Andy Klaff and Casey Veatch, event sponsors, guided the Reston Chamber of Commerce’s Virtual Tour on May 28. Photo by Reena Singh.
A boom in both housing and population is expected as the Metrorail Silver Line stations begin to open.
A comprehensive virtual tour of the areas that would be impacted during the first wave of Metrorail Silver Line station openings was shared with dozens of business owners at Hyatt Regency Reston during Reston Chamber of Commerce’s Virtual Reality Tour on May 28.
The early morning event started off on an energetic note with popular songs blasted after each speaker’s introduction. Fairfax County Economic Development Authority CEO and President Gerald Gordon joked that the song “Happy,” this year’s single by Pharrell Williams, did not suit his music style.
“I’m really more of a Simon and Garfunkel guy,” he said, before launching into his speech.
Reston Town Center, where the virtual reality tour was held, is 100 percent leased, he said, and a number of businesses are on a wait list. Tysons Corner also experienced a boost in growth when the Silver Line began being built.
“Tysons Corner is booming, and if you like to play wack-a-mole, you can fill up one building and another one will pop up somewhere else. All laws of supply and demand have been suspended for the next few years.”
He said Tysons Corner and Reston are a model for economic growth in the region.
“Reston and Tysons are to Fairfax County what Fairfax County is to the state of Virginia,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) admitted the road to economic growth, a fully-funded metro line, has been bumpy.
“I can tell you that doing big things is hard,” he said.
He noted that Silver Line’s Phase I is still being tested at 52 years.
“That’s too long for our region,” he said. “I assure you that our competition does not take 52 years with transportation in Shanghai, in Beijing.”
Because of the Metro line, Fortune 500 companies are clamoring for space in the area and more people are moving to northwest Fairfax County.
Mark Looney, Cooley LLP partner, gave the audience the residential and business growth expectations by the numbers. Splitting his statistics between Tysons Corner and the Reston-Herndon area gave sponsors time to hop on stage for trivia questions and prizes.
Looney discussed renovations and space available throughout the Tysons Corner area. When covering Reston, however, he focused on what could be expected with the mixed use business and residential area near the Metrorail stations and the population growth expected slightly further out.
Also discussed were the roadway changes that would be ideal - such as adding four more crossings for Dulles Toll Road and widening Reston Parkway.