Smart growth advocates have applauded Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III’s commitment to support new projects near the county’s 15 Metro stations, but as the county executive considers the best place to put a new $650 million regional hospital, he is making them nervous. Baker plans to hold a forum Feb. 28 at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex to begin vetting four possible sites for the hospital. Two of them, the shuttered Landover Mall and the newly built Woodmore Town Centre, are nearly three miles from a Metro station in locations that require pedestrians to cross a Capital Beltway interchange. To the pro-transit crowd that has backed Baker as he presses the federal government on the importance of locating agencies near Metro stations, choosing either site would be a mistake.
Category: Maryland
Plans in place for White Flint Mall
About 100 advocates for turning White Flint into a transit-oriented urban area crowded into a back room at Seasons 52 one evening earlier this week to talk about making Rockville Pike “hip.” The location was appropriate. The restaurant is in a block of newer buildings near the White Flint Metro stop that also includes an Arhaus Furniture store and a Whole Foods Market. The block is linked together by landscaped streets and sidewalks.
Across Rockville Pike is White Flint Mall. Built in the 1970s, its empty stores and surface parking lots are exactly what many people at the Jan. 29 networking event want to replace. Advocates for urban development built around public transportation say White Flint can be a model for similar growth elsewhere in Montgomery County and in the nation as a whole. To accomplish that, groups that sprang up around the sector plan process a few years ago are redoubling their efforts and drumming up support to make sure their vision is carried out.
A Very Happy Hour!
Nearly one-hundred people came out to talk about the future of White Flint at a happy hour Tuesday evening co-hosted by the Friends of White Flint and the Coalition for Smarter Growth at Seasons 52 on Rockville Pike.
Lindsay Hoffman, from Friends of White Flint, and Kelly Blynn, from Coalition for Smarter Growth, greet the crowd.
The turnout exceeded our expectations!
County Councilmembers Hans Riemer and Roger Berliner offered a few words about the potential of White Flint as envisioned in the White Flint Sector Plan, which the council passed in 2010. “We are on the verge of a golden age in Montgomery County and it’s projects like this that are bringing that life,” Riemer was quoted as saying by Bethesda Now.
Councilmember Roger Berliner (D – District 1)
Councilmember Hans Riemer (D – At Large)
Studies show that changing demographics combined with a renewed interest in urban living have resulted in a greater demand for compact, walkable neighborhoods like what’s envisioned in the sector plan. North Bethesda Market, where Seasons 52 is located, shows where White Flint will go in the future, with high-rise apartments set over shops and restaurants around a central plaza.
Councilmember Berliner said that projects like it are integral to attracting young, educated residents to the county. “Montgomery County’s future in my judgement does in large part depend on being able to attract this kind of crowd, a young, energetic crowd,” he said.
White Flint Implementation Coordinator Dee Metz answers questions
The Friends of White Flint and the Coalition for Smarter Growth both plan to hold more happy hours and other events in the area. Stay tuned for announcements of future events!
Photos courtesy of Dan Reed.
Friends Of White Flint Hosts “Kick-Off” Happy Hour
Smart Growth advocates and supporters of dense, transit-based redevelopment of White Flint gathered in North Bethesda yesterday to mingle and discuss the large-scale changes coming to Rockville Pike in the next few decades. The nonprofit Friends of White Flint, which describes its mission as implementing the 2010 White Flint Sector Plan, co-hosted a happy hour at Seasons 52 in North Bethesda Market with the Coalition for Smarter Growth. In the crowd were neighbors, transit activists, developers, County Council members Roger Berliner (D-Bethesda-Potomac) and Hans Riemer (D-At large) and others from outside the White Flint area interested in the various projects that are estimated to bring 14,000 housing units and 13 million square feet of redevelopment around the White Flint Metro station.
Miller gooses debate about transportation funding
Regional authorities’ idea raises some concerns
Hospital case studies point the way for Prince George’s
What’s the difference between a hospital that’s a springboard for economic development, and one that’s not living up to its potential? Answer: Design, location, and connectivity. Local groups compiled a set of case studies to point the way as Prince George’s County moves forward with its proposed Regional Medical Center.
Image from ZGF.The new hospital is an important healthcare facility for the county, and as an employer of 2,000 workers, it can also catalyze economic development in an area where new investment has lagged.
Hospital officials are rumored to be interested in a sprawling 80-120 acre suburban-style site away from Metro, likely the old Landover Mall site. The sponsors of the case studies hope that these examples of great hospitals, designed by leading architectural firms, can help decision-makers understand the benefits of a more mixed-use, compact and transit-oriented site.
Matrix of case studies. Click to view full size.Envision Prince George’s Community Action Team for Transit-Oriented Development, the Coalition for Smarter Growth, and American Institute of Architects Potomac Valley collected the design case studies. They provide examples of mid- to large-scale hospitals with footprints of 1.5-48 acres. In fact, larger hospitals (measured in number of beds) are at the lower end of this range of acres, while the smaller hospitals tended to occupy more land area.
While Prince George’s continues to pursue additional federal offices (like the new FBI headquarters), a new $600 million medical center could be one of the best opportunities to jump-start transit-oriented development at one of the county’s 15 underutilized Metro stations.
In contrast to courting federal agencies, the state and county control the decision about where to locate and how to design a new medical center. Not encumbered with stringent federal security requirements, a regional medical center offers a better opportunity to connect to surrounding uses and fuel spinoff economic activity than an FBI or Homeland Security building.
Why a smaller, urban footprint?
Hospitals must plan for growth, and a working “rule of thumb” for traditional suburban or rural 200-bed hospitals (similar in size to the Prince George’s facility) is a minimum of 40 acres. This footprint provides a suburban or rural site with room for the initial building, associated drop-offs, parking, and room for future growth. Growth is common in medical facilities, whether for outpatient clinics, specialty centers, or the hospital itself.
Seattle Children’s Hospital. Photo from ZGF.Hospitals in a more urban context plan for similar growth, but within sites that are typically 10 acres or less. This smaller footprint offers several benefits over a suburban medical campus. Connecting a hospital center to a larger mixed-use environment where people can work, shop, and live helps attract and retain highly sought-after skilled healthcare workers. By better integrating into the surrounding community, an anchor institution like this can support a vibrant, walkable, thriving new hub.
Designers also point to sustainability benefits from a more urban design and context. A limited footprint disturbs less land and reduces the heat island effect. Placing a more compact medical center in an urban hub also allows for more environmentally-friendly transportation choices with frequent transit service, and walk and bicycle options for short trips. Driving and parking will remain an important mode of access, but a more urban hospital allows for lower parking supplies, greater access for those who do not have a car, and the choice to take some trips on foot or by bicycle.
While a footprint of 10 acres may seem small compared to a suburban campus of 40 acres or more, hospital complexes around the country and beyond are developing successful, busy hospitals on sites as small as a few acres.
The just-released case studies of 11 successful moderate to small-footprint hospitals of comparable size to the planned Prince George’s regional medical center share 3 common success factors: access, flexibility for future growth, and a connection to the surrounding environment.
Success factor: Access
An important factor for any healthcare facility is convenient and easy access to and from the site. High-quality public transportation, stores and services, and housing within walking distance create opportunities for staff and visitors to get outside the hospital while still being nearby, and enable some to come and go without having a car.
Access to Champ de Mars medical center. Image from CannonDesign.Several of the examples in the report show major hospitals that are integrated into city blocks. Hospital staff and visitors have easy access to a local services and transit options. For example, the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center is a 448-bed hospital, 7 stories tall situated on 3 acres of land. Within a block is the Red line light rail station and major bus routes.
GWU hospital entrance. Photo from Smithgroup JJR.Closer to home, the 6-7 story, 371-bed George Washington University Hospital occupies 2 acres. The front door of GWU Hospital opens onto the busy entrance of the Foggy Bottom Metrorail station and is embedded in a thriving urban district that mixes health, university, private office, retail and housing uses in a highly walkable, transit-accessible environment.
Medical facilities woven into the fabric of a larger mixed-use district served by transit can have an advantage when competing for medical professionals who desire to be in a lively, diverse place, and need flexibility with their commutes in a two-worker household.
Success factor: Flexibility for future growth
While suburban hospitals are typically designed with extra acreage to accommodate future growth, urban medical centers can anticipate similar growth, but plan smartly within a more constrained footprint.
Main entrance, American Hospital Dubai. Image from AECOM.Planning a smaller-footprint facility guides planners to take into account their overall surroundings, making better use of pedestrian connections to the surrounding community and supporting services. In the case of both the vertical high rise addition to Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, with the 260-bed Bunting Center inpatient hospital on 1.5 acres, and the 350-bed American Hospital Dubai campus on 11 acres, planning for growth accounted for the sites’ larger surroundings.
The hospital designers from AECOM point out that an urban design and location provides significant advantages in offering the ability to walk to a nearby restaurant to avoid yet another meal at the hospital cafeteria or the convenience of staying at a nearby hotel for someone visiting a sick relative.
Success factor: Connection to green spaces
Numerous studies show that access to outdoor places and views of green spaces create a state-of-the-art healing environment. But urban hospitals don’t need to concede healing green features to their suburban and rural counterparts. Roof gardens, courtyards, and natural light are all achievable in small-footprint hospital centers.
Roof garden view, Bunting Center at Mercy, Baltimore. Rendering from AECOM.The centerpiece of the Bunting Center at Mercy Hospital healing environment is a multilevel roof garden, accessible on various floors and overlooked by room occupants above the midway point along the rise of the building. The 9th floor garden offers direct access from the ICU waiting room.
On the 28 acre campus of the 600-bed Seattle Children’s Hospital, 41% of the campus is dedicated as open space. Pedestrian paths are provided throughout the facility to promote walking and offer outdoor connections.
Innovative design and urban context show the possibilities
The 11 case studies offer examples of innovative architectural design, connectivity to the surrounding context, access to transit, green features and compact footprints. These features highlight how a regional medical center for Prince George’s and Southern Maryland could establish a new leading healthcare facility that not only attracts the staff and patients it needs to succeed, but fits into a larger district that thrives on the influx of activity.
Photos courtesy of Greater Greater Washington. Read the original article here.
Testimony to the Montgomery County Council re County Executive Ike Leggett’s Request for Supplemental Appropriation for Study of Rapid Transit System
The Coalition for Smarter Growth supports the supplemental request by the County Executive for $1 million to further advance the proposed Rapid Transit System. We believe that the request is focused on the important implementation issues including service planning, integration with RideOn and Metrobus, bike/ped access, transit signal prioritization, organizational structure and agreements with the state on the right of way. We also have some recommendations, which include ensuring integration with Purple Line and Metrorail service.
We understand the position of our long-time allies at the Action Committee for Transit, and their recommendation that the county first move forward with WMATA’s bus priority corridor network. Yet, we believe that a win-win approach is possible. The outlines of an expanded, integrated, higher capacity and speedier transit network are becoming apparent. It is a system that includes a rehabilitated Metrorail and robust transit-oriented development at all stations on both arms of the Red Line, includes construction of the Purple Line, and includes the most promising of the Phase I Rapid Transit System routes and also integration with the WMATA Priority Corridor Network.
We will all depend on the technical staffs to give us something that works effectively and selects the most effective service mode, not just for today, but for the evolving transit-oriented future, meeting the goal of a much more robust and transformative transit network for the county. Therefore, we believe that the funding should also enable close coordination between the county staff, Planning Board staff, WMATA and state officials to design this interconnected and operationally integrated system.
To gain maximum benefit from this funding, these agencies should deliver to the County Executive and to you a consensus system design that is appropriately tailored to each corridor in terms of mode and level of service, and, is closely linked to walkable, transit-oriented development where that development is appropriate. By the end of these studies, the technical experts should be able to give you a system that has drawn from the research and data available in the Task Force report, in the Planning Board’s staff report, the ITDP report, the state transit studies and WMATA, including their Priority Corridor Network.
It should be a system that seamlessly links fares, schedules, routes and transfers, and delivers significant increases in ridership of both transit-dependent and the so-called “choice riders.” It should be a system that transforms the county and enhances the movement of people, their access to jobs and services, and increases the economic competitiveness of the county.
As you know, Fairfax County is investing in the Silver Line. But they, like you, are also engaged in a study of their next generation of transit investments including BRT/LRT options for their commercial corridors and enhanced cross-county suburban to job center services. We hope that you will give them a run for their money in developing an effective transit and transit-accessible future!
Thank you.
Stewart Schwartz
Executive Director
New owner projects 200-plus new jobs at Clinton hospital
The new owner of MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center anticipates spending $150 million in improvements and generating at least 200 new jobs within the next three years, as the Clinton hospital joins the industry trend of integration.
Hospital design case studies showcase benefits of urban design and community connections for new Prince George’s Regional Medical Center
new set of case studies [PDF] highlights how important urban design, community connections, and transit access could ultimately be to the long-term success of a new Regional Medical Center in Prince George’s County. The hospital design examples are from leading national and international architectural firms, including AECOM, Cannon Designs, ZGF, and Smithgroup JJR. Local organizations the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Potomac Valley, Coalition for Smarter Growth, and Envision Prince George’s Community Action Team for Transit-Oriented Development compiled the examples to illustrate the benefits that innovative urban planning, connectivity, and accessibility to transit resources would add to the healthcare and economic opportunity that the new medical center represents for the county.
Public transportation use on the rise in D.C. region
More commuters are moving from roads to rails, according to new census data that show public transportation use up across the region. About 37.5 percent of D.C. residents use public transportation to get to work, compared with 42 percent who drive, according to the 2007-2011 average released by the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. In 1999, 33.2 percent took public transit and 49.4 percent drove. Montgomery and Arlington counties experienced similar jumps. The percentage of Montgomery residents taking public transit to work rose from 12.6 in 1999 to 15.2 in the latest census data, while Arlington residents went from 23.3 percent to 27.7 percent over the same time period. The largest percentage-point increase, however, was in Prince George’s County. While commuters there still largely favor the car — 76.7 percent drive to work — public transit rose to 17.6 percent from 11.9 percent in 1999.