Looking around McLean and Great Falls, it is hard to believe that they were once sleepy farm communities, marked by quiet winding roads and rolling cow pastures. These two communities have changed drastically over the years, and more change is on the way. Today, McLean and Great Falls face a daunting challenge ––how to balance big development with small town character.
People choose to live in this area because it offers the best of both worlds. Families can enjoy the perks of suburban life –– parks, good schools, recreational amenities –– while still being close to commercial retail and of course, the nation's capital and all that it has to offer. However, many longtime residents fear that over-development is upsetting the delicate balance between the two. With so many houses, apartment buildings, hotels, retail stores and parking garages planned for the future, some wonder what kind of community will be left for residents to enjoy.
In terms of development, the Dulles Corridor Metrorail project is one of the most talked about topics of the year. Many people are excited about the prospect of rail, but others are dreading its arrival.
"When it comes down to it, the single biggest issue is the extension of Metro," said Tom Brock, President of the McLean Citizens Association (MCA). "I think that the range of implications that the extension of Metro has for the McLean area is significant, but I think that many people are looking at it solely in terms of the implications it has for transportation."
The arrival of Metro to Tysons will also mean the arrival of more development. Tysons Corner Holdings, LLC, has submitted an application to be rezoned from a "High Intensity Office District" to a "Planned Development Commercial" (PDC) district. If the application is approved, Tysons Corner will remove 43,000 square feet of existing shopping mall, and add 3.5 million square feet of gross floor space for a mixed use development that would include 1.4 million square feet of office space, 1.7 million square feet of multi-family residential units, 275,000 square feet of hotel space, and 200,000 square feet of new retail space. The development would also include 9,000 new parking spaces for the offices, hotel and residential units.
The development would be carried out in four phases, the first of which would not need Metrorail to be in place at Tysons.
"Without rail, this plan goes nowhere other than Phase 1," said John Foust, a member of the MCA Tysons Corner Development subcommittee.
Phase 1 includes construction of an 18-story office building, a 27-story multi-family residential building, and a 21-story hotel. Phase 2 includes a 25-story multi-family residential building, a 27-story office building, and a significant number of parking spaces.
Either way, more and more people are coming to live and work in the Tysons Corner area, and some residents wonder there will be enough infrastructure to support the burgeoning population.
"This would have far reaching implications for the schools, the environment and taxes," said Brock. "The zoning issues are as significant as the transportation issues."
WITH LESS and less land available in McLean and Great Falls, builders and developers must get creative. Oddly shaped parcels have become prime real estate, and development companies have begun to set their eyes on older neighborhoods.
One such neighborhood is the Green Acres subdivision, located on Miller Avenue in Great Falls. Residents of Miller Avenue have received letters from development company Elite Homes, asking them to sell their homes and properties to make way for a new community. Hilda Holdaway and her husband Gail Holdaway were born and raised in Great Falls, and did not take too kindly to receiving such a letter.
"It said 'we are developing a community,'" said Hilda Holdaway. "Well we don't need a new community. We have a community already –– it's Green Acres and it's going to stay that way... everything here is special to me and I'm not leaving."
Tom Brock has also noticed the infill development trend in McLean.
"In the last few years the development has shifted over in my mind from the large subdevelopments to infills," said Brock. "It has been on ongoing issue for the McLean area and I think it will continue."
David Olin, the immediate past president of the Great Falls Citizens Association (GFCA), said that the citizens of Great Falls can probably expect a lot of community changes in the years to come.
"We're going to see more infill developments in the residential areas, but more importantly, we're also going to see them in the commercial areas," said Olin. "I think that type of change will be occurring over the next year as people in the Village Center realize this potential for redevelopment... but I think people's eyes will be wide open when they see trees get cut down and filled in with rather substantial structures... pretty soon it's not inconceivable that the entire character of the Village Center is going to change drastically."
The Great Falls Village Center is currently using a septic system that is on the verge of failing. The question of whether or not to bring sewer to the Great Falls commercial district is a controversial community issue. While the introduction of a sewer line would solve the failing septic system dilemma and make life easier for the current Village Center tenants, it would also pave the way for more development.
NOT ALL development is unwelcome. Some long overdue renovations are finally on the horizon for several local schools. A modular addition at Cooper Middle School is currently being built, and will be completed in time for the start of school in the fall.
"All of the trailers will be removed, so that will be nice," said Jane Strauss, the Fairfax County School Board Representative for the Dranesville District.
In addition, Strauss said the renovations for Franklin Sherman Elementary School and Great Falls Elementary School are "well along in the process of doing the architectural designs."
"Great Falls we will be starting sometime in the next year, and within the next two years, both of these projects should be under construction," said Strauss. "These are significant renovations for both of these schools."
Physical improvements are not the only changes scheduled for the schools. The Fairfax County School Board is in the midst of a strategic governance project that is designed to find ways to improve the quality of education offered at Fairfax County Public Schools.
"The thinking behind it is that we want to be sure that the Fairfax County Public School system is a world class school system that prepares students for 21st century learning, and that we are not just focused on minimum competency, but are truly focused on every child," said Strauss. "This is a big deal that will define the curriculum and will define the budget."
Strauss said that this fall the school board will continue to discuss the new vision mission and goals with the community, and will also set significant target goals.
"In past generations, education looked at children as a bell curve where there was a greater acceptance of failure," said Strauss. "Today we really are looking at the possibility that each child holds –– rather than comparing one child against another, we are gauging a child's progress against themselves."
Strauss added that parent input has been taken into consideration for the future school curriculum.
"Today's students are members of a global marketplace, and therefore must be prepared to be citizens of the world," said Strauss. "We would like every child to graduate from our schools with dual language capability, and parents have loudly said that they want their kids to have a better understanding of finance."
MANY RESIDENTS have accepted the fact that development is not going to go away any time soon and that change is a part of life. Rather than focus on the negative, these residents have chosen to hold on to the kind of small town values that cannot be taken away by a bulldozer.
Local potter Laura Nichols said she was on the verge of leaving Great Falls, despite the fact that she had spent her whole life there. It had changed from a farm community to a bedroom community, and she was no longer sure she belonged. However, she decided that if she lived in Great Falls, there must be others like her living there as well.
Nichols decided to start Great Falls Studios, a consortium of local artists. In 2003, it had a membership of under 20 people. In the last year, that membership has skyrocketed to over 50 members.
"It came as a great surprise to us that there was so much artistic energy in Great Falls," said Nichols. "Our vision is to create an atmosphere in which that energy can grow and spread into the larger community."
Sharon Rainey, founder and President of local e-mail network Neighbors International, is a long time resident of Great Falls who believes that the community's small town charm and growing population do not have to be mutually exclusive.
"I think the focus needs to be on how we continue to build a sense of community in a day and time when the Internet is more interactive with us as individuals than our family is," said Rainey. "Everyone is so busy, involved with so many things, that we often get lost in the business and forget to focus on our relationships with our families and our neighbors. Do the neighbors still watch out for one another when they go out of town, or does the family hire someone to do that?"
Rainey and her husband Jeff Rainey make an effort to keep small town values alive and well in their community. Sharon Rainey said that she tries to bring cookies and say hello to new neighbors within the first week of seeing a moving van. Whenever it snows, Jeff Rainey makes sure to clear off the driveway of their neighbor who has an artificial leg.
"It's the little things," said Rainey. "There will always be issues about traffic, taxes, schools, politics –– but if we continue to lose that sense of community and that need to work together for the common good, the other stuff doesn't really matter. It's all about trying to make this a better community, in little ways and big ways."