Speak Out: A Rosslyn-Tysons Corridor?

Arlington has long been preparing for the new Silver Line, which is slated to open next year and make available easy-to-access office space at a much lower rate than the pricey Rosslyn, Ballston and Crystal City neighborhoods.

But Ray Ritchey, the executive vice president of Boston Properties, said recently that the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor has become the Rosslyn-Out-to-Tysons corridor, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Ritchey, who has a vested interest in the development of Reston, also specifically mentioned Reston as an alternative to Tysons.

But Arlington County and business leaders in Rosslyn and Ballston have worked overtime to make that corridor the center of the greater Washington area's entrepreneurship scene. In May, Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer said simply, "We own that."

Between pitch fests and entrepreneurship contests, not to mention an ongoing series of networking and training discussions hosted by George Mason's Arlington campus, the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor has worked hard to make itself worthy of Holzheimer's claim.

The Day of Foster.ly, for instance, decided to call Rosslyn home for a second time this year. Tech startups like Opower in Courthouse and Gridpoint in Clarendon are attracting state leaders thanks to their successes. And UberOffices in Rosslyn is plain cool: Just ask former Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty.

In October at Opower, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell listened in to a brainstorming sessions about what this state could do to better attract and retain startups and entrepreneurs. When talking about the state's successes in the Dulles corridor, he dusted off the decades-old phrase "Silicon Dominion."

And perhaps that's a name that the Silver Line will eventually cause to catch on. But the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor is something Arlington has worked hard to build.

Should Arlington work hard to keep it? Or is it a lost cause when the new Metro line opens? Weigh in below.