County Board members will return tonight (Tuesday) for more discussion on an affordable housing proposal on Langston Blvd following debate at a weekend meeting.
At a lengthy discussion on Saturday, Board members and the public zeroed in on remaining concerns at the Leckey Gardens Apartments site — including building height, tree canopy and parking — before deferring final action to tonight’s meeting.
Despite the delay, it seems likely that True Ground Housing Partners’ proposal to raze the existing 40-unit complex at 2031-37 N. Woodrow Street and construct a 249-unit building in its place will win final approval.
“We’ve made a lot of progress over the last week or 10 days,” Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said. “I deeply appreciate that work.”
All units in the building would be committed affordable. Unit sizes range from one to four bedrooms. 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.
Pressing for Board approval, True Ground board chair Benson “Buzz” Roberts said the proposal “makes sense” both for its site and the broader Langston Boulevard area as envisioned by the county’s plan for the corridor.
“That plan called for exactly this kind of development,” he said.
The proposal would bring about 10% of the entire total of new committed affordable housing envisioned for the Langston Boulevard corridor, and has won the support of a number of housing advocacy organizations.
Under the preliminary plan, a total of 197 units would be made available to those earning less than 60% of area median income (AMI), with 41 units available for those at 50% or less of AMI and 11 for those with 30% or less.
The mix would provide “an opportunity for so many families that wouldn’t have had an opportunity otherwise [to live] in Arlington,” de Ferranti said.
However, questions about height dominated a portion of the discussion over the weekend.
The Langston Boulevard Area Plan calls for a maximum height of up to 10 stories/125 feet on the parcel. While the proposed maximum building height of 111 feet falls within the guidelines, the building would contain 11 above-grade stories, owing to a significant topography change from one part of the property to another.
No part of the building would rise more than 10 stories from ground level. But Board member Susan Cunningham echoed concerns of the Langston Boulevard Alliance and others, who were taken by surprise that the building would be 11 stories if measured from the very bottom on one side to the very top on the other.
She said concerns were valid, but it would be “not fair” to force the developer to trim the top level, totaling 14 units, off the proposal.
“My intent is not to upset the apple cart here,” said Cunningham, who pushed to consider, in the future, amending language in the Langston Boulevard Area Plan to eliminate the potential of confusion.
“We can learn from it,” she said of this experience.
Another area of concern was the overall tree canopy on the site, which would be below the plan’s objective of 35%. Bob Benson, representing the Forestry & Natural Resources Committee, said more trees on the existing site need to be preserved and others added.
“Every tree counts, and trees that exist now are important to preserve — we want shade from them,” he said.
The Climate Change, Energy and Environment Commission also raised concerns. Meanwhile, Audrey Clement, a civic activist and perennial protest political candidate, criticized the decision to tear down the existing, 1940s-era buildings to make way for the larger single building.
“Arlington never saw a historic property it didn’t want to demolish, just as it never saw a park it didn’t want to pave over,” she said.
By contrast, Joseph Ventrone said on behalf of the Housing Commission that the project, while not perfect, is strong.
“This is not incremental change. This is generational commitment,” he said.
In a late change to its plans, True Ground has agreed to seek Gold-level status through EarthCraft, which provides certification of sustainability features.
Several speakers said that since this is among the first redevelopment proposals for the Langston Blvd corridor since adoption of the Langston Blvd Area Plan in 2023, decisions made on this site could have ramifications for what comes later.
Paul Holland, president of the Langston Boulevard Alliance, said developers “should bring their absolute best projects to help build out the vision and the future of Langston Boulevard.”
In other action at Saturday’s meeting:
Replacement water main approved: Board members approved a contract worth up to $4.32 million for construction of new 8-inch water mains totaling 1.1 miles along N. Jackson Street between Arlington Blvd and 4th Street N. and along N. Irving Street between Arlington Blvd and 2nd Road N.
The existing water mains in the area were constructed in 1928 and are at the end of their useful life, county officials said.
“Before the start of construction, a detailed letter about the project and construction schedule will be sent to the presidents of the two civic associations and then distributed to residents who will be directly impacted by the project,” county officials said.
Water service disruptions will be coordinated with the affected residents in advance of any shutdowns, officials said. The new mains will provide increased capacity for the public and the fire department in the Lyon Park and Ashton Heights areas.
“We have to invest in our infrastructure,” de Ferranti said.
A&M Construction Corp. was the lowest bidder among five firms that competed for the contract.
All five bids came in over the original project estimate, staff said, but there is existing funding in the county’s water/sewer infrastructure program to support the program without impacting other projects.
Arlington Blvd trail proposal moves forward: Board members formally committed local funding to support the $10.1 million Arlington Boulevard Trail project.
The project, currently in the preliminary design phase, will convert an existing sidewalk to a shared-use path from S. George Mason Drive to 800 feet east of S. Glebe Road.
The county government will be responsible for about 70% of the total cost, with state and federal funding supporting the remainder.
County leaders prepare for 25th anniversary of 9/11: Arlington will play a major role in marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, de Ferranti said.
“It’s appropriate — we must remember,” de Ferranti said of the attacks that included an attack on the Pentagon that killed 184 in the building and on a hijacked American Airlines jet that was crashed into it.
On hand at the Board meeting was Joseph Kornhoff, executive director of the Pentagon Memorial Foundation. He noted that Arlington was among the communities most impacted by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
“It’s part of the fabric of our daily lives,” Kornhoff said. “Our primary mission is to ensure that the passage of time does not dim that legacy.”
Kornhoff said a major part of the 25th-anniversary commemoration would be saluting the “incredible bravery of Arlington’s first-responders” who responded to the Pentagon attack.
“Our local heroes didn’t just manage a crisis. They carried the community throughout its darkest hours and stayed on the front lines for weeks,” he said.
One major goal of commemoration would be “ensuring every resident, old and new, understands the sacrifice of that day,” Kornhoff said.
