Plans for a 141-unit redevelopment project, renovations at a Gunston Park playground and potential changes to charging standards for electric vehicles are all on the agenda at an upcoming County Board meeting.
Other items slated for discussion this month include road improvements on S. George Mason Drive and flood-mitigation efforts near Cardinal Elementary School.
The Inn of Rosslyn site: Despite a staff recommendation against it, County Board members on Jan. 24 may approve redeveloping the former Inn of Rosslyn motel site for new multifamily housing.
Monument Realty is requesting zoning changes to permit the construction of an eight-story apartment building totaling 141 units with underground parking on the site at 1601 N. Fairfax Drive. If approval occurs, it will conclude a development process that took more than three years from start to finish.
In opposing the proposal, county staff said it violates key tenets of the Fort Myer Heights North Neighborhood Plan, enacted in 2008 to guide redevelopment in the corridor.
The project, as proposed, “will not provide usable ground-level open space for the enjoyment of future building residents or relief from the building’s bulk, nor fulfill the Plan’s intent to ‘honor the garden apartment aesthetic’ of the neighborhood,” staff said in a memo to Board members.
The proposal arrives for final action with the Housing Commission and Transportation Commission’s unanimous support, a mixed verdict from the Planning Commission and unanimous opposition from the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board.
The Planning Commission, which vetted the project in September, voted 5-0 with two abstentions to support rezoning of the site, and voted 3-2 with two abstentions to support the site plan proposed by the developer.
A representative of the Radnor-Fort Myer Heights Civic Association testified at the Planning Commission meeting in support of the project. The civic association had not provided a written recommendation at the time of the staff report, staff said.
Beyond open-space concerns, county staff criticized the proposal to build a project just eight stories tall, rather than the 12 allowed for the parcel under the neighborhood plan.
Monument opted for an eight-story height because that is the maximum allowed under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code for projects built using stick-over-concrete construction. A taller building would require different, more expensive construction methods.
As envisioned by the developer, the site will include units ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments.
A public hearing will precede the final vote. But before it can be conducted, Board members will have to vote on a related procedural change that would provide them more leeway in approving development projects that meet some, but not all, goals of the Fort Myer Heights North Area Plan.
Current special-exception requirements for developments — like the Inn of Rosslyn proposal — mandate that the proposal address all recommendations and goals of the area plan. Amending the language to provide greater flexibility would bring the corridor’s development rules into alignment with other parts of the county, staff said.
Planning Commission members in early January voted 11-0 in support of the proposal to amend the area plan, bringing it in line with other areas of the county.
At that meeting, one member of the commission said they would have supported, rather than opposed, the Inn of Rosslyn project had the amended area plan been in effect at the time of consideration last September.
County staff, however, say changing language in the area plan would not alter their view that the 1601 N. Fairfax Drive project should be turned down:
“The staff recommendation to deny the site plan and rezoning request set forth in this report remains the same, given staff’s findings that on balance the proposal does not sufficiently comply with applicable plan guidance for the site.”
Staff also voiced concern about the proposal’s requested floor-area ratio (FAR) of 5.3, given the lack of compliance with the guidelines.
FAR is the ratio between the entire interior square footage of a project divided by the square footage of the lot it will sit on. If the proposal doesn’t meet development guidelines in the neighborhood plan, the site would only be eligible for an FAR of 3.24, staff said.
The procedural vote amending the Fort Myer Heights North Neighborhood Plan is Item #11 as part of the Board’s consent agenda. Action on the development project itself is Item #34, the first public hearing after the consent agenda is adopted.
Should a local resident or Board member have Item #11 removed for consideration at the Jan. 27 recess meeting, the timing of the hearing on the 1601 N. Fairfax Drive project also might have to be pushed back three days.
Beyond the 1601 N. Fairfax Drive project, Jan. 24 is expected to be “kind of a light meeting,” one Board member told ARLnow. Among other items on the agenda:
Contract approval expected for Gunston Park playground renovation [Item #18]: Board members are being asked to approve a contract worth up to $1.16 million for improvements to the playground area at Gunston Park, located at 1401 28th Street S.
Branch Builds was the lowest responsible bidder among five firms that competed for the contract, county staff said.
Construction is slated to take approximately seven months.
Possible changes to EV-charging standards [Item #12]: Board members are expected to authorize staff to conduct a study of how existing zoning standards impact the deployment of electric-vehicle charging stations throughout the county.
“As EV ownership has increased rapidly in recent years, many comparable jurisdictions have undertaken similar evaluations of their zoning ordinances,” staff said in a memo to Board members.
The study will be conducted using existing staff resources. There is no date set for the issue to return to Board members for potential action.
Moving forward on S. George Mason Drive improvements [Item #21]: Board members are expected to take a procedural step forward in planning for improvements to S. George Mason Drive from Arlington Blvd to Columbia Pike.
The action would commit Arlington to funding its share of the $14 million project and authorize the county manager’s designee to sign paperwork with the Virginia Department of Transportation to move forward.
The proposal calls for improvements to support drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists.
Home to be purchased for flood-mitigation efforts [Item #25]: Board members are expected to authorize the purchase of a home at 5822 19th Street N. for $1.2 million as part of stormwater-mitigation efforts.
The property backs up to the Cardinal Elementary School stormwater vault. Purchasing the lot and razing the home will allow for easier upgrades to the storm and sanitary sewers in the vicinity, staff said.
According to county staff, the property owner contacted Arlington officials, expressing interest in selling. The home’s 2026 assessed valuation is $1,011,900.
As part of the sales agreement, the homeowners will be allowed to remain in the home for a brief period after settlement. County officials expect to spend about $400,000 razing the home and removing materials from the site.
Changes come to meeting procedures
Board members at their Jan. 5 organizational meeting made several changes to meeting procedures for 2026, set to go into effect with the Jan. 24 and 27 meetings.
Among them:
- The deadline for advance online sign-up for public comment will now be Friday at 3 p.m. the day before the Saturday meeting
- In-person sign-up for public comment will now close at 9 a.m. on the morning of the regular meeting
- Tuesday recessed board meetings will now begin at 3 p.m. with an agenda that starts with Board reports, recognitions and appointments and continues with a closed session and break before reconvening in the early evening, similar to the process in place before 2025
- At Tuesday recessed meetings, items scheduled for consideration that night will be heard beginning at 6:30 p.m., followed by items that had been pulled from the consent agenda the preceding Saturday
No changes came to the public-comment period at the start of Saturday mornings, with the one-speaker-per-topic rule left in place.
