The Arlington County Board has approved a $900,000 property purchase in order to expand Monroe Park.
This is the second such purchase the Board has greenlighted in the Douglas Park neighborhood this summer, following a $1.1 million acquisition of a property next to the Douglas Park recreation area in July.
The 0.25-acre plot at 3621 14th Street S. is currently the site of a single-family home built in 1940, which last sold for $650,000 in May, according to a Redfin posting.
Property owner Elevation Homes approached the county with an offer to demolish the existing house and restore the site directly west of Monroe Park.
“The current owner otherwise had intended to demolish the existing house for construction and sale of a new house,” a County Board report says. “Instead, the sale of the property to the County will provide more open space for the community and expansion of the Park.”
This purchase, which the Board okayed on Saturday, could create new possibilities for a planned revamp of Monroe Park’s playground. It could potentially “reduce impact on trees and provide additional opportunities for casual use space and circulation,” the report says.
The acquisition, according to the report, is in keeping with a 2019 goal of adding at least 30 acres of new public space by 2029.
“People are always asking us for more parkland, and this is part of how we do that,” County Board Chair Libby Garvey said on Saturday.
Photo via Google Maps.
