News

County Board to Hear Carpool Development Proposal

The Arlington County Board is scheduled this month to hear a proposal to replace Ballston watering hole Carpool with a 22-story luxury apartment building.

Developer Penzance and a real estate investment firm acquired the Carpool property and an adjacent office building just under a year ago. In a site plan amendment, Penzance is proposing to build a 330,000 square foot, 330-unit residential building on the Carpool site at 4000 Fairfax Drive.

The 1960s-era, 10-story Webb Building next to Carpool, which was recently renovated and is being used on an interim basis by Marymount University during construction on its “Blue Goose” site, will remain “for the near future.”

The new residential building will have a 264-space parking garage, but 66 spaces will be made available to residents in the Webb Building’s garage, which has 286 spaces. The residential building will also have 8,400 square feet of ground floor retail space, and will be built to LEED Gold sustainability standards.

The Arlington Planning Commission heard testimony from the developer last night (Monday). The County Board is expected to decide on final approval at its Nov. 14 or 17 meeting. A draft document indicates that county staff is recommending the site plan amendment be approved.

There’s no word yet on when Carpool will close nor when construction will start on the new building.

Update at 11/17/15: Consideration of this development was deferred to the County Board’s December meeting.