Loudoun losing It's Brain Power

The Firefox spell checker would not help. "It's" is a word, dude. Sheesh, it's not very smart to propose solutions that would not even help the perceived problem you are talking about. Also, look at your own post. You have two punctuation errors! I don't get the sky-is-falling reaction to Lee's minor typo when the forum rules do not say it is a requirement to have flawless spelling, grammar, and punctuation to post here.

Lee, you raised a very good point about the effects of the AOL, MCI, and other departures. Loudoun also recently lost the new VW headquarters to Fairfax. I continue to ask of all the people criticizing Lee, "WHERE IS THE COORDINATED COUNTY PLAN DESIGNED TO POWER LOUDOUN'S ECONOMIC GROWTH?"

 

First the unwritten rule from day one on the internet is do not comment on ones spelling or grammar. All that does is trying to divert the attention from the topic.

Steve I do care about the tech companies because they can eventually employ many high paying jobs and give an area certain amount of vitality with many high paying jobs to boot. Yes architecture or buildings for these companies can become at times an form of advertising for them. Look at the former MCI campus. The design although not great but is very nice to look at. Further they left tons of open space and lawns and a couple of ponds especially in their front yard very lovely campus to look at. You certainly can't say that about the industrial buiuldings and that is why they should be hidden or better lanscaped. The visa industrial electronic machine building is an complete eyesore in an prominent location which adds nothing to the opertion of the complex and takes away land that would be better used to continue the beatiful one loudoun theme. Visa if they wanted to be so top secret should of built way back in the middle of nowhere visually. This will have an impact for visually conscious companies thinking about locating near there. and other developers such as Kincora thinking hell the surrounding property is going down hill in looks so we may as well just fill ours up with more low paying industrial. So the visa development can have an domino effect especially because of the huge visual size of it.

So this all goes back to attracting these high paying companies such as technology companies. The dulles toll road east of 28 looks nice especially the reston town center and reston in general. and surrounding area. We are blowing the attraction to this area in part by destroying it's beauty and huge traffic problems with only the rt 7 corridor actually building roads and interchanges. Our side of town is all talk almost absolutely nothing in the works to make an significant impact on solving waxpool. I am beginning to believe punching pacific thru to nokes without the gloucester connection that we lost in the near furture because of the horrid decision by the BOS turning down Kincora.

Now we will have all the traffic possibly avoiding rt 28 from the dulles town center and using pacific and increase the amount of people turning right to waxpool not less traffic. That is why we need planners and engineers that have an track record for finding innovative solutions to tough problems. Our citizen planners and local county and state employed engineers are have just not shown any innovative solutions or even if they fully understand the problems and future problems. The rt 28 and waxpool interchange is an example of terrible planning and design. We also have the rt 28 and sterling interchange at the cost of 30 to 50 million dollars only going to be half used because an industrial building is going to be built to block off any straight connection to shellhorn soon. SO now we will be funneling most of the traffic from the largest development in Loudoun all onto 606 as the present proposed road design shows. A nightmare in the making of biblical proportions in the making for 606 that will make waxpool like like childs play.

Another traffic nightmare oin the making that will further erode the possibilities of attracting more brain power in the form of new tech companies. Traffic is also killing us in attacking more brain power. Solve that and good professional land planning and we would have to put up an wall to stop the over flow of brain power that would want to reside in our area.

Lee j

 

I doubt any of us here are privy to such info, even if it exists. So, WHY don't you ask the County?!?!

Or ask Lee, since he understands this stuff and Loudoun better than any of us.

 

The point is that there isn't one. So, I don't understand why everyone is so busy criticizing Lee when he is trying to focus attention on this important matter.

 

I was pointing out what seems to be a trend in some here: an attitude that it's open seaon for criticizing Lee's little typo accompanied by a complete disregard for following holding yourself to the same lofty standards.

Lee, it's obvious that those who criticize have spelling, grammar, and punctuation problems, too. So, don't take it personally. To err is human, so I guess some people must be thinking that they are better than us mere humans.

Actually, it appears that he cares quite a lot. His last post is good evidence of that.

 

I was the one who pointed out the difference between IT's and ITS in the first place.
If you bothered to notice and not use this as an excuse to pontificate in Lee's defense (he is a big boy who can defend himself), you would have noticed the and realized that I was simply poking fun at Lee. Which, in all honesty, I do not think bothered Lee one bit.

So why don't you and that white charger (metaphor for your posts) you are on ride off into the sunset and let this issue go the way of the dodo.

And one final word from me on THIS matter, with the egregious spelling and grammar mistakes Lee makes in EVERY post, do you really think that it's vs. its is the mistake that one would pick on Lee about?????

Must be slow in Gryphon's world if this is your latest "windmill".

 

With your checkered past on typos, you criticized Lee, eh? Anyhow, you were not the focus on my comment.

Actually, the big goings on today are all about the new SAAB 9-1. The SAAB blogs are lit up. All quite exciting!

Finally, I still see nobody has been able to point to the county's plan to drive economic growth for Loudoun. So, as I said before, I hope Lee keeps lighting fires under people's feet by exposing the problems.

 

First thanks Gryphon for your supporting words. I really appreciate it.

Second the firefox spell check sucks. Second people commenting on my grammar and spelling has absolutely no affect on me one way or another. I only bring up the unwritten rule for grammar and spelling on the internet for others benefit not mine so they know and should not be intimidated by people that are constantly harping ones grammar and spelling. It is a total waste of time for one to do so and again has absolutely no affect on me or do I take personally. As I don't take any negative attacks against me personally and others should not be offended personally by what I say. So the end of all that from me.

Steve early next week I will tie together what you mostly think that I have been rambling all over the place about Loudouns economic future. Everything I say here from roads to horrible zoning and architecture to misplaced developments does have an effect on Loudouns future.

There are other counties and cities in this country that have gone to the length of properly zoning their cities with proper master planners that are innovative and have a proven track record and I will post examples next week. Eastern Loudoun is fast coming to an crossroads of what it will be from the amount of available land and real estate left. Eastern Loudoun is not a very large area and an significant distance from downtown and other work centers in the region. So it must start to identify itself as what is wants to be with direction from our county leaders, before we are an total hodgepodge of some beautiful suburban puds and an industrial electronic swath of industry. right at the entrances of Loudoun.

As far as reston herndon they placed the industrial mostly together and out of sight from the beautiful residential and commercial centers not mostly on their main streets. and not jumping all over the place like in Loudoun. Back in the nineties estern Loudoun look like it was trying to overcome the industrial look that much of the land off rt 28 is zoned and much still is and is jumping further and further out intermixing very badly with the class A development. So LOudoun should take an Look at what land is left and is the best use for it industrial or perhaps it should be upgraded as Kincora tried and was voted down by the BOS which was an horrible mistake and extremely short sighted by some of our civial planners and some of the BOS. When I hear things from Scott York saying why do we need another one Loudoun (Kincora) in that area. That makes me think York is shortsighted and foolish for not developing an continuous corridor between one Loudoun and the dulles town center of Class a development. Now we might get in interrupted with industrial such as visa which could have an negative effect on the area. That whole corridor should be continuous as if it blends together. In a way businesses then can be close to each other and feed off each other. Lansdown is the best example in the county aof superb master planning. Residential all together office and beautifully set some of it along the golf course. The hospital is perfectly placed from the residential and great access to it. Further it has plenty of room to expand. Lansdown is wonderfully done. That is how our entire county needs to be planned before it chokes itself. We are losing the trophy companies that not only give Loudoun an identity but they also generate many small businesses that feed off them and supply many high paying jobs. We are not just losing AOL etc we are losing the support businesses and the mom and pops that feed off the AOLS. If all you have left are the support businesses and the mom and pops well they will start to go under also without the larger companies for them to live off.

I will tie this whole thing together sometime next week.

ANd steve try to find solutions not just criticize everything that is said around here. You certainly don't bother me but at the same time you accomplish nothing worthwhile. I can tell from your posts you are very articulate and very knowledgeable and you could be very effective in the solutions rather then the criticism. My threads and posts generally start with the problem and then I find solutions and use examples when I can to show clearer not only the prolem but the solution.

What I do everyday for an living is take problems and find solutions. That is what design is all about. But I go further then many in my business in not only solving the basic problem I do try to do it beautifully for the TIME PLACE and MOMENT. You start with the big picture and work to the details. The big picture always includes how the project affects the adjoining neighbors. ANd even bigger then that what is the far away effect. Will this look horrible from an distance and if so how can I make that work work beautifully. SO each project has an responsibility to it's neighbors and anyone that can see it no matter how far away. It all has an impact either it is wonderfully thought out and done or one big eyesore for all our lifetime.

 

Steve your replies not to just my posts but to many here are always mostly negative without hardly anything positive in them. And that is just not to my posts but the majority of your post to almost everyone here from how you don't like how the county set up some online system to most articles posted by anyone from any source.

So you are one that loves to put others down and feel what you say is far more important to what others say.

I must say you are very articulate, but that does not hide the tone of your posts which seems you dislike a lot of what you hear on your forums.

So why should I even reply to your replies?????? Nothing ever positive ever comes from it, it only deteriorates down when you don't like some one else's opinion.
You do that quite often whether it is an post here or some article or government employee you disagree with.

At least I am concerned about my my surroundings and did get involved in the local political scene this last election.

This is the last time I will probably answer all your negativity. You don't like what I say and it is useless answering you back and becomes more of just the same.
Have an safe trip back and we will miss you at the happy hour and I mean that. You are an extremely smart and articulate person and you should channel that to where it will do the most good.

I know what I am talking about but it seems you just don't understand. You take the approach that is the way it is so that is the way it will be, which is fine we all are entitled to our opinions.

 

Steve Steve Steve you are correct I do live in fantasy land and get paid very well for it and have an track record. Those fantasies do get built many many times.

As far as the LAW. I am not sure what you are talking about zoning changes and codes change all the time if that is what you are saying.

Perhaps you live in the world of exacts and I do live in the world of design and planning fantasy that I am paid for and the public rarely sees or understands the whole process mostly the end result when built and then it is too late to change much More then not, the public mostly takes the position that the way it is so that is the way it will be. end of story

 

http://loudoun.vhost.vipnet.org/edc/strategicplan.htm

 

Originally Posted by Lee
Lansdown is wonderfully done. That is how our entire county needs to be planned before it chokes itself.

Argh! A community with a hospital right in it! And townhouses right across the street from the helipad! Lee, how could you do that to me!

Seriously though, when I moved here and found out that the hospital was actually IN a subdivision, my immediate response was, [sarcasm] "Pure genius" [/sarcasm] I thought that it was one of the strangest things that I had heard of.

Growing up in New England, every hospital that I knew of was in an urban area, surrounded by commercial buildings (many of them Doctors' offices) and apartment buildings (the kind with the liquor store underneath, kind of like where I grew up).

 

Steve why don't you take a day off and I will give you a tour

Perhaps that is the only way you will understand where I am coming from. I can do this much better in real life then here on the forum trying to explain all this to you. ANd actually meet and see what I am talking about. Everything I am trying to explain to you just goes on to death ears.

Lee j

 

Dc Davis have you actually looked at this brochure and what it shows??

How come they don't show the pretty pictures of all the industrial buildings converging on the residential and gobbling up the prime land??? hmmmm where are the pictures of our beautiful road system hmmm there is still time to show some of the greenway going through the beautiful countryside. Before the ugly hospital destroys some of of that with poor design and site placement. Also the 3 ugly grey boexes on the greenway would make another wonderful picture of our county and lets not forget the greenway entrance with the flex buildings with trucks parked right up almost against the toll booths as billboards. Give me a break that brochure makes my point they are showing what I have been saying we should build more of in our gateways to this county and on the prime visible land. The brochure is alie in pictures of what is being built here lately. Why not show the total truth???? Our airport is recognized around the world??? why because of the original terminal which looks like an sculpture. They certainly don't want to show the adjoining parking garages or the black box midfield terminals. WHY NOT. Of course we all know the answer.

Again the point is they are selling the beauty of Loudoun from architecture to the natural beauty not the visa building on prime land. ANd we will never see those buildings in an brochure selling Loudoun as the place to move your business. That is why we need to keep those undesirable buildings hidden as much as we can from public view. Because they we not help sell Loudoun as as place to move class A businesses. That brochure makes my point. Thank you DC Davis for pointing us to it.

 

If the goal is to bring more jobs and more of a business tax base to the county, I think we should be considering how the hospital would accomplish that, rather than whether or not it is pretty.

I think Dulles is one of the ugliest airports around. Of course, that's just my opinion. But it just goes to show how beauty is subjective. You can't legislate beauty. You can't zone beauty.

An onerous approval process where county officials try to dictate the appearance of buildings is *not* going to make businesses want to come here. They simply won't want to deal with the hassle. What will attract businesses is a low tax rate and a favorable regulatory environment.