Mixed-use centers around the region need to substantially increase the level of development to deal with the growth projected throughout the Washington area, according to a new report.
“New and more intense development will be needed in today’s suburban districts to meet the rather sobering projections that suggest nearly doubling the building environment by 2030,” Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer wrote in a report released this month.
According to Holzheimer’s analysis, which he based on data from the Washington Council of Governments, places like Crystal City, Bethesda and areas along the Ballston-Rosslyn Corridor in Arlington are going to become more urban and more dense. He uses the number of jobs and people per acre to define density.
Holzheimer’s study indicates that while the District will remain the urban center of the region, suburban areas will continue to attract more people and jobs and also become more urban.
According to a recent report form the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the majority of job growth, especially in the private sector, has been concentrated in Fairfax County. This brings new people and forces the county to search for new businesses to meet the demands of its residents. Fairfax Economic Development Department President Gerald Gordon said the county is seeking ways to keep its competitive edge as it transforms from a suburb to the region’s second urban center.
“There are things we will be changing,” he said. “Not so much how we market, but who we market to.”
Gordon said Fairfax is working to ensure the services demanded by a growing population are met, including bringing in more retail stores and contracting businesses. One tool the county is using its Emerging Business Partnership, a program which aims to bring minority-owned service businesses to Fairfax.
“It all goes back to the idea of diversifying the economy,” Gordon said.