The Arlington County Board has agreed to trade public access to the “View of DC” observation deck in exchange for a $14 million investment in a nearby park.
The deal unanimously passed yesterday (Monday) despite concerns from some community members about deprioritizing views in Rosslyn, as well as a 5-2 vote from the Arlington Planning Commission asserting that the decision is not in accord with the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
It comes as part of a package of agreements connected to CoStar Group’s February decision to move from D.C. to the Central Place tower at 1201 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn. Calling the relocation “the county’s most impactful development project since HQ2,” County Manager Mark Schwartz argued that planned improvements to Gateway Park will contribute far more to the community than the observation deck does.
“Having that greatly enhanced, accessible and functional central park in Rosslyn is going to benefit the people who live there, work there and visit that neighborhood,” Schwartz said.
With CoStar’s pledge of $14 million — equivalent to the estimated value of the lookout offering 360-degree views of D.C. and Northern Virginia — the county expects to advance the timeline for Gateway Park upgrades by about eight years.
“The deal and how you handled it reminds me a little bit of Amazon,” County Board Chair Libby Garvey told county staff. “It’s really good.”
Not everyone agrees.
Joseph Peterson, who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, called the current observation deck “the centerpiece of the Rosslyn Sector Plan of 2015,” impacting years of planning in the neighborhood.
“We have now potentially wasted a decade of development protecting viewsheds that will no longer be public,” he said.
The Planning Commission indicated that the county should revisit the sector plan to “adjust the importance of prioritizing community view corridors,” Commissioner Eric Berkey said. He argued that the public should continue to have access to the observation deck “in some periodic and ongoing basis.”
Other speakers, however, noted the relatively low traffic that the observation deck receives. Of the 32,188 recorded visits in 2023, just 4,995 were reported to be from Arlington County residents.
County staff also highlighted other benefits of CoStar’s move to Rosslyn, which is expected to bring 650 jobs with an average salary of $185,000 while preserving $4.2 million in annual property tax revenue at 1201 Wilson Blvd. As Arlington continues to grapple with high office vacancy rates post-pandemic, Schwartz argued that the company’s investment is particularly meaningful.
“The project is transformative for our Rosslyn neighborhood by adding a corporate partner with a strong history of community engagement and creating a new vision for recreation and public space,” he said. “I and county staff heard the Board when you challenged us to find creative solutions to the office market challenge.”
