New
downtowns are springing up with luxury condos, trendy
restaurants, and fashionable shops.
Growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950s, Judie Rosenthal
walked or rode her bike everywhere. Who needed a
car when everything was a block away?
Now she’s doing it again, this time in suburban
Maryland. About a year ago, Rosenthal moved into
a one-bedroom condo at the Palladian Condominiums
in Rockville Town Square. Everything is at her fingertips,
Rosenthal says, just as it was in Brooklyn: “To
me, it’s very revitalizing.”
Rockville Town Square, a new development of stores
and mid-rise apartments and condos, embodies the
trend of creating walkable downtowns in the suburbs.
William Rich of Delta Associates, a real-estate
research firm in Alexandria, calls it “city lite.”
Town centers give a focal point to suburbia, says
Reid Ewing of the University of Maryland’s National
Center for Smart Growth: “They’re trying to create
a ‘there’ there in places that are essentially suburban
sprawl.”
Old-style street lamps, brick walkways, and potted
plants give these modern developments a Main Street
feel. Central plazas with benches provide a gathering
spot as well as a venue for everything from concerts
to open-air markets.
If single-family homes are the hallmark of suburban
living, condos are the icon of these new communities.
Their owners are typically empty-nesters or young
professionals eager to give up square footage and
a yard for an urbanlike lifestyle—walking to dinner,
taking Metro to work, and shopping without getting
in the car.
The new town centers are “urban, but without the
grit,” Ewing says.
Laura Kurasiewicz, 25, moved into a one-bedroom
condo in Ballston’s Residences at Liberty Center
in January. In her search for a home, Kurasiewicz
had put new construction with high-level finishes
and amenities at the top of her priority list. But
she also wanted an urban feel: “I’m a city girl,
so I really like being close to where everything’s
happening.” Kurasiewicz says she likes being able
to walk across the street to CVS when she needs
a prescription and then meet up with friends for
a glass of wine.
Given Washington’s traffic, the pedestrian-friendly
lifestyle of places such as Ballston is a real draw,
Delta’s Rich says. Even if residents don’t work
next door to their condo, many of the most popular
town centers are near Metro.
Rosenthal drives to her job in Reston, where she’s
a customer-relations coordinator at Bozzuto Homes,
but ditches the car when she’s at home. “Everything’s
here,” she says. “I don’t need a car for anything.”
Proximity to DC and Metro has fueled the growth
of several town centers. The Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor,
which stretches along Wilson and Clarendon boulevards
in Arlington, runs above Metro’s Orange Line. Thirty
years ago, Arlington chose to build Metro underground
despite the higher cost. Doing so created more room
for development and a more walkable community.
Clarendon’s Market Common, a horseshoe-shaped development
of offices and stores, anchors the area. The neighborhood
buzzes with shoppers and residents browsing in stores
such as Pottery Barn and Barnes & Noble or grabbing
a bite to eat.
The Orange Line reached Ballston in 1979, but condo
development continues along the corridor. As many
as nine condominium buildings have units for sale,
and Rosslyn is seeing a wave of new condos for sale.
The Residences at Waterview, more than 100 units
in a new two-tower development near the river, opened
recently. The developer, JBG Companies, is getting
started on Central Place, which will swallow an
entire block and include a 31-story office tower
and 350 luxury condos.
Bethesda wasn’t planned as a town center but grew
naturally, thanks in part to its underground Metro.
The corner of Woodmont and Bethesda avenues is now
the gateway to new condos, stores, and restaurants
with sidewalk tables. The Capital Crescent walking
and biking trail runs through downtown.
Other suburban town centers to emerge in the past
decade include these:
Silver Spring. To revitalize its downtown
area, Montgomery County lobbied the AFI Silver Theatre
and Discovery Communications to set up shop there.
Their arrival five years ago helped put Silver Spring
on the map as an arts-and-entertainment destination.
The county council is now backing a plan to spend
$4 million to bring in a concert venue.
Rockville Town Square. Another government-spurred
development to reinvigorate a downtown, the Town
Square broke ground four years ago two blocks from
the Rockville Metro station. Anchored by a new public
library, it offers an open-air plaza, 152 condos
and 492 rental units, three parking garages, and
many street-level stores. The Metropolitan Center
for the Visual Arts moved into a 40,000-square-foot
space with exhibit space, galleries, and studios.
The Village at Shirlington. Shirlington recently
more than doubled its original one-block length
to include a building that houses a public library
as well as the acclaimed Signature Theatre, which
moved here from its nearby garage space. Arlington
County has agreed to kick in $4.8 million toward
the cost of the building. There’s no nearby Metro,
but a new indoor station for Metro and ART bus lines
opens soon.
Reston Town Center. Almost-20-year-old Reston
Town Center lures residents with high-rise condos,
upscale shopping, restaurants, and an ice-skating
rink in winter. The planned Metro extension to Dulles
includes a stop near here.
Hyattsville’s University Town Center. This
is a new development about a block from the Prince
George’s Plaza Metro station on the Green Line.
In addition to condos, this community has more than
200,000 square feet of restaurants and retail space,
a 14-screen movie theater, and five office buildings.
National Gateway at Potomac Yard. South of
Crystal City on a former railroad-yard site, this
development eventually will have more than 1,500
residential units on 15 acres that also includes
office space, shopping, and restaurants. Condos
are for sale, a Harris Teeter grocery store is already
open, and two Marriott hotels are planned.
Critics say the new town centers are poor imitations
of true downtowns. Too many of the stores are national
chains, they argue, and the areas lack the character
and charm of old downtowns.
But residents point to a strong sense of community
in these developments. Rosenthal says she lives
the life of Friends, the television show that featured
a group of twentysomethings in Manhattan. She and
her neighbors go out to dinner every week, watch
American Idol in the condo’s club room, and help
one another decorate.
This winter, they threw a pizza party for the first
baby born in the building. These friends are like
family, Rosenthal says: “I wouldn’t move anywhere
else.”
Source:
By Lynne Shallcross. This article appears in the
May 2008 issue of Washingtonian.
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Rory S. Coakley
Coakley Realty, Inc.
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www.coakleyrealty.com
