The imminent completion of the Springfield “mixing bowl” — the notorious junction of Interstate 95/395 and the Washington Beltway — is stimulating interest in redevelopment of the Springfield area. As described today by Washington Post reporter Alec MacGillis, local developer KSI and New Jersey-based Vornado Realty Trust are proposing major makeovers that could spark follow-on redevelopment by neighboring property owners.
(For a similar, up-beat take on Springfield, “Reinventing Springfield,” read Doug Koelemay’s column in Bacon’s Rebellion, to be published Tuesday. Blog readers get an advance peak.)
In nine acres now occupied by a motel, discount wine store, near-vacant office tower, veterinary clinic and two restaurants, KSI would build three towers of 21 to 25 stories with 800 apartments and condominiums, a 160-room hotel, 40,000 square feet of offices and up to 100,000 square feet of retail space, all surrounding a central public plaza and gallery or auditorium. Parking garages and landscaping would buffer the buildings from I-95 and the huge flyover ramp that looms behind the site.
Vornado would retain an aging mall on an existing 80-acre site, but it would turn the structure” inside out” by adding outward-facing stores, in cluding a grocery store. And it would add a hotl, housing and offices on the mall’s expansive parking lots.
The Post article points out a number of challenges to redevelopment. As MacGillis quotes Daniel Brents, a Houstong planner who participated in a recent Urban Land Institute study:
Springfield is “not a place,” because it has “no boundaries,” “no history or authenticity,” “no meaningful skyline,” “no natural amenities” and is a “civic vacuum” with “a freeway identity” and “architectural disharmony.”
People abandon such places, which never had anything to offer but the newness of their original construction. When the sheen is gone, they evolve into suburban slums because the buildings are not worth saving. Only redevelopment can save a place like Springfield. The devil, of course, is in the details. The projects need to complement one another, creating a balanced mix of uses. They need to connect to one another — no pods! And they need avail themselves of mass transit opportunities. Fortunately, as Koelemay observes, the County, developers and local citizens seem to agree upon the necessity of creating a “market-driven master plan.”
(Image credit: Springfield Metro Center.)