A Tantalizing Glimpse of What Might Be Coming to the Gordon Road Triangle

This morning Feb. 7, Mayor Hardi offered a tantalizing glimpse of what the City of Falls Church, local planners, and stakeholders might have in mind for the Gordon Road Triangle at the western edge of town. 

According to the City’s West End Small Area Plan, the Gordon Road Triangle, known to planners as "Planning Area of Opportunity 4," lies within 15 acres, bounded by West Broad St. to the north, the W&OD Trail to the south, and Shreve and Gordon Roads to the west. 

The “triangle” is currently the site of the City’s Robert L. Goff Operations Yard, “home to the Department of Public Works (DPW) Operations Team, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and the Fire Marshall and Police," according to a recent Urban Land Institute (ULI) Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) report on the designated area. "The yard is also used by Falls Church City Public Schools (FCCPS) and Police for staff vehicle storage.” The Falls Church Homeless Shelter is located on Gordon Rd. as well.

“It’s been a busy week!,” Mayor Hardi wrote in her weekly constituent newsletter. “Lots to share, including a new-to-me experience being part of a ‘fishbowl conversation’ at the Future Forum with ULI Washington. I had fun, nerding out with other regional leaders discussing the challenges of housing and economic development.” 

Hardi then showed this glimpse of a slide presentation from a technical assistance panel (TAP) of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and teased constituents with the accompanying caption: “Preliminary recommendations from the ULI TAP for Gordon Road – more to come in the next few months.”

The slide shows some exciting possibilities for Gordon Triangle.

A “Gateway for the Gordon Road Triangle” appears to be in mind at West Broad Street. Areas for existing "on-site small businesses," "maker spaces," and "shared parking" are under consideration. "Multi-family residential retail" is also envisioned for seniors at market-rates.

With many students walking to campus across West Broad Street and others making their way to the West Falls Metro station, planners are looking for ways to “re-align Gordon Road with Birch Street” and “provide safe [pedestrian] crossing” toward the West End developments, Metro station, and school campuses. 

Priority for “Green Infrastructure” as well as connections to nearby pedestrian and bike trails appear in the works. “Enhanced streetscapes” and a “shared gathering space,” plus “green amenities” along West Broad Street at Gordon Road are also under consideration. 

Multi-modal options for City transportation are envisioned with bike-friendly enhancements. Future W&OD Trail connections are contemplated at Gordon Road and along Shreve Road. “Trail-forward active retail” such as a "brewery, coffee shop, bike shop, cafe, etc.," are envisioned along Gordon Road. 

Around the City’s Recycling Center, tall fencing and buffers are considered. Near, or in place of, the Falls Church Homeless Shelter might be “support services,” “affordable housing,” as well as a “Training/Trade & Industry Incubator Program” area. 

“A new or renovated Operations Center is needed for the City,” the ULI TAP session report said. “The current facility was built in 1965, lacks centralized heat and air, sufficient space, and does not meet ADA standards. While the facility does not generate revenue, it is a vital hub for City operations.”

“The City is interested in exploring a public-private partnership that could bring new uses and generate revenue,” the report continues. “Now is the time to think creatively and reimagine the Gordon Road Triangle.”

The TAP identified its goals:

1. Identify strategies for reinvestment in the Gordon Road Triangle. Explore the feasibility of a public-private financing structure for the redevelopment of the Operations Yard. 
2. Utilize and create additional multi-modal connections offered by the existing transportation network including the W&OD Trail and West Falls Church Metrorail Station to enhance walking and biking in the area.”

According to the Falls Church News-Press, the Gordon Road Triangle was the “subject of an extensive two-day Urban Land Institute evaluation held at the Hilton Garden Inn last week,” aiming to optimize “the potential for that area.” In April, the News-Press reported that Mayor Hardi wished to see "more creative" City plans in the works for the Gordon Road Triangle than simply an expanded city operations center.

Re-imagining the Gordon Road Triangle brings a host of opportunities, slide presenters from the ULI TAP said, including:

Green Space – Goal: Facilitate connectivity with with W&OD Trail, increase tree canopy, and create livable natural spaces.

Connectivity — Goal: Blend automotive, bicycle, and pedestrian access in a manner that promotes sustainable and safe passage through the Gordon Road Triangle and connect with the nearby West Falls Church Metro Station.

Equity – Goal: Design the future of the Gordon Road Triangle in a way that provides equal access to new residents, uses, employment, and investment with[out] displacing current stakeholders.

Housing – Goal: Provide a critical mix of housing options to accommodate the needs of new and existing Falls Church residents across the demographic spectrum, from market rate multifamily to reimagining the City’s hypothermia shelter.

Here is video of the ULI TAP session on the Gordon Road Triangle posted online.

Re-imagining what will happen with the Gordon Road Triangle is consistent with the City’s West End Small Area Plan which “establishes a conceptual framework for redevelopment and public improvements for the City’s West End that will create a vibrant, economically viable, walkable, bicycle-friendly, environmentally sustainable and resilient destination along one of the City’s major commercial corridors adjacent to the West Falls Church Metro Station and Interstate 66.”

It's great to see so much reimagining in progress for the City's West End.

By Christopher Jones