Council, Planning Commission Discuss Downtown Master Plan

The Herndon Town Council and Planning Commission sat down together to recap and discuss the Downtown Master Plan Tuesday night.

Lisa Gilleran, director of community development for Herndon said the downtown is relatively small compared to the size of the town, and it’s unique because it’s directly in the center of the town.

The process for the Downtown Master Plan began in the fall of 2009, and has included residents, business owners, a steering committee, town staff and town committees and boards. Consultants who have worked on the project include Urban Design Associates, StreetSense, Bohler Engineering, Frazier and Associates and VHB.

The main blocks that are likely to see the most redevelopment are along Elden Street. They include the blocks that Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern and the TPI building are on, in addition to the northwest block at the intersection of Elden and Monroe streets. (Blocks C, D and M in the attached photo.)

Gilleran said other portions of land in the downtown are likely to have some redevelopment but not to the level of those along Elden Street. (Blocks I, J, K, L in the attached photo.)

Under the current version of the Downtown Master Plan the block of town-owned land at the northwest corner of Center and Vine streets will likely become multi-family housing.

Gilleran said in all the focus groups done by the town no one was ever interested in keeping the Pines Shopping Center as it is. She said most people just want to make it go away. Under the Downtown Master Plan it could become a residential area with multi-family housing and possible townhouses or small carriage houses.

The current version of the plan has a lower density than is currently allowed in the downtown. Most buildings would be between three to four stories tall, Gilleran said. The mix of uses would include retail, restaurants, residential, hotel space and some office space. 

Gilleran said the Downtown Master Plan has a lot of flexibility in it because no particular building has to be office or residential above the retail. She said either can go above the main floor retail and there is room for adjustment so developers can build what they need.

The steering committee for the Downtown Master Plan felt a multi-family structure should go on the block that ArtSpace is currently on, at 750 Center St, Gilleran said. (Known as block E in the attached photo.) She said it doesn’t have the visibility that a developer would want for a commercial enterprise.

Gilleran said during the public process the Herndon Foundation for the Cultural Arts came forward to let the town know it would like to build a public arts center on land where ArtSpace is currently located.

The center would include space for the local arts nonprofits, along with commercial spaces for arts related uses, such as rentable office space for artists. The Planning Commission recommended the town give the Herndon Foundation for the Cultural Arts five years to get its plan off the ground.

Gilleran said the consultants working with the town said it would be good to promote the downtown as an entertainment area, either through private businesses like Jammin’ Java in Vienna, or through a more public entity.

While in the summer events like Herndon Festival and Friday Night Live draw people on the weekends, consultants said entertainment venues in the downtown could help bring those crowds at other times throughout the week, Gilleran said.

Consultants determined in the fall that the changes in the Downtown Master Plan would require infrastructure improvements amounting to about $24 million, and would include things such as a public parking garage, streetscape improvements and undergrounding of utilities.

Town staff has been looking at options to get those improvements funded, including bonds. At Tuesday’s work session Vice Mayor Lisa Merkel said about $5.5 million would be spent on undergrounding and questioned how necessary it would be. 

Councilman Bill Tirrell said while undergrounding is nice to have it has been an ongoing goal for the town for decades.

Gilleran said it also might help bring down those costs to reduce the size of the parking garage from 570 spaces to 420 spaces. She said this would also mean if the Ashwell property, to the west of the current municipal parking lot isn’t ready for redevelopment the town could move forward on a garage that would fit entirely on town-owned land.

Senior planner for Herndon, Dana Heiberg said the revenue that comes into both the town and Fairfax County for the future redeveloped blocks C, D and F would amount to about $4.8 million to $5.5 million. He said a little over $4 million of the $6.3 million parking garage could be paid for through general obligation bonds.

Heiberg also introduced language that would allow the town to give block E of the plan, where the Herndon Foundation for the Cultural Arts wants to build a public arts center, to sell the land to a developer. The developer would then be required to build a shell for a public arts facility on the adjoining block where the TPI building is currently located.

Gilleran said it would be a good idea because developers might be more interested in that parcel of land than others in the downtown area. The language would allow for a solid plan for that space to move forward and would include language for an alternative site for the arts center.

Planning Commissioner Kevin East said if he was the HFCA and he was offered that deal he would walk away. He said the uncertainty the language introduces into the deal would make it difficult to raise funds for the arts center. He said being at the bottom of a recession, now is the time to five the HFCA the full five-year period to see if it can fund and bring its project to fruition.

Commissioner Melissa Jonas said she agrees, and doesn’t see how the town can ask HFCA to develop plans for two very different properties. Planning Commissioner George Burke said he agrees that he doesn’t think that plan would work. He said it strikes him as being very late in the game to be bringing up the new language surrounding the arts center.

Councilman Jasbinder Singh said he is more concerned about the fact that the members of the HFCA are not developers. He said for the plan to be a success they need the experience of developers. Les Zidel, of the Herndon Foundation for the Cultural Arts, said they plan to work with a developer to bring their plan to fruition and the developer will handle the commercial side of the arts center.

Richard Downer, also of the HFCA, said the organization would have a partnership with a developer and together they would come up with a way to manage the commercial spaces and public spaces.

Singh said in that case the long-term land lease, if used, should be to the entire entity brought together, not just the HFCA. He said there should be requirements HFCA has to hit by certain dates, if they go forward.

Many at the table, including Councilwoman Sheila Olem and commissioners Paul LeReche and Robert Burke, said they would like to see the arts center given its five years to come up with a plan.

During the Town Council’s regular work session members continued the discussion on the possible arts center.

Similar to what Singh had previously said, Councilman Bill Tirrell said the town should create a memorandum of understanding that the HFCA would have to hit certain points in its development process by certain periods of time to keep moving forward. He said if they don’t hit the goals set, the town would then be able to open the land to interested developers.