Putting Main St. On the Map

To encourage that type of development, the county adopted in February a "form-based code" for the area -- that is, a zoning code based largely on building form and design, with broad guidelines for building use. It is an alternate, but voluntary, zoning classification for the Pike and nearby blocks that lays out architectural and streetscape standards that, if used, will transform the area into what planners envision as a walkable town center.

The purpose of the code is to encourage the development of a higher-density, pedestrian-friendly street more along the lines of Old Town Alexandria or Dupont Circle in the District.

Under the code, buildings in four areas along the Pike should generally be from three to six stories high with retail on the ground floor and offices or residential units above. (Historic buildings can be higher.) Buildings should be right up to the sidewalk rather than set back from the road. The code also dictates the size and placement of windows, calling for large windows in the ground floor retail spaces with upper story windows of proportionate size.

The code says parking should be behind the building rather than in front. It allows for flexible parking plans, permitting developers to provide less parking than usual by using shared or off-site parking.

"This is a '50s era drive-through town now," said Timothy Lynch, executive director of the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, a nonprofit group that has spurred much of the talk of change in the area. "We're trying to repair what was done over the past 50 years and turn it into a real living, working town center. Now, during the day, you could shoot a cannon down the street, nobody is here."

The county offers various rewards to developers who choose to abide by the code. It guarantees them a speedier approval process and allows greater flexibility in how much parking a developer must provide. There is also a rehabilitation tax credit that lets developers pay a lower tax rate for five years after rehabbing a commercial property, and a tax increment financing scheme, where the county redirects tax revenues generated by a project into public infrastructure that supports the project, such as parking or streetscapes.

"Because of the benefits, a developer may as well go the form-based code route," said Richard Tucker, Columbia Pike coordinator for the Arlington County Planning Department. "If they don't, their project may take longer to approve and they may not get any breaks."

So far, no projects have been submitted to the county using the form-based code, Tucker said, but private developers are working on at least five separate projects that are expected to be submitted, he said.

Gary Garczynski, president of National Capital Land and Development Co., said he used elements of the form-based code when planning the site for 22 high-end townhouses he is developing near the corner of George Mason Drive and Columbia Pike. Garczynski's site is just outside the four designated areas of the code, but he said the county approved his project quickly.

Garczynski said the townhouses, called Alcova Row and to be built by Centex Homes, will be placed closer to the road than he originally had planned, with green space in back rather than in front, because of discussions with Arlington officials.

"They're pushing for a very urban feel right up on Columbia Pike," Garczynski said. "I think buyers will go for it." Construction will start in the spring of next year. The townhouses, which will feature two-car rear-loaded garages, will be priced from the upper $400,000s.

Garczynski said the revitalization plans on Columbia Pike, and the adoption of the form-based code, were a "big incentive" to do more in that area. He said he is looking at three more tracts of land in the vicinity.

Another project, which is in one of the code's designated areas but has yet to be submitted for approval, is being planned behind the Eckerd drug store on Columbia Pike near Walter Reed Drive. The 16 live-work townhouses will be built by Falls Church-based infill builder Capstone Properties.

Dale Steinhauer, chief executive of Capstone, said the three- and four-story townhouses, which will feature retail space on the ground and second floors and living space on the top floors, will range from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet and will be priced starting in the mid-$500,000s.