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Conceptual plan emerges for potential redevelopment of Ballston apartment building

A nondescript garden apartment building in Ballston has attracted the interest of a potential developer.

The developer has filed a conceptual site plan for Ballston Gardens, located at 4314 N. Carlin Springs Road, around the corner from the Harris Teeter at 600 N. Glebe Road. The brick apartment building was constructed in 1961 and has a mix of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units, according to property records.

The preliminary proposal describes a 107-unit building, with two townhouses and 84 parking spaces, partially above and below ground.

Ballston Gardens is noticeably shorter and older than the two multifamily buildings surrounding it: The Springs, a five-story, 104-unit building owned by Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing and completed in 2016, and the Carlin Senior Apartment Community, which was built in 1996 and recently renovated.

Arlington County planning documents envision greater heights for a new residential building. A building on the Ballston Garden site could be up to six stories tall, while The Springs site is zoned for five stories and the Carlin senior apartments site for nine stories, according to an addendum to the 1995 North Quincy Street Plan, approved in 2013.

Developers have the option to file conceptual site plans before official site plan applications so they can work with a team of county staff to iron out any major zoning, code or process issues with their plans, per the county website.

When reached by phone, the developer declined to comment on the conceptual plan.

A side view of a conceptual proposal for Ballston Gardens (via Arlington County)