12 Regional Conservation Priorities 2006-2007: The preservation of open space resources can also shape development patterns in the region over time. Bob Kaufman, an area developer from Augustine Land and Development Co. and a member of the Alliance’s Conservation Committee explains: “The business and development organizations in the Alliance support these conservation initiatives and the critical contribution of parks, natural areas and farmland to our communities, our region and our economic competitiveness.”

The other side of the two-page ad highlights these conservation projects:

Washington Smart Growth Alliance recognizes two development proposals in the Washington D.C. Region

An independent jury formed by the Washington Smart Growth Alliance has recognized two development proposals in the Washington region for their demonstration of smart growth principles. The Alliance is a partnership among six diverse regional organizations including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Coalition for Smarter Growth, Enterprise Community Partners, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Metropolitan Washington Builders' Council and ULI Washington. These organizations have traditionally held opposing views on growth issues, but they have agreed to work together to promote sustainable development and quality of life in the greater Washington region. This region is projected to add 2 million more people and 1.6 million new jobs by 2030. The challenge for policy makers and developers is to find ways to accommodate this growth while enhancing our neighborhoods and protecting the environment.

Smart Growth Recognition provides a way for environmental and civic organizations to support development that is good for community and good for the environment. As jury member Lee Epstein of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation noted, "The more smart growth projects get built, accommodating the demand for housing and commercial space in the region, the less that demand will be felt in the rural areas and on the working lands that are most important to preserve."

St. Paul's College, Washington D.C.
EYA

This infill project will develop ten acres of under-utilized land on the St. Paul's College campus on Fourth Street NE, within a half mile of the Brookland-CUA metro station. The development will include 250 single-family townhouses architecturally designed to be compatible with both the college and existing townhouses in the area. By providing additional housing at an increased density in close proximity to the Metro station, the development will help support transit as well as enhance the mix of uses in the area, which is expecting substantial new retail development, for example at the Catholic University South Campus site only three blocks away.

The development will also improve pedestrian connectivity and access to transit for existing residents of the area, by extending the surrounding public streets (Hamlin, Jackson, 5th and 6th Streets) into the development and opening them to public use. The remaining green open space on the site will be enhanced by a new 9,000 square-foot park consisting of open lawn surrounded by shade trees, masonry seat walls, retaining walls and benches. A paved plaza in the southeast corner will serve as a community gathering place, with stadium-style seating. Installation of new storm water management facilities, including innovative use of a bioswale and rain gardens, will improve the level of water quality protection even as the site is developed at a higher density. As proposed the development will provide at least 10 percent affordable units targeting income levels of 50-80 percent of the area median.

Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church/Bozzuto Homes, Bethesda, Maryland
Bozzuto Homes

This redevelopment project is located at the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Glenbrook Road in Bethesda, Maryland, within a half-mile of the Bethesda Metro station. The proposal is to renovate the existing sanctuary structure and replace other existing buildings with a new four-story community center building, a new 8-story residential building and a new underground parking structure that will serve both uses. The church has provided a variety of community services since the 1930s and this unique partnership with Bozzuto Homes will enable it to remain in Christ Evangelical-Bozzuto.jpgthis in-town location while expanding its services to the Woodmont Triangle neighborhood and the community at large. The community building will provide meeting rooms, classrooms, a gymnasium, daycare facilities, and arts and theater space, which will be available for use by the community at large.

The 8-story residential building will include 17 affordable units targeting families earning 60% of the area median income. The addition of housing accessible to transit will contribute to a better jobs-housing balance in this job-rich community and help reduce auto-dependence. The development will also help reduce auto-dependence by providing a more pedestrian-friendly streetscape, bicycle racks and better connections to the residential neighborhood to the rear. In addition, both new buildings will be designed and built to achieve LEED certification. Keeping the church in its current location will not only benefit the surrounding neighborhood, but also reduce the consumption of land in the outlying areas of the region.

Washington Smart Growth Alliance recognizes four new development proposals in the Washington D.C. Region

A jury formed by the Washington Smart Growth Alliance has recognized four development proposals in the Washington region for their demonstration of smart growth principles. The Alliance is a partnership among six regional business, conservation and housing organizations that overcame past conflicts over growth issues, agreeing five years ago to work together to encourage policies and projects that promote smart growth. Project recognition is intended to identify projects worthy of strong consideration and approval by the local community.

With the Washington region projected to add 2 million more people and 1.6 million new jobs by 2030, the challenge for policy makers, developers, and conservationists is to find ways to accommodate this growth while enhancing neighborhoods and protecting the environment. Smart growth development achieves these objectives by creating vibrant, walkable and transit-supportive communities while consuming less land and open space and lessening dependence on automobiles. The four projects recognized by the Alliance will provide approximately 4,800 housing units and over a million square feet of office, retail and other development in compact neighborhoods, saving thousands of acres of land.

Halstead Mixed Use (Fairfax County, VA)
This redevelopment project is located within a quarter-mile of the Dunn Loring Metro station in the Merrifield area of Fairfax County, Virginia, between Merrilee Drive and Gallows Road and south of Prosperity Avenue. Existing single-story industrial buildings will be replaced with a mix of transit supportive uses: one thousand dwelling units; 100,000 square feet of retail, service, restaurant uses; and a potential 150 room hotel. Four proposed buildings will line a new pedestrian-oriented street connecting Merrilee Drive and Gallows Road. A large pedestrian plaza will serve as a gathering place for residents and visitors, surrounded by ground-level community-serving uses such as a small grocery store and a variety of casual restaurants that will encourage evening activity. In addition to a satellite County library, other community benefits include mixed-income housing units that will exceed Fairfax County’s affordable housing requirements. A pedestrian-friendly urban development, the project provides all parking in structures or on-street spaces.

Glenmont Metrocenter (Silver Spring, MD)
This mixed-use, transit-oriented development in will redevelop an existing garden apartment community located across Glenallen Avenue from the Glenmont Metro Station in Silver Spring, Maryland. The development of approximately 1550 residential units will include apartments, condominiums, live-work units and townhomes. It will add a new retail center on Glenallen with uses such as restaurants, coffee shops, gyms and service uses that will encourage more evening activity and help to establish a sense of place for the Glenmont Metro station. A new landscaped central park, leading back to a restored stream valley buffer and linear park will provide attractive public space for both active and passive recreation. The development will improve pedestrian links between the Metro Station, surrounding neighborhoods and nearby community attractions such as Wheaton Regional Park by creating a new street between Layhill Road and Georgia Avenue and an internal grid of narrow urban streets. These improvements, along with on-street and structured parking, pedestrian-scaled architectural and streetscape elements, will help increase pedestrian activity and transit ridership and reduce vehicle trips in the area.

University of Maryland East Campus Redevelopment Initiative (College Park, MD)
This urban, mixed-use redevelopment project is located at the southeast intersection of Baltimore Avenue (Route 1) and Paint Branch Parkway opposite the main University of Maryland campus entrance. The project will remediate and redevelop a brownfield site converting campus industrial sites into 2.6 million square feet of retail, commercial and residential uses. On the northern portion of the site, a new five-block urban street grid will be developed with ground-floor retail, residential and office, as well as a potential hotel. Retail uses ranging from neighborhood goods and services to a major anchor including cinema, restaurants and specialty shopping will surround a public plaza designed as the “heart” of the development and the center of pedestrian activity. The second phase of the project will include student housing, market rate rentals, and live-work units to provide housing for on-site employees. Approximately 2100 residential units are proposed in all. The project will integrate a much needed and well-designed mix of retail, commercial, hotel and entertainment uses into the campus environment. The creation of urban blocks and public gathering spaces will contribute to a new pedestrian-friendly environment, encourage nearby revitalization and support light rail transit that may traverse the area in the future.

4 Bethesda Metro Center (Bethesda, MD)
This redevelopment project is located within Bethesda Metro Center at Woodmont Avenue, Wisconsin Avenue and Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda, Maryland. The proposal is to replace the existing three-story food court and office space with a 16-story office building with ground floor retail. The project will provide 283,000 square feet of office space and 12,777 square feet of retail. Community benefits include streetscape and bus terminal improvements, as well as desirable environmental features such as a green roof at the fifth floor level. The project increases the density of development at the transit station - where it is most appropriate - and the transit-oriented design will enhance the pedestrian environment for transit riders and members of the public. The proposed mix of office and retail uses will complement existing residential and hotel uses in the area, and the unique design of the building will contribute to the sense of place and help make Bethesda Metro Center a recognized and desirable destination.

Each quarter the Smart Growth Recognition jury reviews project proposals in the Washington area that are under review or subject to review by local government agencies. Since the recognition program began in 2002, the jury has recognized more than 50 proposals in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.