AN ADVISORY SERVICES PANEL REPORT Potomac Communities Prince William County, Virginia Urban Land $ Institute Potomac Communities Prince William County, Virginia A Strategy for the Rebirth of the Historic U.S. Route 1 Corridor February 17–22, 2002 An Advisory Services Panel Report ULI–the Urban Land Institute 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Suite 500 West Washington, D.C. 20007-5201 About ULI–the Urban Land Institute LI–the Urban Land Institute is a non- resented include developers, builders, property profit research and education organiza- owners, investors, architects, public officials, plan- tion that promotes responsible leadership ners, real estate brokers, appraisers, attorneys, U in the use of land in order to enhance engineers, financiers, academics, students, and the total environment. librarians. ULI relies heavily on the experience of its members. It is through member involvement The Institute maintains a membership represent- and information resources that ULI has been able ing a broad spectrum of interests and sponsors a to set standards of excellence in development wide variety of educational programs and forums practice. The Institute has long been recognized to encourage an open exchange of ideas and shar- as one of America’s most respected and widely ing of experience. ULI initiates research that quoted sources of objective information on urban anticipates emerging land use trends and issues planning, growth, and development. and proposes creative solutions based on that re- search; provides advisory services; and publishes This Advisory Services panel report is intended a wide variety of materials to disseminate infor- to further the objectives of the Institute and to mation on land use and development. make authoritative information generally avail- able to those seeking knowledge in the field of Established in 1936, the Institute today has more urban land use. than 17,000 members and associates from 60 coun- tries, representing the entire spectrum of the land Richard M. Rosan use and development disciplines. Professionals rep- President ©2002 by ULI–the Urban Land Institute 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Suite 500 West Washington, D.C. 20007-5201 All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission of the copy- right holder is prohibited. ULI Catalog Number: ASP047 Cover photos courtesy Prince William County, Virginia. 2 An Advisory Services Panel Report About ULI Advisory Services he goal of ULI’s Advisory Services Program holders in the project under consideration, partic- is to bring the finest expertise in the real ipants in ULI’s five-day panel assignments are estate field to bear on complex land use plan- able to make accurate assessments of a sponsor’s T ning and development projects, programs, issues and to provide recommendations in a com- and policies. Since 1947, this program has assem- pressed amount of time. bled well over 400 ULI-member teams to help sponsors find creative, practical solutions for A major strength of the program is ULI’s unique issues such as downtown redevelopment, land ability to draw on the knowledge and expertise of management strategies, evaluation of develop- its members, including land developers and own- ment potential, growth management, community ers, public officials, academicians, representatives revitalization, brownfields redevelopment, mili- of financial institutions, and others. In fulfillment tary base reuse, provision of low-cost and afford- of the mission of the Urban Land Institute, this able housing, and asset management strategies, Advisory Services panel report is intended to pro- among other matters. A wide variety of public, vide objective advice that will promote the re- private, and nonprofit organizations have con- sponsible use of land to enhance our environment. tracted for ULI’s Advisory Services. Each panel team is composed of highly qualified ULI Project Staff professionals who volunteer their time to ULI. They are chosen for their knowledge of the panel Rachelle L. Levitt topic and screened to ensure their objectivity. Senior Vice President, Policy and Practice ULI panel teams are interdisciplinary and typi- Mary Beth Corrigan cally include several developers, a landscape Managing Director, Advisory Services architect, a planner, a market analyst, a finance expert, and others with the niche expertise Nancy Zivitz Sussman needed to address a given project. ULI teams Senior Associate, Advisory Services provide a holistic look at development problems. Jason Bell Each panel is chaired by a respected ULI mem- Panel Coordinator, Advisory Services ber with previous panel experience. Geoffrey Booth The agenda for a five-day panel assignment is in- Director, Retail Development tensive. It includes an in-depth briefing day com- Gerri Tennyson posed of a tour of the site and meetings with spon- Coordinator, Policy and Practice sor representatives; a day and a half of hour-long interviews of typically 80 to 100 key community Nancy H. Stewart representatives; and a day and a half of formulat- Director, Book Program ing recommendations. Many long nights of discus- Julie D. Stern sion precede the panel’s conclusions. On the final Manuscript Editor day on site, the panel makes an oral presentation Betsy VanBuskirk of its findings and conclusions to the sponsor. At Art Director the request of the sponsor, a written report is prepared and published. Martha Loomis Desktop Publishing Specialist/Graphics Because the sponsoring entities are responsible for significant preparation before the panel’s visit, Kim Rusch including sending extensive briefing materials to Graphics each member and arranging for the panel to meet Diann Stanley-Austin with key local community members and stake- Director, Publishing Operations Prince William County, Virginia, February 17–22, 2002 3 Acknowledgments oth personally and on behalf of the ULI– Elaine Pugh, in organizing and managing the the Urban Land Institute, the panel mem- panel’s on-site activities. bers and staff wish to express their deep The panel members also wish to thank the private B appreciation to the Prince William County citizens, public officials, military personnel, busi- Board of Supervisors and its staff for their lead- ness leaders, and representatives of nongovern- ership and support during this assignment. ment organizations and interest groups who par- Specifically, the panel acknowledges the leader- ticipated in the interview process and offered ship and contributions of Sean Connaughton, information and perspectives from their experi- chair of the Prince William County Board of Su- ence on issues before the panel. pervisors; Hilda Barg, Maureen Caddigan, John Jenkins, and Ruth Griggs, county supervisors; Craig Gerhart, county executive; Melissa Peacor, assistant county executive; Richard Lawson, planning director; Nimet El Alaily, deputy plan- ning director; Thomas Eitler; John White; and 4 An Advisory Services Panel Report Contents ULI Panel and Project Staff 6 Foreword: The Study Area and the Panel’s Assignment 7 Overview and Summary of Recommendations 9 Market Potential 12 Planning and Design 19 Development Strategy 28 Implementation 35 Conclusion 41 About the Panel 43 Prince William County, Virginia, February 17–22, 2002 5 ULI Panel and Project Staff Panel Chair James Meadows Principal David Leland Meadows and Affiliates Managing Director San Francisco, California Leland Consulting Group Portland, Oregon Julia Trevarthen Assistant Director Panel Members South Florida Regional Planning Council Hollywood, Florida Donald Bauer Owner and Founder Walter Winius, Jr. Bauer Planning Services Managing Director Tustin, California Integra Winius Realty Analysts Phoenix, Arizona Michael Beyard Senior Resident Fellow, Retail and Entertainment ULI Project Director ULI–the Urban Land Institute Washington, D.C. Geoffrey Booth Director Charles Burge Retail Development President Eland Development Corporation Houston, Texas ULI On-Site Coordinator Gerri Tennyson Arun Jain Coordinator Principal Consultant Policy and Practice Urban Design Consultants Piedmont, California Christopher Kurz President and CEO Linden Associates, Inc. Baltimore, Maryland 6 An Advisory Services Panel Report Foreword: The Study Area and the Panel’s Assignment LI Panel Chair David Leland summed up MARYLAND70 the problem facing the US Route 1 corri- BALTIMORE Baltimore HOWARD CITY KENT dor in Prince William County when he JEFFERSON 270 said that the drivers of “approximately QUEEN U RICK MONTGOMERY 95 ANNE'S 50,000 cars pass along this section of U.S. Route ANNE CLARKE LOUDOUN ARUNDEL 1 each day in ignorance of the potential of the Po- WARREN Annapolis tomac Communities because they are not invited Washington, D.C. in and because the road is perceived as little ARLINGTON TALBOT FAUQUIER 66 FAIRFAX 495 more than an unattractive retail strip instead of PRINCE CAROLINE PRINCE 1 GEORGE'S WILLIAM C the gateway to the surrounding communities.” h PAHANNOCK e 95 CALVERT s a p e a The current invitation to ULI to convene an Ad- CHARLES k CULPEPER e VIRGINIA B visory Services Panel resulted from the successful VIRGINIA a ON ST. y DORCHESTER 1996 ULI Advisory Services panel report, Inno- STAFFORD MARY'S KING WICOMIC vation Prince William County, Virginia, which GEORGE Po SPOTSYLVANIA toma presented a development strategy—subsequently ORANGE c River adopted and implemented by the county—to cre- WESTMORELAND SOM ate a technology park surrounding the Prince William Institute of George Mason University.