What has FFX Co done so right to spur development at Merrifield that ALX City has done so wrong in regards to Carlyle? (Arlington: real estate, apartments)

[Darkseid]

There is also a nice burgeoning bar/happy hour scene in Merrifield. I stop through to 'bar hop' every weekend now and even watched the Superbowl at Blackfinn. As the developments finish, I expect it to only get better.

Lot of people come from the Tysons/Vienna/McLean area because there's nothing like that in Tysons yet...

[roninsedge]

My theory is that Carlyle doesn't have the drive-through traffic that Merrifield has. In order to get to Carlyle you need to get off of the main thoroughfares of the area. Merrifield is on a main throroughfare and easily noticable. I work in Carlyle and I can say there are 3 places for happy hours and are hard to notice. The Trademark Bar(in a hotel), the hookah bar(really good Lebanese lounge in a strip mall at the end of Eisenhower Ave) and Joe Theismann's(been there longer than Carlyle and only noticed if getting off the Metro). This area is completely geared towards office workers and the sidewalks roll up at 7 after all the locals get home and walk their dogs.

[tysonsengineer]

Good open space, that the Carlyle development does not have. Trees do not = open space people.

Events themselves, every weekend theres some event going on, and the outdoor screen ties things together.

A general large anchor draw, it gives people the errand excuse and oh btw while Im here...

Varying retail pricing, its not all affluent, its not all low end, its a mix of income levels in shopping

Location/competition, as you said Carlyle competes against the much better shopping and outdoor experience of Old Town within a 2 mile radius. Within a 2 mile radius of Mosaic there really is no other place like it.

The only thing I wish was that the Halstaed side and Dunn Loring metro wasn't separated from Mosaic by the dangerous and hard to cross Route 29/Gallows intx.

[Carlingtonian]

Joe Theismann's! I remember going there. Alas, the food tasted like it was cooked by an NFL player. When I was there, what is now Whole Foods was a strip mall with a Paisano's pizza.

[NC211]

One of the key differences that helped Merrifield is the cost basis for the development in general, specifically land cost and a tax/bond structure incentive to lure the big dollar investors/developers to the area 5+ years ago. Location is important, as are amenities, but the math as compared to cushion to market expectations on a proforma basis for your project is even more important when looking at these urban-ish type developments. Merrifield simply had more bang for your buck through the eyes of those responsible for what you're seeing today in Merrifield. That makes (or, made at that time) Merrifield alot easier for a lender to gain comfort in financing the specific project. Factor in the Dunn Loring metro station, proximity to Tysons Corner, and a location that can serve the "tweeners" - aka, those who live under the same roof whereby one works west and one works east, plus a relatively comfortable cost basis for the land, and Merrifield was bound to happen. There are other locations out there too that will experience this as well in the coming years, assuming certain elements of existing developments pan out as projected first.

5 years ago I drove through Merrifield for consideration on an existing project. If you had told me back then that Merrifield would look like it does today, that those plans and specs would actually happen (and then some), I'd of told you that you were crazy. 5 years later, I'm involved in a couple of Merrifield's core projects, with another under my review for consideration, ironically, the same one I looked at 5 years ago.

[robbobobbo]

People mentioning what types of people go to "Eisenhower" are talking about the Hoffman area where the AMC theater is the draw. OP is talking about the Carlyle area, which is not the same place. I don't work in Carlyle but I've taken some training there during work hours, plus gone for food after hours, and I have never noticed teens hanging around. It looks mostly like people who work there are the ones walking about, eating at the restaurants, etc.

Also, Carlyle does have some open space. There is a field in the middle of the Carlyle St loop, and another inside the Dulaney St loop. I don't know if they ever get use.

I think OP's reason #1 is the reason. I live within 2 miles of Carlyle and it has no draw for me whatsoever.

[jbakerman]

I work at the PTO. For an area that's now 10 years old old, Carlyle is pretty frustrating. Lack of retail besides sandwich shops can be blamed on above-market rents. Still a lot of spec office space that was built years ago that remains empty. What new retail has come in is not foot-traffic generating, such as a new dental office and a new fitness place. Potential is still there, especially with the NSF coming to Hoffman Center and new hotels, but I think the pull of Old Town makes it so much harder to build a complimentary neighborhood to its west. On the other hand, if you like a quiet area for a high-rise w/ convenient location, it's hard to beat. A CVS or Rite Aid in that originally planned spot on Eisenhower would have helped a ton.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by robbobobbo

People mentioning what types of people go to "Eisenhower" are talking about the Hoffman area where the AMC theater is the draw. OP is talking about the Carlyle area, which is not the same place. I don't work in Carlyle but I've taken some training there during work hours, plus gone for food after hours, and I have never noticed teens hanging around. It looks mostly like people who work there are the ones walking about, eating at the restaurants, etc.

Also, Carlyle does have some open space. There is a field in the middle of the Carlyle St loop, and another inside the Dulaney St loop. I don't know if they ever get use.

I think OP's reason #1 is the reason. I live within 2 miles of Carlyle and it has no draw for me whatsoever.

This is a perfect example of perceived beneficial open space. Fairfax County has been falling into this trap too, that fields and rec sports fields are good things.

To an extent they are, yes, but they are also terribly destructive to urban space and community. In other words, people rarely grab lunch and go sit out in a middle of a field. People rarely want to hold an event (outside of large scale fairs) in a field. Bigger park does not equal better park.

[Generic Alexandria Guy]

I live in the southeast quadrant of Old Town and I often run through that area in the evening just to mix up my jogging routine. There is never anything going on. That area is like a cute but uninteresting girl - nice to look at, but nothing to really get excited about.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by Generic Alexandria Guy

I live in the southeast quadrant of Old Town and I often run through that area in the evening just to mix up my jogging routine. There is never anything going on. That area is like a cute but uninteresting girl - nice to look at, but nothing to really get excited about.

Yea, you'd be surprised how something as innocuous as a food truck zone at night, pop up restaurant, or beer garden can change pretty but nothing into a hot spot. Its a shame the land owner and city are ok with settling on making money solely on the leasing and not in activating the space.