Reston’s village centers will be undergoing a revitalization in the next few years. Photo by Reena Singh.
Reston, a community built on the vision of founder Robert Simon Jr., has spent the past 50 years undergoing changes.
However, more changes are yet to come.
In the next five years, community leaders hope to ensure the Wiehle-Reston East Station is successful, build and endorse a system of trails to get people there, build the Soapstone Connector, update the community - including the plazas - and work on keeping housing affordable in the rising economic market.
According to Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, there is still work to be done to make the newly opened Metro station successful.
“We just got done opening Phase I,” she said. “In a sense, we’re not done.”
Del. Ken Plum (D-36), a longtime Reston resident, said the area around the station needs to undergo economic growth. As soon as residents start riding the Metro regularly, their cultural opportunities will grow. In addition, those who do not regularly come to Reston due to the commute may find themselves coming more often.
“We’re going to have to see ourselves in a broader context,” he said.
Although big changes create worry for residents who have lived in Reston their entire lives, Plum said that change is the key to making the station more successful.
“I think all this about opening up our community is that it will be a challenge to maintain our identity as a community,” he said. “We need to be cognizant of the fact that we need to allow our community to build itself up.”
A BIG PIECE of what is left to make the station successful is giving pedestrians and cyclists a safe commute to the station so they can use Reston’s newest transportation resource. The community has a system of trails in place parallel to Sunset Hills Road. Commuters who are using the Washington and Old Dominion trail would have to come in on the Sunset Hills Road side of the station for the easiest pedestrian access.
Hudgins expects the foot traffic around the station to increase significantly over the next year. A bike share feasibility study was recently released, meaning that Reston cyclists could get the access to the station they hope for.
“We’ve been looking broadly, and we know what the challenges are,” she said. “We need walkability, and we’ll be looking, over the next few years, how to expedite those projects.”
She said community members may be seeing these projects come to fruition in the next three to five years.
One major project that will be moving forward soon is the Soapstone Connector.
“We accepted the feasibility study on it,” she said. “We’re probably looking at a couple years out.”
The Connector will provide motorists, cyclists and pedestrians access between Sunset Hills Road and Sunrise Valley Drive. The connection will be north to south. A South Lakes Connector is being looked into as well, she said.
“If you think about all the traffic that tries to get around Reston at rush hour, it’s always bottlenecks,” said Hudgins. “There are other long term plans, but Soapstone is at the top of the list.”
The village centers, once an icon of founder Simon’s vision, have been all but abandoned by many of Restons citizens and shoppers in favor of the Reston Town Center. Restoring them is a part of the latest phase of the Reston Master Plan.
“The village centers are important to connect the transportation centers that are here,” said Hudgins. “We’ll be working with the community over the next few months to talk those through.”
Lake Anne, the original village center, will be undergoing its own revitalization through Republic Land Development separate of the Master Plan.
“As Reston prepares for its next half century, our greatest challenge will be striking a balance between its humble beginnings with the five village centers, including Lake Anne, and the continued evolution and growth of the Town Center area,” said U.S. Congressman Gerry Connolly in an email. “One of Bob’s seven goals for Reston was the ability for residents to age in place, ‘for anyone to remain in a single neighborhood throughout his life.’ He says it ‘results in the heterogeneity that spells a lively and varied community,’ and I agree.”
ALSO IN THE PLAN: keeping Reston the lush, densely tree populated community it is today.
“Reston is a wonderful place to live and we don’t want to lose that,” said Plum.
Affordable housing is another issue Hudgins hopes the county will tackle soon.
The housing market is currently skyrocketing thanks to the newly opened Metro station - great for homeowners, but not so great for apartment dwellers and low-income wage earners.
“We need to go back and look at our affordable housing policy,” she said.
Hudgins said the county previously had a policy that stated that one cent from the tax rate was taken out and given to improve the affordable housing market. That is no longer done, an act Hudgins does not agree with.
She hopes the housing policy will be looked at and changed in the next year.
“Our inability to provide housing combined with the jobs that are coming here is just not cutting it,” she said. “It affects both people just coming out of school as well as retired seniors. There are all those in between, as well, who need to be thought of.”