A large-scale redevelopment project at the site of a Rosslyn parking garage that featured in the Watergate scandal was approved with robust support from Arlington officials.
The County Board unanimously voted in favor of the 831-unit project at 1401 Wilson Blvd and 1400 Key Blvd, which will feature two 27-story residential towers, 602 parking spaces and 29,000 square feet of retail, including a grocery store.
Designs include a large public area with trees, planters and a dog run, taking up 52% of the total project area — an unusually high amount of green space, especially in densely built Rosslyn. Additionally, developer Monday Properties has pledged $6 million to Arlington’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF), $2 million for off-site public space improvements and $2 million for off-site transportation improvements.
“It really is a nice set of buildings … aesthetically, but also in terms of what it’s bringing in,” County Board member Maureen Coffey said in a Saturday meeting.
The new site plan replaces a proposal originally approved by the County Board back in 2014, which never moved forward.
The original plan called for only 274 multifamily units in a single residential building, alongside 513,004 square feet of office space in a 24-story office building. Since that time, demand for office space has decreased substantially in Arlington, and county leaders have reshaped plans for Rosslyn in response to the high office vacancy rate.
The new development will replace two vacant office buildings constructed in 1964.
“It’s not every day that you get to do a do-over, reflect with … the benefit of hindsight, and make improvements on what you previously approved,” Andrew Painter, a legal representative for the project, told county officials.
The public space in particular is designed to attract customers to retail options on either side of the central pathway, while also giving pedestrians reasons to linger in the space with seating and greenery.
“With this approval, we will be able to deliver the start of the 18th Street Corridor with a landscape rooted in the region’s geology with terraces, overlooks and a monumental plaza, while weaving biophilic design throughout to strengthen connections to the natural world and enhance the pedestrian experience,” said Monday Properties Managing Partner and co-CEO Tim Helmig.
“The approval also ensures Rosslyn gains not just housing, but a more complete neighborhood with the addition of a full-service grocery store further strengthening Rosslyn’s retail fabric,” Helmig continued.
One source of debate at the County Board meeting was the lack of committed-affordable units at the site. While Monday Properties’ AHIF contribution is expected to fund about 52 units of affordable housing elsewhere in Arlington — as opposed to 11 that could be achieved on-site — County Board member JD Spain Sr. questioned whether projects like this could deepen inequalities in neighborhoods like Rosslyn.
“Inherently, what’s going to happen over time in some of these key areas — we’re actually going to gentrify them,” Spain warned.
Another open question is the near-term fate of the historic marker outside the garage at 1401 Wilson Blvd.
Standard procedure would be to remove and store the historical marker for the duration of construction, then reinstall it at the same general location. However, County Board member Takis Karantonis called for finding a way to keep the marker up as a reminder about the need for a free press and the value of whistleblowers.
“With all due respect to [the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board] and all the powers [that] be, I cannot imagine that we can traverse the next two, two and a half years with a mothballed marker about the Watergate scandal,” Karantonis said.
The project received overall positive feedback during the Site Plan Review Committee (SPRC) process, and earned unanimous support from Arlington’s Planning Commission, Housing Commission and Transportation Commission.
A spokesperson for Monday Properties was unable to comment on when the project will break ground or what grocery store it will have.
