Reston
Reston is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 58,404, at the 2010 Census[3] and 56,407 at the 2000 census. An internationally known planned community founded in 1964, it was built with the goal of revolutionizing post–World War II concepts of land use and residential/corporate development in suburban America.[4] The Reston Town Center is home to many businesses, with high-rise and low-rise commercial buildings that are home to shops, restaurants, offices, a cinema, and a hotel. It comprises over 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m 2) of office space.[5] Municipal, government-like services are provided by the nonprofit Reston Association, which is supported by a per-household fee for all residential properties in Reston. In 2012, Reston was ranked 7th in the Best Place to Live in America by CNN Money Magazine.[6]
Conception
The Midtown Reston Condominiums, a residential building at the Reston Town Center.
The land on which Reston sits was initially owned by Lord Fairfax
during the 18th century. C.A. Wiehle (for whom Wiehle Avenue is named)
bought the land later in the 1880s. He died after construction of
several buildings. His sons did not share his vision, and sold the land
to A. Smith Bowman, who built a
bourbon distillery on the site while maintaining a farm on most of the area, a 7,300-acre (30 km2) tract. An office retail development and a road are named for him. In 1961, Robert E. Simon bought most of the land, except for 60 acres (240,000 m2) on which the Bowman distillery continued to operate until 1987.[7][8][9]
Reston was conceived as a planned community by Robert E. Simon.
Founded on April 10, 1964 (Simon's 50th birthday) and named for his
initials, it was the first modern,
post-war planned community in America, sparking a revival of the planned community concept.[10]
Simon's family had recently sold Carnegie Hall, and Simon used the
funds to create Reston. Simon hired Conklin Rossant Architects as master
planners to incorporate higher density housing to conserve
open space, as well as mixed use areas for industry, business, recreation, education, and housing.
The first section of the community to be built, Lake Anne Plaza, was designed by James Rossant (who studied under Walter Gropius at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design) to emulate the Italian coastal town of Portofino.
Lake Anne village was designed with modern architectural themes that
extend to a nearby elementary school, a gasoline station, and two
churches. Lake Anne also has an art gallery, several restaurants, the
Reston Historic Trust Museum, shops, and a senior citizens' fellowship
house. All are local businesses, as there are no chain stores or chain
restaurants allowed in Lake Anne. Close by are the cubist townhouses at
Hickory Cluster that were designed by the noted modernist architect,
Charles M. Goodman, in the international style.
Other sections of the town, such as Hunters Woods, South Lakes, and
North Point, were developed later, each with a neighborhood shopping
center and supermarket.
[citation needed]
Development
The growth and development of Reston has been monitored by newspaper
articles, national magazines, and scholarly journals on architecture and
land use. In 1967 the First Lady of the United States,
Mrs. Lyndon Johnson, visited Reston to take a walking tour along its pathways as part of her interest in beautification projects. Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin visited Reston elementary schools named for them. The Washington Post featured a road trip to Reston in January 2006[11] and a relatively new website "Beyond DC" has a page devoted to Reston with almost 150 photos.Reston experienced increasing traffic congestion as it grew in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This was a time when Reston's population was growing but the Dulles Toll Road had not been built. Commuter traffic between Reston and Washington created serious traffic congestion on the roads that connected Reston to Washington DC. In 1984 the toll road opened and in 1986 the West Falls Church Washington Metro station opened. Most recently the Fairfax County Parkway, a major north-south artery, was opened.[12]
Reston has grown to a point where it now fits the definition of an edge city. While Reston takes on the statistical properties of an edge city, its tightly controlled design averted several problems they typically face, such as hostile pedestrian situations and lack of mass transit. Many of the neighborhoods in Reston were designed to be medium density, which is atypical of an edge city. In other ways it is a textbook example, with a majority of medium rise office buildings, and some citizens opposed to the expansion of its high density core.
Market Statistics
Nearby Listings
Listing information provided courtesy of the Bright MLS. IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use, and it may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. The data is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed accurate by the MLS.
Updated: 31st March, 2023 11:08 AM (UTC).
