Reston, Virginia

Reston, Virginia, is one of the first and most successful New Town projects in the United States. Officially founded on April 17, 1964, Reston was named for the initials of its founder, Robert E. Simon. Familiar with the New Towns and garden cities of Europe and Scandinavia, Simon envisioned the creation of an economically independent ex-urban community on the outskirts of a major urban area. To this end, he set up the Palindrome Corporation and purchased 6,750 acres in the Virginia countryside outside of Washington, D.C. Simon expanded on the original concept of New Town planning; residents would not only have the opportunity to live, work, and shop within the same community, but they would also have ample leisure activities. In addition, Simon sought to reduce residents' dependence on automobiles by dividing the community into clusters and placing each cluster within walking distance of one of seven commercial and cultural village centers. In order to ensure that development would proceed according to these philosophies, Simon established “Seven Principles,” enumerated in order of priority. These principles included making certain of the availability of cultural and recreational opportunities, a variety of housing styles, and individual dignity; the creation of a synchronous business and residential community; concern for natural and architectural beauty; and that the community should be financially viable.

Three features of Reston planning have had a lasting impact on community building in the United States. The first was Residential Planned Community (RPC) zoning, proposed by Simon and his team and modified and approved by Fairfax County. Previous typical zoning ordinances set population densities for suburban communities at about 13 persons per acre, with no variances, leading to the creation of sprawling communities of single-family homes. RPC zoning, on the other hand, set separate limitations for low-, medium-, and high-density regions, with an overall density for the [Page 679]community of 13 persons per acre. This zoning plan allowed the Reston designers to include not only traditional single-family suburban clusters, but also highdensity urban areas, apartment buildings interspersed with large open spaces, and townhomes with small lots surrounded by parklike communal space. A second important and influential component to Reston was the inclusion of social and leisure planning on the part of the developer. Simon was not content to hope that private companies or the county government would eventually build things like swimming pools, community centers, cultural centers, libraries, or even day care centers as the population grew. He wanted these amenities to be available to the very first residents. A third significant feature of Reston was the establishment at the outset of a homeowner's association, now called the Reston Association, to plan and maintain community space and cultural and leisure facilities and to establish and enforce property codes.

From the beginning, Simon's bold New Town attracted the attention of the media, and feature articles appeared in magazines such as Fortune, Look, Time, and Life. Unfortunately for Simon, however, this bold, ambitious plan was expensive, and by 1967 his company was almost bankrupt. Not wanting to lose their investment, Gulf Oil, who had previously given Simon a loan, took over the project. Gulf Reston continued to develop Reston along the lines envisioned by Simon until 1978, at which time the parent company decided to divest itself of real estate projects and sold its development rights for the undeveloped portions of Reston to another oil company, Mobil. In addition to adding significantly to the housing stock, Mobil's subsidiary, Reston Land, actively sought to bring in businesses on the cutting edge of the high-tech revolution, beginning with the opening of Sperry's corporate headquarters in 1983. Reston Land also worked with the FAA to open ramps to the Dulles Toll Road, previously closed to all but airport traffic, in 1984. These efforts to attract high-tech firms and improve regional transportation led to the creation of a nationally recognized business region known as the Dulles Corridor. The 1990 completion of the first phase of Reston Town Center, a high-rise building complex of apartments, hotels, offices, restaurants, and stores, attracted the kind of press attention that graced the innovative new community in the 1960s. In 1996, like Gulf before it, Mobil Oil decided to consolidate its business holdings to focus on oil, gas, and chemicals and sold the remaining development rights in Reston to three development companies, Equity Office, Terrabrook, and Westbrook Partners.

...