A proposal to build a 187-unit apartment building at the site of an office building and two long-standing restaurants is scheduled for consideration this weekend.
A proposed site plan amendment at 1840 Wilson Blvd, near Courthouse, calls for demolishing the buildings housing Rhodeside Grill, Il Radicchio and the headquarters of the National Science Teaching Association to make way for a seven-story structure with 11,948 square feet of ground-floor retail.
The plan, first proposed by developer Fortis Companies in 2022, would amend a smaller-scale development plan for the site that was approved back in 2005 but never acted on.
The new apartment building between Rosslyn and Courthouse would present a mix of studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. In addition to demolishing current structures, the project would remove a surface parking lot and instead rely on parking at an existing 110-space garage.
Proposed community benefits include the construction of 10 affordable dwelling units with a total of 19 bedrooms, plus the attainment of a LEED Gold certification and a $35,860 contribution to nearby off-site transportation improvements.
“The applicant’s proposal advances several goals of the Rosslyn to Courthouse Urban Design Study (RCUDS) by constructing a residential building with ground floor retail, reducing the surface parking and number of curb cuts, increasing the number of street trees, and creating an enhanced pedestrian experience around this site,” a county staff report says.
Although the project would be two stories taller than the height called for in the RCUDS, it received unanimous votes of support from the Planning Commission, Transportation Commission and Housing Commission. The Arlington County Board is set to consider the project at its meeting on Saturday.
In total, the plan calls for 55 studios, 91 one-bedroom apartments, 34 two-bedroom apartments and seven three-bedroom apartments. It also calls for the creation of a protected bike lane on N. Rhodes Street, plus curb extensions with wheelchair-accessible ramps at the southwest corner of Rhodes and Wilson Blvd as well as the northwest corner of Rhodes and Clarendon Blvd.
The current NSTA office building is on track to be vacant by December, according to the report. Additionally, while the Rhodeside Grill is listed as “notable” on the county’s Historic Resources Inventory, preservation of such structures is considered optional.
“The applicant has stated that the preservation of the structure is not feasible for the design, however, they are incorporating a curved architectural treatment of the building to mimic the curve that is seen in the existing Rhodeside Grill building,” the report says. “Additionally, some glass block elements are being used in the façade to pay homage to the original glass block that was incorporated in the building.”
Community concerns about the development have related to building height and a lack of dog relief areas, the report notes.
Fortis filed a conceptual site plan application for 1840 Wilson Blvd in late 2022 and purchased the property for $14 million in early 2023.
