What has FFX Co done so right to spur development at Merrifield that ALX City has done so wrong in regards to Carlyle?

[queenswake]

A others have said, it's the lack of it being a place that carries a lot of traffic through it. Instead, it's the equivalent of a cul-de-sac, sandwiched between Duke St and 495. Even if people had a reason to drive through it, they don't because it's such a PITA to turn into it from the Old Town area.

I think it also suffered big time by the entire area coming online right as the housing crash hit. Without the momentum of the housing and commercial office market, no retailer was going to risk going into a new unproven area like that.

Alexandria also has had a history of having trouble with development initiatives in general. Besides Old Town, nothing else is really thriving. Braddock Metro area is only now starting to redevelop and attract retail. PBS was headquartered right next to the metro but one of the reasons they left was the lack of vibrancy in the neighborhood. No lunch places, etc. Landmark Mall -- dead. West-end - dead. Someone mentioned the Mark Center. Alexandria does a great job of thinking office workers are going to love working in a silo building without surrounding amenities. Look at the Victory Center on Eisenhower -- still empty after how many years after it was gutted and redone. No company is going to attract employees to a building sitting next to the incinerator, in an industrial area, without any amenities nearby.

I am still surprised that NSF decided to move to Hoffman. Yes, there is synergy with the USPTO and yes they got all sorts of incentives and it might have been the only place with the space requirements they needed to build, but talk about an uninspiring place for a bunch of smart people to want to work.

Here is my main complaint about Carlyle/Hoffman Center. Because it's all brand new, it feels forced and sterile. Great places to be are ones that grow organically and retain some of their history and grit. Add this to the fact that it's in an out of the way, hard to get to, industrial, cast-off part of the city, and it just doesn't work for me and likely never will.

[CaliTerp07]

My husband works right near the Whole Foods. He and his coworkers LOVE the Carlyle area. They all rave about how it's the best place for an office that they've ever had (and since they're all consultants, they've been all over). For what it was developed to be (office space and hotels for business travelers), it's perfect. They have walkability to dozens of lunch places, several happy hour spots, and lots of outdoor seating in nice weather. I love to go visit him in the summer to have lunch in one of the grassy spots or a restaurant with outdoor seating.

It's not a place I'd head to in the evenings, but I don't think that's what they were going for. That's what Old Town is for.

[Erix]

I always go to Kingstowne to see a movie on the Virginia side of the river. There's no IMAX, but it's close with lots of other things nearby. And Alexandria city wonders why many of its residents leave to Fairfax County for their shopping.

[austindoxie1972]

Originally Posted by tysonsengineer

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.

My friends and I joke that "it's too bad they put the Metro so far away from Mosaic!" It's not really walkable from Dunn Loring. I live in Tysons and just went to Mosaic last night (Cava for food and shopped at Target and Lou Lou). I found a parking spot right on the street. I go pretty much every week.

[austindoxie1972]

Speaking of Mosaic and Alexandria, the developer of Mosiac, Edens, just purchased a large parcel of land in Alexandria. Apparently, it's the entire block bordered by First Street to the north, North Pitt Street to the east, Montgomery Street to the south and North St. Asaph Street to the west. The company is planning a mix of residential units and retail.