New Construction Pricing in Fairfax/Vienna/Dunn Lorring (Mosaic District & MetroWest) one year later.. (Alexandria: condos)

[hokiematt]

About a year ago, I recalled that a lot of fellow forum users here were expressing opinions that prices of new constructions like MetroWest and Mosaic District seemed to be very high. About a year later, the price has gone up quite a bit. The smallest unit at MetroWest (Blake -- 1,448 sqft) was priced at $499K when it first came out, right now it is priced at $578K (15.6% increase) while the price of smallest unit at Mosaic District (Aster -- 1,812 sqft) was priced at $580K and is now priced at $675K (16.4% increase).

The retails at Mosaic have been developed quickly and there are a lot of stores already opened and more are coming while it will take another 3 years for retails at MetroWest to be completed. I was told that there will be a very unique bar, a grocery stores, coffee shops and restaurants at MetroWest and they are trying to "outdo" Mosaic District. Prices of townhomes/condos around Vienna metro area will definitely go up after everything is complete.

Where are we heading? Who can afford these townhomes now??

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by hokiematt

About a year ago, I recalled that a lot of fellow forum users here were expressing opinions that prices of new constructions like MetroWest and Mosaic District seemed to be very high. About a year later, the price has gone up quite a bit. The smallest unit at MetroWest (Blake -- 1,448 sqft) was priced at $499K when it first came out, right now it is priced at $578K (15.6% increase) while the price of smallest unit at Mosaic District (Aster -- 1,812 sqft) was priced at $580K and is now priced at $675K (16.4% increase).

The retails at Mosaic have been developed quickly and there are a lot of stores already opened and more are coming while it will take another 3 years for retails at MetroWest to be completed. I was told that there will be a very unique bar, a grocery stores, coffee shops and restaurants at MetroWest and they are trying to "outdo" Mosaic District. Prices of townhomes/condos around Vienna metro area will definitely go up after everything is complete.

Where are we heading? Who can afford these townhomes now??

the problem with densification via townhomes is that even with all the clever tricks developers use (like making them really thin) you just can't fit that many on an acre of land. And there are only so many acres within any given distance of a metro station (and mosaic, and the far end of metrowest, are kind of stretching that distance - one reason for the initial skepticism about Metrowest, if I recall) The problem is geometry.


So where do we go, aside from developers trying to squeeze a few more really pricey units in places like that?

A. more developments like those but farther out - some developments on the outer silver line, maybe?

B. The not so favored quarter - use the neglected NoVa metros - Springfield and Huntington (though the geometry is not that generous there either.

C. build "TOD" type developments, but without the T - One Loudoun?

D. Build more metro rail - but thats expensive. And THs alone don't generate the taxes to pay for it

E. Use streetcars/BRT to get the T for TOD more cheaply.

F. Stretch the geometry, by making biking to the metro more normal.

G. Accept that condos/apts will be a bigger piece of the NoVa housing scene -even for demographics that traditionally preferred TH's

H. The very unfavored quarter - accept that affordable TOD townhouses are going to be in PG and in EOTR parts of DC

I. use VRE to anchor TOD developments

note all of these have disadvantages - but i suspect most or all will happen to some extent, anyway

[FC Merrifield]

Originally Posted by hokiematt

About a year ago, I recalled that a lot of fellow forum users here were expressing opinions that prices of new constructions like MetroWest and Mosaic District seemed to be very high. About a year later, the price has gone up quite a bit. The smallest unit at MetroWest (Blake -- 1,448 sqft) was priced at $499K when it first came out, right now it is priced at $578K (15.6% increase) while the price of smallest unit at Mosaic District (Aster -- 1,812 sqft) was priced at $580K and is now priced at $675K (16.4% increase).

The retails at Mosaic have been developed quickly and there are a lot of stores already opened and more are coming while it will take another 3 years for retails at MetroWest to be completed. I was told that there will be a very unique bar, a grocery stores, coffee shops and restaurants at MetroWest and they are trying to "outdo" Mosaic District. Prices of townhomes/condos around Vienna metro area will definitely go up after everything is complete.

Where are we heading? Who can afford these townhomes now??

And it's not just the new townhouses either. I live right between those two developments and the value of townhouses in my neighborhood have risen about $40,000 in just over a year.

[hokiematt]

Update: MetroWest is 90% sold out and Mosaic is 70%!

[tysonsengineer]

People should look at why the Braddock Metro in Alexandria has remained one of the best options. It retains a town feel. There are town homes a mile away which many live in and walk to Braddock metro because the area is safe for multi-modal, bikes, plenty of buses.

TOD isn't all just about the first 1/8 or 1/4 mile. When you get outside of that area as long as you dont start plopping down highways, you can retain a good street grid and get people moving without cars and parking. Instead of making everything a downtown, we should be thinking how to make everything a strong town, interconnected by highways (that is how our transportation system was originally visualized and that is how it still remains in many parts of Europe). But to do that, you have to stand up to a lot of people who want the concessions to the traffic gods to provide urban arterial highways which completely remove the ability to create this concept. One thing is for sure, you cant bike or walk next to or along an urban arterial/highway

The goal shouldn't be how do we move people from A to B more. It should be how do we get 50% of people who live in A to find ways to get good employment and things to do within Region A instead of B. That is the actual power of mixed use and good town planning and that is the only way we will ever solve traffic and provide people with better multi-modal options

[Spaten_Drinker]

Originally Posted by hokiematt

Update: MetroWest is 90% sold out and Mosaic is 70%!

How can MetroWest be 90% sold out? Most of it has not even been put on the market yet. The TH condos are now being sold and the regular condos have not even broken ground.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by Spaten_Drinker

How can MetroWest be 90% sold out? Most of it has not even been put on the market yet. The TH condos are now being sold and the regular condos have not even broken ground.

Ah return of the troll. 90% sold out of the things that are built, which is the only measure that anyone ever tracks any where in the world whether it is TOD or not TOD development.

[hokiematt]

I meant to say that it was for the townhomes (including those that are not built) for both MetroWest and Mosaic. As I understand, there are no more townhomes in the two projects beyond these (200+ units at Metrowest and 100+ units at Mosaic)

[skuthyar]

people who want to live in Metrowest.. should consider Kendall Square upscale community 1 2 or 3 blocks away from the development

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by skuthyar

people who want to live in Metrowest.. should consider Kendall Square upscale community 1 2 or 3 blocks away from the development

Separated by a major arterial road, and against the concept of being able to walk to things. But ok.