Tysons Project Gets a Legal Eye

As a law student, Antonio Calabrese envisioned himself becoming a hard-nosed, Perry Mason-like defense attorney.

But instead of duking it out in a courtroom, he's spent the past three years bumping heads with Northern Virginia homeowners and politicians to pave the way for one of the most talked about -- and contentious -- redevelopment projects in the Washington region: the redevelopment of Tysons Corner around a soon-to-be-overhauled shopping complex.

Calabrese, a land-use and zoning attorney for the law firm Cooley Godward Kronish, has nudged along the plan at hundreds of local meetings, often full of angry homeowners concerned that the development would drive up traffic on Tysons' already clogged roads. Meetings sometimes lasted until 3 a.m.

"It's one thing to stand in front of a jury to argue a case, but try standing in front of 300 citizens who want to rip your head off because you want to build a shopping center in their backyard," Calabrese said. "So many people feel proprietary about Tysons because they spend so much time there."

Calabrese, 45, has worked for the owner of Tysons Corner Center, Macerich Co. of Santa Monica, Calif., for more than a decade. Now he's leading a project that will surround the mall with eight office towers, about 1,200 condominiums and rental apartments, new retail space and at least one hotel over the next 15 years.

Macerich isn't his only client. In the seven years since he started his firm's real estate practice, Calabrese has become almost as recognizable as the prominent projects he's worked on in Fairfax and Loudoun counties. They include Capital One's Tysons Corner headquarters, planned communities such as Loudoun Valley Estates and mixed-use developments including Reston Town Center and One Loudoun.

"These are the things that will keep this area vibrant and attract the type of companies and workers we want around here," he said.

But none of those projects prepared him for the fury of passionate property owners surrounding the mall's 3-million-square-foot expansion.

Expanding Tysons Corner, now the 12th-largest business district in the country, has hinged on the battle over whether to build an elevated Metrorail line through the 1,700-acre area, with four stops in Tysons opposite the mall, as opposed to a more expensive but sprawl-reducing tunnel. Local residents also protested when the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the expansion in January before a citizens' task force had completed a new master plan for Tysons.

But both debates have died down. Calabrese said he doesn't care whether the rail line is built underneath Tysons or aboveground, as long as it gets built. He said he expects the first of four phases of construction to begin next year. That would include about 1.4 million square feet of new construction, including 365 residential units, a hotel, and 577,000 square feet of office and commercial space.

Calabrese oversees the entire development team, including urban planners, architects, transportation consultants and engineers. The project includes a cascading waterfall and a sculpture garden in a common area where people can attend festivals and eat at outside cafes. A bike path will wrap around the 78-acre mall, and pedestrian bridges will allow people to cross busy intersections "without taking their lives in their own hands," he said.

Calabrese's goal is to create a compact, walkable community similar to what surrounds the five rail stops from Rosslyn to Ballston in Arlington. Development suited to urban design, he said, will keep Tysons Corner competitive in attracting businesses and residents.