DC transit agency contemplates new TOD model

“Pre-development planning”

Jon Boyd, Oct 02, 10.

The Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) is contemplating a new model for joint transit-oriented development (TOD) called “pre-development planning,” according to David Alpert writing at the Greater Greater Washington blog. WMATA needs a developer to create TOD around its station in New Carrollton, MD, a suburb that lies along the Beltway corridor, northeast of the nation’s capital.

The New Carrollton rail station is a facility shared by WMATA’s Orange line, Maryland DOT’s Penn Commuter line, and two Amtrak routes, and local buses. The station must plan for several functions around the station, says Alpert:

A lot of buses may stop at the station, and Metro may want some bus bays. There might need to still be parking for riders, though that parking could become shared between commercial and Metro where commuters park during the day and shoppers park at night or on weekends. Pedestrians and cyclists need good ways to reach the station. At New Carrollton, planners also need to design in the Purple Line terminus.

Therefore, WMATA needs to be deeply involved, and a good plan can be much better for riders than a bad one. Traditionally, though, WMATA simply signs up with a developer who actually designs the project, subject to comments and approval by WMATA and the local land use process.

The developer ends up discounting their bid to reflect the uncertainty about what WMATA and local jurisdictions will allow, or what constraints the site will have.

At New Carrollton, instead, WMATA wants to pioneer a “pre-development planning” phase. Instead of the developer working out a bid, getting approved, then starting to plan, WMATA will select a developer and undertake this planning process to inform the final negotiations.

The developer would pay for a community charrette and collaborative process where WMATA’s planners are involved throughout. MDOT is also providing $350,000 of consultant resources for the planning in addition to the developer’s. Both WMATA and the developer will then have a better idea of exactly what they can build, what it will cost, and what it’s worth, to better inform the final price for the land. The developer will get their planning expenditure credited back when they actually pay for the land.

(Image source: Google Maps)