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3. You can make it as wide and as big as you want. Go ahead, come up with something like London Bridge if you think that would be a good idea.
me: "I know this is meant as a fun thread, but let me use this to riff a bit. If i could make it as big and wide as I want, no constraints, I could lower all of route 7 a la the big dig, and have an urban nabe/parks the entire length of rte 7 through tysons. which would be kinda kewl, but not really what you are looking for, I think. In fact I think the best architecture results, in part, from constraints. Im kinda a modernist that way, though."
rte7 and rte 123 are virtual highways cutting it into segments - whatever they do to increase density, buildsidewalks, improve layouts, etc, won't make it easy to cross 7 or 123.
A couple of years ago FFX proposed a pedestrian bridge over rte 7 and normie asked what we would build, no constraints. for fun.
I said if there were really no constraints, I would put the whole road underground and build parks above it (like the big dig in Boston)
Well it turns out there is a serious, if not necessarily financially feasible, proposal to deck over rte 123 and put office buildings above it, addressing the same issue.
Oh, well with the Metro coming, I thought it was gonna happen anyway.
Unfortunately, not. An exit ramp off a major road and a Kiss and Ride drop-off aren't the same as an inviting deck, such as proposed by BBD, that might make it easier for people to move around the different quadrants in Tysons.
A tip of the hat to you, bbd. It would be nice to see something like that happen and I don't know that an idea like that is so exhorbitant. I bet there would be ways to do it that wouldn't be that bad. Also wouldn't mind seeing a fancy pedestrian bridge.
A tip of the hat to you, bbd. It would be nice to see something like that happen and I don't know that an idea like that is so exhorbitant. I bet there would be ways to do it that wouldn't be that bad. Also wouldn't mind seeing a fancy pedestrian bridge.
the guy who proposed this said it would be 120 million for a fairly short segment, and he claims its financially feasible cause you would build the buildings and the deck at the same time so the structural supports for the building would hold up the deck. versus completed examples (like the decked over part of the masspike in Boston) where the deck was built first, and the building then built on top. The new "land" would only be worth 60 million or so, so you have to finance it some other way - possibly tax increment financing on additional density - but given the total cap at Tysons, even under the new plan, adding more density adjacent to rte 123 would mean less density somewhere else in Tysons.
To do 120 million and just a park above means 120 million from FFX county general funds. Guess how popular that would be.
Realistically we will link the quads by local transit - a bus loop in transit only lanes in the short term - maybe someday an elevated automated guideway. If and when the county builds out more transit feeder infrastructure, and the new plan reaches build out, this could be a way to increase density.
If you are really a fan of stuff like this and can't bare to wait 40 years, there is something like this planned for the stub end of I395 in DC, where land prices are significantly higher and the highway is already depressed. http://www.mwcog.org/uploads/committ...0522160126.pdf
"This project will make modifications to three on/off ramps from and to I-395, including the
closure of a seldom-used off-ramp to the 400 block of 3rd St. NW. Once the ramp modifications
are complete, the portion of I-395 between E St. and Massachusetts Ave. NW will be
decked over and re-developed with a 2.3 million square foot mix of office, residential,
retail, and public space."
Last edited by brooklynborndad; 03-13-2012 at 03:44 PM..
The fact is in the pudding (or something like that), Tysons land prices are about 10 million per acre in this corridor already as proven by Lerner and Macerich in their purchases. By selling 10 acres (even at a discount because of the caveats) you can easily garner an equivalence of 60 million without even blinking.
The 120 million dollar I calculated has 55 million in traditional bridge deck cost for this expanse. This is because of the natural topography assists in reducing the amount of decking actually required (the slopes on each side are quite steep). The additional 65 million is actually for significant aesthetic improvements over typical concrete/rebar construction which would provide landmark qualities to the tunnel entrances such as granite stone facades, 2 full tunnel control centers, and huge amounts of landscape on the deck level to ensure that the developers do not skimp on making this a pedestrian friendly environment.
Even with that being said, the 120 million dollars is only 1/3 to 1/5 of the cost that a 50+ story building would incur. And seeing as this plan would allow for up to 10 new high rises to be created at the heart of the city I think it could make sense for a developer like Macerich or Lerner who are running low in land compared to others like Cityline and Georgelas.
Additionally, by removing the artificial 400' maximum height, you can garner the attention of developers from bigger cities such as NYC/Chicago/etc who have shown the ability to create marquee structures. This would help with the issues of population by creating the potential of 15,000 residential units (30,000 people) and would all be provided within 1/2 mile from the metro (directly next to) station in space that was previously wasted for VDOT right of way. And it would create a much better entrance to Tysons from the metro than simply rolling down crappy old 123.
I am currently working with a very talented landscape architect on some renderings and concept sketches in the hopes that we can present to Fairfax County at some point this year.
Oh, and btw, if you read our own website (not that GGW isn't great too, but I guest write there only once a week or every other week) The Tysons Corner you will find many stories similar to this one I wrote about possible construction and development possibilities in this area as well as other Fairfax related economic/cultural stories.
Gratuitous plug, what up
Glad you enjoyed our concept.
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