Six proposed towers on an undeveloped plot of land in Rosslyn could bring a significant shift to the neighborhood’s character.
Plans for the Potomac Overlook development call for public space in about two-thirds of a vacant 5.5-acre lot at 1401 Langston Blvd — acting as “an extension” of neighboring Gateway Park, Chris Gladstone, president of D.C.-based Quadrangle Development Corporation, told ARLnow.
Tall, slender towers between 300 and 138 feet in height would take up the rest of the space, creating enough density for the project to be economical while still stepping down from the tallest buildings in Rosslyn’s urban core and remaining within the Federal Aviation Administration’s height limits.
“It’s a real contrast with Rosslyn as it’s been developed,” Gladstone said, noting the neighborhood’s relative shortage of open spaces and accessible public land.
Quadrangle is proposing a mix of about 1,775 total condos and apartments in addition to a roughly 200-room hotel and underground parking, arranged in a fan-shaped layout towering over the Potomac River.
It’s a plan that contrasts sharply with a previous developer’s plans for the site, which have since been abandoned. Woodridge Capital Partners affiliate KBLH originally proposed to renovate the site’s former Key Bridge Marriott hotel and construct only two residential buildings: one with 151 condo units and one with 300 apartments.
Renderings from back in 2022 depict significantly less open space than Quadrangle’s proposal.
“Where we started was, taking a look at the prior approved plan, and why it didn’t succeed, and what needed to change in order to have a successful development on the site,” Gladstone said.
He believes the density of the current project — which has an estimated price tag of $1 billion and a Floor Area Ratio of 8.36 — gives it much more solid economic footing.
Some aspects of the Potomac Overlook plan, including the architecture of the proposed buildings, remain in development. However, Gladstone said the county’s Long Range Planning Committee is scheduled to review the proposal next month, kicking off a review process that he hopes will conclude by summer 2027.
After that, the goal is to construct the first three buildings to open around the same time Gateway Park reopens after planned renovations.
“It’s very important to move this project along with that kind of a timetable so that we can get underway and in an economic environment that we know and understand,” Gladstone said.
The lot at 1401 Langston Blvd has been empty since last fall, when demolition on the shuttered Key Bridge Marriott concluded after the site was declared a “public nuisance” in May 2024.
