One of the first major redevelopment proposals along Langston Blvd is receiving mixed feedback at the start of the formal community review process.
A site-plan review committee (SPRC) meeting on July 24 included debate on whether the boomerang-shaped project with 310 residential units at 3130 Langston Blvd meets the aspirations of the Langston Blvd Area Plan.
Panel members had questions on various development issues, from building height and parking availability to tree canopy and the setback along Langston Blvd.
Tenley Peterson, who chairs the Planning Commission, said this and other projects planned on Langston Blvd represent an exciting new phase for the corridor. She was hopeful the 2023 area plan’s goals would be embraced by developers, including on this site.
“It’s one of the first projects, so we want to make sure we are looking at that plan and upholding the plan and honoring the plan … [not] lower our standards right out of the gate,” Peterson said.
But Jackie Snelling, who is representing the Lyon Village community on the panel, said some nearby residents have doubts.
“We believe the proposed height and density does not support the overall Langston Blvd Area Plan,” she said. “We do support the vision. We want to see the vision implemented. We do not think this does that.”
Rooney Properties LLC is seeking to convert the 1.68-acre former Walgreens site at 3130 Langston Blvd into a mixed-use property with residential units atop ground-level retail, a public park/plaza and 360 parking spaces.
The project, announced last summer, would rise 12 stories and be bounded by Langston Blvd, Kirkwood Road and I-66.
“We have been working hard,” said Cassie Guy, who represented the Arlington-based developer at the meeting.
Representatives for the developer noted quite a few changes made to the plan over the past six months. These include shifting the building north by about 12 feet on the Kirkwood Road side and removing “maisonette” housing units that had been planned for the Kirkwood side.
They also include adding trees along the eastern property line and removing a planned dog run.
The July 24 meeting was the first of two to be conducted by the SPRC, which includes representatives of the Planning Commission, other county commissions and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Razing the now-closed Walgreens and replacing it with new development represents an opportunity not to be squandered, said Denyse “Nia” Bagley, who is chairing the SPRC process for the project.
The site “doesn’t look so good right now. This is our opportunity to weigh in and hopefully make it better,” said Bagley, who also serves as vice chair of the Planning Commission.
The meeting drew a large crowd, both members of the review panel and the community. Bagley termed the turnout “wonderful.”
“It’s what this engagement process is all about,” she said.
Representatives of the developer already have held several meetings with the Langston Blvd Alliance and the four civic associations in the vicinity: Lyon Village, North Highlands, Cherrydale and Maywood.
“This is the first project on Langston Blvd. A lot of folks are interested,” said Zachary Williams, a land-use attorney with Venable LLP representing Rooney Properties, in his presentation.
County Board members in November 2023 adopted the Langston Blvd Area Plan, which will guide future redevelopment of the 5-mile-long corridor that snakes through North Arlington, connecting East Falls Church to Rosslyn. The plan for the Walgreens site is one of several submitted since its adoption.
One of the challenges for this particular project, Snelling and others noted, is that the Rooney Properties was unable to acquire the adjacent parcel at 3100 Langston Blvd, home to First Cash Pawn.
“All these topics are related: density, height, the layout, the design,” she said.
Tim Huson, a Maywood resident who spoke at the public-comment period wrapping up the meeting, acknowledged a “wide difference of opinion” about the project in the four adjoining neighborhoods.
Huson said he supports the project’s density, given that the vast majority of the space would be for residential use.
“Arlington has to meet its need for new housing somewhere, and this is a very good location for a building of this height,” he said.
That has been the general view of others in the community, said Matt Pfeiffer, the lead county staffer on the development project.
“Almost everybody [providing online feedback] thought residential was an appropriate land use here,” he said.
Huson also praised the looming redevelopment of an area currently populated with “struggling, ugly strip malls.”
Pfeiffer said the second SPRC meeting — not yet scheduled — would flesh out concerns raised at the first and address other issues.
One key point left to work through is stormwater management on the site.
“We’re trying to ensure that the data that we have is being incorporated into the modeling,” Pfeiffer said of stormwater-mitigation efforts. “We’re not quite there yet. We’re still reviewing it.”
The review “may or may not result in changes to the building siting,” Pfeiffer said. “We just don’t know at this point.”
A second SPRC meeting is slated for autumn, but a firm date has not been announced. From there, the project will move on to consideration by a host of government advisory panels, culminating with a recommendation by the Planning Commission and final action by the County Board.
In order to make the project feasible, the developer will need approval for changes to the county’s General Land Use Plan (GLUP) and zoning, plus a new site plan for the parcel itself.
The proposal calls for a final floor-area ratio (FAR) of 2.5. That figure measures the total interior square footage divided by the lot’s square footage, and is a good benchmark for the overall mass of a site.
While the FAR would be significantly higher than the current Walgreens building, a one-story structure surrounded by surface parking, it would be about one-fourth the total of the recently approved One Rosslyn project near Langston Blvd further east in Rosslyn.
In her presentation, Guy noted that Rooney Properties’ headquarters is located close to the Walgreens site. The development firm plans to hold the new building for the long term, she said.
“We are a neighbor,” Guy said. “We are excited to be a part of this community today, and for many, many years to come.”
