November 2004

Planning

Copyright by American Planning Association

Standing the Test of Time

By Kevin Hammond

Two historic housing complexes, built to house federal workers during World War II, show that good planning and design will stand the test of time. The two Virginia neighborhoods are Fairlington and Park Fairfax, located next to each other a few miles south of the Pentagon and Washington, D.C., along the I-395 corridor. Both were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Built as garden apartments, both complexes include low-rise apartment buildings and townhouses clustered around cul-de-sacs and open spaces.

Fairlington gets its name from its location between Fairfax and Arlington counties. It is the larger and denser of the two communities, with more than 3,400 housing units on about 320 acres. Designed at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt by architects Kenneth Franzheim and Alan B. Mills, Fairlington was built between 1942 and 1944, in the Colonial Revival style, by the federal Defense Homes Corporation to house defense workers, primarily those stationed at the Pentagon.

This is large-scale, publicly financed housing that has remained viable. In 2002, the Virginia chapter of the American Institute of Architects presented Fairlington with its "Test of Time" award for lasting excellence in architectural design. The complex was converted to condominiums between 1972 and 1977, but the exteriors needed little help; most of the renovations were done on the interior.

Park Fairfax, located in the city of Alexandria, consists of about 1,600 housing units in 285 brick buildings on 285 acres. It, too, was built in response to a housing shortage facing federal employees in the region. Early residents included two future presidents, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, as well as other members of Congress.

Leonard Schultze and Associates, the firm that designed Grand Central Terminal in New York City, designed the buildings in Park Fairfax. Clark and Rapuano prepared the site plan, which emphasized open space by clustering development within the hilly topography. The mostly curvilinear streets were designed to limit automobile speeds to 25 miles per hour.

Both developments have mature trees, sidewalks, and cohesive, although uniquely detailed, building types. Recreational facilities abound, including community centers, swimming pools, playgrounds, and several tennis, volleyball, and basketball courts. Elementary schools were incorporated in the original plans and are still within walking distance of most parts of the neighborhoods.

Local and regional bus routes provide frequent bus service via HOV lanes on I-395. The Pentagon, located nearby, has the region's largest multi-modal transfer center, with connections to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's rapid transit system and potentially to light rail connections currently being planned for the area.

Within walking distance is the Village at Shirlington, an early and exemplary redevelopment of an older industrial area that is now a one-block main street with a range of restaurants, shops, a movie theatre, and offices. Federal Realty, the developer, is expanding the 27-acre site to offer a broader mix of land uses, including housing and a larger branch of the Shirlington library.

Although originally built as affordable housing for federal workers, both Fairlington and Park Fairfax are substantially pricier now. The city of Alexandria estimates that condos in Park Fairfax appreciated 23 percent from 2003 to 2004, compared to 13 percent for single-family homes.

Kevin Hammond is a planner at Parsons in Washington, D.C.