new urbanism, which reverts to pre-automobile urban design principles that coincide with mixed-use development. Think of new urbanism as all the ingredients of a healthy, balanced meal neatly packed into a recyclable grocery bag. Fewer people have to drive to work since office buildings with first floor retail space fit in like puzzle pieces with residential high rises and exemplary public transportation.
Falls Church rejected this approach to the Metro, and intended to exploit Metro’s benefits while remaining an idyllic suburban community. Charles Stewart in Falls Church – A History of a Village illuminates the psyche of the town stating, “…the tired city man can afford all of the enjoyment of retirement and tranquility”. Falls Church wanted to utilize its proximity to DC without corrupting the “tranquility” of its white-picket-fenced houses and lush green lawns. Fairfax officials decided to construct the Falls Church Metro stops outside of its city limits along I-66. Walkways over I-66 connect the stations to large parking lots for Falls Church residents to park their cars in the morning before work. Arlington and DC metro commuters most likely need to catch a bus from these stops to get to work, if working near the Falls Church metro stations.
Over this time period, the Falls Church office market has underperformed not only the pricey inner-beltway submarkets but also the Northern Virginia office market as a whole. The effective rental rate for office space has increased over the past nineteen years by two percent from $16 to $23.50. The RBA has only increased twenty four percent from 8.7 million to 10.8 million while covering a much larger area of land than Ballston. This fact points to the assumptions that Falls Church has reached its physical market capacity and/or developers do not see the area as a profitable investment. Either way much of the inventory is older product with nothing substantial in the pipeline. Falls Church became an independent city in 1948 to improve its school system. In hindsight, a pattern of conservative isolationism underlies the last century of local politics which has created the disconnect from the region we see today.
The past is an easy target for criticism, though. If effective commercial rental rates ultimately guided where I live then I would be shelling out three-fourths of my paycheck for a matchbox-sized apartment in New York City. Personal preference clearly plays a role in the matter as well. Falls Church has beautiful homes just like Ballston has nice penthouse condos and apartments all within relative proximity to essential amenities. Both types of residential units attract and repel tenants and owners for legitimate reasons. A more practical question than taste would be what type of city planning encourages the most sustainable economic growth per tax dollar spent, while simultaneously minimizing environmental impact. The marginal growth of Falls Church’s office market is not outpacing its age. Falls Church will likely remain a great place to live for some time, but, as the commercial sector goes, residential properties will eventually follow if the status quo persists. Just because Falls Church is not the next Detroit does not mean the city has the brightest future in the DC Metro if it continues the trend of isolation.