Reston’s Campus Commons project, next to the Silver Line, moves foward

The Campus Commons project near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro stop is moving forward after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors gave the final okay. It is the latest in a rash of approvals to redevelop office parks close to the Silver Line, but this particular project has provoked a new wave of opposition against long-planned changes—like new housing and offices—in Reston.

1900 and 1902 Campus Commons Drive are a pair of office buildings surrounded by parking lots close to the Wiehle-Reston East stop on Metro’s Silver Line. Developer TF Cornerstone submitted a plan to replace the surface parking lots with new homes and offices, which would help put more jobs and homes close to the metro station and bus hub.

It is exactly the sort of project envisioned by the updated Reston Master Plan, which the county passed last year following a six-year effort. But the project garned controversy, prompting the creation of another civic group aimed at halting changes in Reston. Taking a cue from Rescue Reston, Rescue Sunrise Valley organized opposition to the project on a few key issues: the scale of the project, traffic, and how to best accomodate pedestrians who need to cross busy Wiehle Avenue to get to the Metro. Let’s look at these issues.

1. Scale

Sunrise Valley Drive marks a stark limit between residential and commercial Reston. On the south side of the road the area is mostly neighborhoods comprised of single-family homes or townhomes, while office parks dominate the parcels of land between Sunrise Valley Drive and the Dulles Toll Road.

The current buildings at 1900 and 1902 Campus Commons Drive are not very tall and are set back from the road because of the parcel’s parking lots. The new development would nix the parking and add taller buildings instead.

Nearby residents objected to the size of these buildings, saying they would overwhelm the neighborhoods on the other side of Sunrise Valley. In response, TF Cornerstone agreed to move some of them a little farther back and swapped the heights so the tallest buildings were closer to the Dulles Toll Road instead of Sunrise Valley Drive.

2. Traffic

Traffic is bad on Sunrise Valley today since it’s one of the only local roads that actually traverses the length of southern Reston. TF Cornerstone proposed a Transportation Demand Management Plan (TDM) aimed at reducing car trips from the project beyond simply building next to Metro.

TDM has proven effective at getting people to try other forms of transportation besides driving. Since the development is close to both a metro station and a major hub for Reston’s bus lines, the biggest traffic impacts can be mitigated by people using transit to get around.

Another traffic alleviator is a proposed stop light at the other end of Sunrise Valley and Upper Lake Drives. A stop light does literally halt traffic, but the benefit is increased safety and hopefully, fewer crashes. The light should make it easier for residents to leave their neighborhoods without having to make their through a busy intersection unaided. The existing light at Campus Commons Drive and Upper Lake Drive might be retimed as well.

3. The crosswalk

One of the biggest contentions in the process was the proposal to add a crosswalk at the current stoplight where drivers can enter and exit the Dulles Toll Road. Right now there is only a sidewalk on the other side of Wiehle Avenue, while the only crosswalk is at Sunrise Valley Drive where people have to navigate two traffic islands to cross.

Building a way to cross Wiehle Avenue closer to the Metro station entrance cuts out a lot of walking that is necessary today, and will help make taking Metro from the area more viable. But Wiehle Avenue is very wide since it crosses the Dulles Toll Road. The only design acceptable to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) was one with a pedestrian island.

That wasn’t good enough for project opponents, who did not want the project approved without either a pedestrian tunnel or overpass. That could have threatened the whole project, since a crossing like that requires a lot more design work. A tunnel could mean the loss of planned open space, while an overpass would mean pedestrians first have to make it up from the street level of the development to the higher grade of Wiehle and then higher again to actually get to the bridge.

TF Cornerstone agreed to help study a solution above and beyond the crosswalk, and also fund the construction of whatever new solution might be proposed.

This project is moving forward, and so will others

In the end there was not a lot to stop the approval. The development is in line with the vision for the area that was set in the updated Reston Master Plan, which includes preserving the “character” of existing low-density neighborhoods in Reston. The necessary trade-off is that the area’s growth will be concentrated close to existing and future Metro stations near the Dulles Toll Road.

Despite the outcry directed towards Campus Commons, it is hardly the only project happening in Reston Right now, nor is it the only one along Sunrise Valley Drive. Nearby properties, like the recently-completed VY at Reston Heights or the Lincoln Apartments under construction just a stones throw from Campus Commons, have already jumpstarted the process. Construction at Isacc Newton Square and Halley Rise are actively underway as well.

The changes in these areas will be dramatic, and are also according to plan. Reston’s founder Bob Simon wanted the community to be a place where people can live, work, and play, and redevelopments like these will help accommodate more people and keep that vision alive.