Read more coverage on the Silver Line

The Silver Line was formally approved back in 2004 and the region certainly has grown in leaps and bounds since that time. But Metro’s new line in Northern Virginia super-charged areas of Fairfax and Loudoun counties that were previously suburbs or even rural fields.

For a closer look at the changes around the stations, we interviewed Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a non-profit that advocates for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, to get his take on development and accessibility at each station. We also talked to Zachary Schrag, a George Mason professor, an unofficial Metro historian and author of  The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro.

Silver Line stations are not like most urban stations in the D.C. region. Some cater to commuter park-and-ride users, others have more dense development around the stations. None are as walkable as stations in D.C.  Planners use the guideline that generally, transit riders are willing to walk up to about a half mile, or ten minutes, to get to a station, according to Metro surveys.

Loudoun County, which is getting Metrorail for the first time, has been planning to urbanize around the stations for years, launching a Silver Line area plan. But Schwartz said what makes the Silver Line developments challenging is that the station areas are split by the Dulles Toll Road, making it hard to have one cohesive transit-oriented community. That and a lack of a cohesive street grid make it an unpleasant, and at times unsafe, walk, Schwartz said. He’s hoping advocacy can help narrow the roads and make the neighborhoods around the Silver Line stations places people want to go.

“We will only achieve the vision of the Silver Line and meet our climate goals if we prioritize infrastructure funding for these transit-oriented communities (and not highway expansion),” Schwartz said.

While some development has already taken off, Metro General Manager Randy Clarke says it could take five, 10, or 20 years for the visions to be realized. Schrag agrees. He recalls a Metro spokesperson in the 60s and 70s would often use the phrase, “you can’t expect an egg to crow” to describe development around new Metro stations.

“You have to wait until something matures,” Schrag said, explaining the phrase. “So it would take a lot of work to get Ashburn to look like Silver Spring… decades of gradual change and development. But the sooner that process has begun, the sooner it will be complete.”

He says that the Metro line is essentially building a “linear city” through Fairfax and Loudoun counties that will be increasingly important to the region throughout the next century.

Take a look at these aerial satellite views around each of the six new stations from 2003 (the year before the stations were approved) and this year. The stations are placed in the middle of the Dulles Toll Road and have entrances both to the north and south.Use the arrow to drag the bar across the images to see the before and after. (Your best experience is on a desktop computer).

Ashburn

The Ashburn Station is the end of the line and the farthest of any Metro station — more than 30 miles from the D.C. line. From a parking garage overlooking the station, you can see new condos and townhomes, retail development, and even the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. It includes a parking garage that will serve park-and-ride passengers coming from the surrounding areas like Leesburg.

Development has taken off on both sides of the station. 

“Ashburn really should be the premier urban transit station in the heart of the county, with good access to Leesburg and situated between Route 7 and Route 50,” Schwartz said.

To the north, Loudoun Station, a town center development with apartments, restaurants, a movie theater, and an arcade, has opened in phases since 2015. Another large development, Gramercy District, will bring more retail, residential, office, and hotel. There’s also a big box development that has a Home Depot and a grocery store. In the lower right, are three big buildings — the Digital Reality Data Centers that have been there for at least 20 years. Schwartz says, that ideally data centers, which have low density and few people going to them, shouldn’t be so close to transit.

To the south is the area known as Moorefield Station. It has newly-built townhomes, aptly named “Metro Walk” and upcoming mixed-use development. The land closest to the station is still free of dense development.

“You often have to wait to build medium and higher density development — concrete and steel construction that’s taller than five or six stories — to when the market is there for it,” Schwartz said. “And that’s why you’ve seen a long delay in getting the high-rise construction closest to the Metro stations. So essentially, what you’re doing is land banking for the future.”

Loudoun Gateway

Loudoun Gateway sits in the Dulles International Airport’s noise zone, which limits the appeal of residential development. Everything within walking distance is a warehouse or industrial development, so there’s not much for people to get to from the station on foot. More data centers could be coming to this area in the future.

But it is a key park-and-ride location for Metro. It has a parking garage on the north side, and Schwartz said another garage on the south would make it easier for residents coming from the south to reach the station without using winding roads.

Three other features limit development — a large highway interchange, the new Dulles rail yard, which will house Silver Line trains, and the Broad Run creek. Schwartz says the park area around Broad Run would be a great “Central Park” for the area.

Dulles International Airport

The Dulles International Airport station has pretty much one purpose: getting people to and from the region’s international airport. Not much other development can happen here.

While passengers will welcome the rail link, Dulles’ 20,000-ish workers will also be able to take advantage of the train for their commute.

Innovation Center

Just east of the airport property is the Innovation Center Station,  named after the nearby Center for Innovative Technology.

On the south side is an office and mixed-use development with new apartments. Schwartz said the streets on the south side are far too wide, and parking garages do not have retail on the first floor, making for an uninviting experience for pedestrians.

“It looks like you need some additional street and placemaking investments to make it feel like a comfortable place to be and where you want to be,” Schwartz said. “Those that do the best placemaking will win.”

On the north side is the Center for Innovative Technology.The area bordered by Route 606, Route 28 and Innovation Avenue will be developed into 5 million square feet of residential, hotel and rail anchored by a 54-acre lake. This site was also on the list as a potential location for a new Washington Commanders stadium. To the northeast of the station is an apartment complex that is a ten-minute walk from the station.

Herndon

Back in 2002, Herndon was projected to be the station that attracted the most riders — nearly 8,000 a day.

On the south side of the station sits two parking garages that can hold 3,700 cars. Schwartz said in a perfect world you’d have buildings and a main street instead of big parking garages. The Woodland Park East development will have 1.6 million feet of office and residential with parks and two office towers.

On the north side sits an office park anchored by Booz Allen Hamilton, and other low-slung office buildings. It’s bordered by the four- to five-lane Herndon Parkway with narrow sidewalks. The 555 Herndon Parkway Development will build 325,000 square feet of office space and two residential towers with public space and multimodal streetscapes.

Herndon has plans for mixed-use redevelopment that calls for larger, more tightly-placed buildings.

In its vision statement, the town said the area will be a “distinctive potential employment center and residential neighborhood characterized by concentrated development that is vibrant, mixed-use, transit-oriented and pedestrian friendly.”

Reston Town Center

Reston Town Center is probably one of the most developed stops on the stretch of new stations.

To the south, are several office towers with large parking lots. A 2-million-square-foot development with residential and retail is planned on a 14-acre site just east of the station entrance.

On the north side, a ten-minute walk from the station is Reston Town Center, which is getting a $5 million revamp, including installing artificial turf near the ice skating rink, creating a beer and wine garden, modernizing the public space, and more. The W&OD trail also runs nearby.

More development is coming, with 1.4 million square feet of mixed-use development known as Reston Town Center West.

Schwartz said there needs to be a very clear path with a safe connection straight into the town center instead of a path along roads that jogs multiple times.

The Silver Line officially opens Tuesday afternoon.