The Guides: Virginia Growth

"Regional development and growth are defined largely by an expanding economy and by the transportation and land use decisions of our elected officials," said Bob Grow, director of government relations for the Greater Washington Board of Trade, in an interview with washingtonpost.com.

New neighborhoods and businesses create their own traffic patterns, schools, public works programs, social services and entertainment venues.

Grow, director of government relations at the Greater Washington Board of Trade, was online Thursday, April 22 at 11 a.m. ET, to discuss regional development and growth in Virginia.

washingtonpost.com's Metro section presents The Guides, a comprehensive regional resource, including important information on how to get around your area, where to shop, how to contact elected officials and where to go when you need or want help.

You'll also find some special features: John Kelly's Washington provides the lowdown on how certain neighborhoods got their names; Nancy Lewis surveys some of the many restaurants in the area; KidsPost suggests some cool activities for kids; Dr. Gridlock gives us a plan for getting where we want to go; and readers tell us what they like about where they live.

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

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Bob Grow: It is a pleasure to join Washingtonpost.com Live Online once again to discuss issues of regional growth, development, transportation and business issues for Northern Virginia. Please email some great questions. Thanks.

Bob Grow

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Alexandria, Va. -- Enough Already: I am proudly anti-growth, and the voters of Alexandria are starting to demonstrate a really hostile backlash towards the kind of unbridled and objectively imprudent growth we've seen in recent years, such as the City-splitting PTO project. The arguments by the Board of Trade and other participants in the minimum-wage lobby are simply not going over well with the public. You should advise your masters to calm down but good, or else I can foresee things like blanket new-construction moratoria being enacted.

Bob Grow: Alexandria -- Ouch! But I understand your concerns. It has been said that there are are two things people don't like --"high density and sprawl." Given that, we have to make the best with what we have. Anti-growth doesn't work unless you are on an island in the middle of the ocean and not on any nautical chart -- or if you live in a depressed and declining region where jobs are leaving on a wholesale basis. Greater Washington is neither. In fact we have one of the most robust economies in the nation. Over the next 25 years our region will have a population increase of about 1.5 million. To accommodate this growth we need to focus some of these people and jobs around Metro and commuter rail stations -- this is called Transit Oriented Development. It involves higher density but it also provides greater options to TOD residents. It involves a process called "placemaking" where a sense of place, neighborhood, urban amenities and additional retail, service and residential options are provided.

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Tampa, Fla.: I am relocating to the Washington area and want to purchase an older home to renovate in the next year. I purchased my current home in an area that was somewhat questionable at the time of purchase but has changed significantly over the three years that I have owned the property. Are there any particular areas in and around Washington that you anticipate will "turn around" or experience significant development over the next 5 - 8 years?

Bob Grow: Tampa -- Welcome. For "turn around" areas you should look at the inner core jurisdictions inside the Beltway -- Arlington, Alexandria in Virginia, DC, and Silver Spring, Takoma Park etc...get a map. get a realtor..The prices close in have shot up due to people trying to avoid the long commute in town but there are probably still some opportunities. Try getting as close as you can to a Metro station. Again, look for Transit Oriented Development to become more of a theme in the future. You might also look at the closer in suburbs which were new in the 50's and 60's when I was growing up...They aren't so new anymore but may present opportunity. You might also find the Washington Post's new special section called "The Guide" useful. It provides a wide range of local information that can help in making a decision -- so much for my plug.

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Fairfax, Va.: Where does Northern Virginia lie on the spectrum as far as growth and development in the U.S?

Bob Grow: I don't know the rank off hand but it is one of the top "hot spots" given the strength of our economy. You don't have robust growth unless you have a robust economy.

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washingtonpost.com: The Guide

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Bethesda, Md.: How does the metropolitan area rank nationally as far as cost of living?

Bob Grow: High but not the highest..Boston ,San Francisco, and New York are also up there.

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Arlington, Va. : I live near the Potomac Yard area where housing developments, shopping and other new projects have turned the area into one giant gridlock at certain times of the day and on weekends. My question is, why are these new developments so rarely accompanied by road construction and well thought-out traffic planning?

Bob Grow: I know, I used to live in that neighborhood...It is hard to retrofit a built up urban area with new roads....There is often no place to put them and if there is you will get strong opposition from neighbors / NIMBYS...There is a plan to serve Potomac Yards with rail in the future...Will this clear the roads? No, but it will help. Get a bike.

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Alexandria, Va.: Sprawl used to be called economic growth: So what do these anti-growth militants propose? Limiting immigration? Limiting offspring, as they do in Stalinist China? You're either against population growth or you accept it, and the housing needs that come with it. They should stop trying to hide behind the "smart growth" euphemism and say what their real position is: they want to pull up the ladder.

Bob Grow: The "ladder" will remain down as long as our economy is strong. No one wants a depressed economy. The key is how we build to accommodate the new growth that is forecast -- 1.5 million new people over the next 25 years for Greater Washington.....

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Falls Church, Va.: After my trip to New York City I was stunned to see how much wider the roads were in the city and around it then Washington, D.C.'s. Although New York has its own congestion problems the weekend congestion was substantially less then NoVa/D.C. area's. When are we going to widen 66? 66 slows down right at the Falls Church exits because of the shifts in lane size.

Bob Grow: I-66 inside the Beltway is being studied for possible widening in the westward direction. This is a constant bottleneck but the size of the road is currently limited by an agreement put in place about 20 years ago. Stay tuned.

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Maryland: I have no interest in living way out in the boonies of Loudon County. But I do spend money there. Why? Because I like visiting the wineries, the farms, the antique stores, the countryside restaurants (like Potomac farms) that dot the beautiful Virginal landscape.

If I have to drive by acres of ugly tract housing and park in the strip mall next to my favorite wineries, I may reconsider spending money in Loudoun county. Wonder where the county government is going to raise all the tax dollars to pay for the extra services for all of their new suburban residents who measure the quality of their homes by square footage?

Bob Grow: I moved from Arlington (a 4.8 mile commute to DC) to Loudoun (a 48 mile commute) last fall. I knew what I was getting into as far as the commute goes and I take the commuter bus. Yes, the taxes are higher but the amenities are, as you say, are worth the trip. The tax base needs to be bolstered with new business, especially following the dot.com implosion, but things are looking up with the Howard Hughes Institute etc.

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Alexandria, Va.: Exactly what role does the Board of Trade play in growth and development of new areas?

Bob Grow: We have no direct role -- Policy decisions are up to the elected officials and residents of the region. We do try to provide some new ideas or advance old ones that need help. Our current focus is on Transit Oriented Development -- compact mixed use development about 1/4 mile around transit stations...

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Arlington, Va.: I am happy to see the Orange Line corridor grow and become denser -- that means more stores and restaurants for me! I usually ride my bike to work, so the crowded roads and Metro don't really bother me so much.

But, isn't the Orange Line going to hit max capacity soon? Is this being considered as builders get permits for new towers?

Also, Clarendon and Ballston seem to have lost some of their green in the past few years. Is this "sense of place" development likely to include any new parks?

Bob Grow: Metro needs $1.5 billion in new funds to keep the system going including providing for 8-car train...This should help some of the Orange line gridlock...Green space in Transit Oriented Development is needed to provide for a high quality of life and placemaking...Metro station areas should not be just about concrete they must include urban parks, art, places to gather, shopping and dining options...Get involved with the local planning office if you have ideas...

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Arlington, Va.: For the life of me, I cannot understand my neighbors' opposition to adding a 3rd lane to I-66, outside of anyone affected by a land take. Arlington is one of very few communities inside the Beltway with an interstate running through to funnel traffic off city streets. As a result, combined with Metro, it is easier to drive from place to place within Arlington -- even in rush hour -- compared with other neighborhoods in the area. Many commuters are not on the city streets. Your thoughts?

Bob Grow: As traffic increases on I-66 you will see more cut-through traffic through residential neighborhoods seeking an alternative route. If you feel strongly about widening I-66 get involved and petition the Arlington County Board for change.

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Clifton, Va.: The easiest and most efficient way to get Rt. 66 widened both East and West bound is to declare it necessary for national security as a result of the possibility of a terrorists attack. Arlingtonians would have difficulty fighting it in court and Our members of Congress could get 100 percent Federal funding for it.

Bob Grow: Congressman Wolf has been in the forefront of the I-66 question.

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Re: Potomac Yards: Every time I hear "Potomac Yards" I'm reminded of the great Redskins stadium debate. The NIMBYs didn't want the stadium there because it would cause horrible traffic jams. Yes, but only eight days a year (maybe up to 10 if the Redskins were actually lucky enough to make the playoffs). Now with the shopping center, there's horrible traffic 365 days a year.

Same thing with the baseball stadium at Dunn Loring Metro. (I was very much a YIMBY for that!) Instead, they wanted to build hi-rise apartments, for which construction has already started. Now, instead of traffic only in the summer, it'll be there all four seasons.

Why did the developers not look back at Potomac Yards and see what a traffic nightmare was created then, BEFORE thinking about more massive construction like the apartments at Dunn Loring? Do they not learn from their mistakes?

Bob Grow: It is not an unexpected result...The default development to the defeated Disney America project in Haymarket resulted in similar change....

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Arlington, Va.: For we who are interested, but not completely on top of things with the Dulles Metro line, is the recent privatization decision the last hurdle? If not, what else has to fall in place? When can we expect to be able to reach Tyson's by Metro? Dulles Airport?

Bob Grow: The privitization plans for Rail to Dulles is not the last hurdle but is progress....If all goes well, first phase to Wheile Ave. by about 2009...to Dulles and Rt. 7100 in Loudoun by 2015....

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Alexandria, Va.: I think the key here really is ensuring that we have proper infrastructure to handle the projected growth. This region has handled population growth miserably in the past, with issues of congestion and lack of appropriate roads/mass transit the most visible issue. We are going to grow in the future ... no matter how hard NIMBs rail against it. IT WILL HAPPEN, but we must ensure that we have the infrastructure in place to handle the increase! Think of the suburbs in N.Y. and N.J. outside NYC ... the infrastrucure was built as the communities were built. Sure there are problems and traffic, but they have the needed roads and rail systems in place to accommodate the region's transportation requirements. Do we want to become another NJ/NY prototype ... probably not, but we certainly could stand to learn some lessons. Virginia especially needs to wake up and learn this lesson ... I'm moving my family out of Northern Virginia because we are just fed up with congestion and lack of quality of life as a result. I shouldn't have to sit in 45 minutes of gridlock to visit the Home Depot three miles from my home on a Saturday morning!! I predict this will become a bigger problem as patience begins to wear thin in this area ...

Bob Grow: I agree...But not everyone has the option of moving....Good luck...

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Falls Church, Va.: Bob Grow: "This is a constant bottleneck but the size of the road is currently limited by an agreement put in place about 20 years ago. Stay tuned."

WHAT is the agreement and how do we petition against it!

Bob Grow: It is an agreement between Arlington, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the federal government. Contact the Arlington County Office of Transportation or County Administrator for details.

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Suitland, Md.: Out of all the counties in Virginia, which county is the cheapest when it comes to cost of living/apartment housing?

Bob Grow: I don't know for sure but it would have to be one of the more rural counties...Stafford, Prince William, Loudoun, Faquier...Trouble is, you need a job near where you work unless you want to spend 3 hours per day commuting to DC.

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Washington, D.C.: I work near the Washington Navy Yard. I know there is a lot planned for the area, but it still feels like a ghetto. Since most office workers here were previously in Crystal City, it's a hard adjustment. How soon before we can expect some decent restaurants, a dry cleaner or a hotel?

Bob Grow: There are impressive plans to redevelop the Anacostia waterfront. Change takes time. Contact Andy Altman's office -- the District of Columbia Office of Planning for specifics...Do a Google search for the District of Columbia Office of Planning and give them a call...I don't have the number handy...

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Bob Grow: Thank you for all of your good questions. I hope I provided some answers that will help you and look forward to being Online Live again.

Bob Grow

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