Plans for a 249-unit affordable housing building off of Langston Blvd are up for County Board consideration this weekend.
Planning Commission members voted 9-2 on Feb. 9 to support True Ground Housing Partners’ proposal to replace 40 garden-style apartments at the Leckey Gardens complex (2031-37 N. Woodrow Street) with a 10-story affordable apartment building.
The redevelopment proposal will be heard at the Board’s Saturday meeting, with a public hearing preceding a final vote.
The 1.36-acre site in the Waverly Hills neighborhood is bounded by N. Woodrow Street, 21st Street N., N. Woodstock Street and 20th Road S. The existing three-building apartment complex was constructed in 1949, and was acquired by True Ground — then known as the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing — in 2000.
If the redevelopment project is approved, current residents will be able to move to other True Ground properties, then return when the new building is complete.
Planning Commission chair Denyse “Nia” Bagley said the proposal wasn’t perfect, but the applicant had “responded well” to issues raised during the lengthy review process.
Alice Hogan, the Arlington coordinator for the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance, echoed that view.
The end result is “a much improved proposal … that shows that our Arlington process really works,” Hogan said.
Not everyone came away happy with the recommendation, however.
The Waverly Hills Civic Association continues to have concerns about the building’s height — it wants no more than eight stories — and limited parking.
The proposal recommended to the County Board calls for 218 spaces in an underground parking garage. Discounting 12 spaces for visitors, the final ratio will be 0.82 parking spaces per unit.
Supporters of the proposal say that limiting parking will encourage other modes of transportation. Critics contend it will force residents of the new building to find parking on surrounding surface streets.
Other concerns have included the project’s failure to meet the recommended 35% tree canopy for the site, and the possibility of increased traffic congestion in the area.
The Leckey Gardens project is among the first redevelopment proposals for the Langston Blvd corridor since adoption of the Langston Blvd Area Plan in 2023. That plan seeks higher-density development throughout parts of the five-mile Arlington corridor that snakes between Rosslyn and East Falls Church.
The project site is located about a block off of Langston Blvd. The proposed total floor-area ratio (FAR) of 4.66 represents the type of development that advocates seek for this part of the corridor.
As currently planned, the project will include 69 one-bedroom units, 143 two-bedroom units, 35 three-bedroom units and two four-bedroom units. It is expected to generate a net increase of 114 Arlington Public Schools students.
During the two-plus-hour Planning Commission hearing, some commissioners expressed concern that True Ground was not incorporating more robust biophilic and bird-friendly features.
“We’re not even pushing the envelope,” commission vice chair Karen Guevara said. “We’re sort of providing the bare minimum, and I think that’s really sad.”
Bagley was also critical, saying there were options for protecting birds that would not break the developer’s bank.
“Trust me, these are very inexpensive,” she said. “Something should be done. You need to try a little bit harder.”
But commission member Tenley Peterson said a line had to be drawn somewhere in the discussion over community benefits.
“Every additional thing we ask this applicant to do, in order for the financing to work out, it’s going to have to come out of something else,” she said.
Most commission members agreed that the project, if not perfect, was good enough.
“The applicant has made a lot of changes,” said Eric Berkey, who supported the proposal.
Housing, transportation commissions back project: The county’s Housing Commission and Transportation Commission also weighed in with support of the True Ground project.
Housing Commission members voted 9-0, with one recusal, to recommend the project move forward on Feb. 12.
One of the commissioners, Joseph Ventrone, said he hoped County Board members would take concerns raised by the Waverly Hills Civic Association into account. But on balance, Ventrone said, “this is a great project … in a very high opportunity area. We need more of these.”
The redevelopment plan also won 9-0 support from the Transportation Commission on Feb. 5.
“My larger concern during the whole process was the parking ratio,” commission member Meg Flores said. But discussion over time “wipes my concerns out,” she said.
