County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti used his annual “State of the County” remarks to argue that Arlington is taking the right steps to address major economic challenges.
He pointed to the recent reaffirmation of Arlington’s Triple-A bond ratings as proof that “the state of Arlington remains strong.”
“We are rock-solid and resilient,” de Ferranti told the breakfast gathering of about 200 business and civic leaders at the June 11 forum, sponsored by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.
In his remarks, the Board chair acknowledged “seismic change” that has impacted occupancy of commercial office space in the county. The vacancy rate still stands above 20%, primarily impacting older office buildings — some of them sitting nearly or completely vacant.
“Our office-vacancy rate is high [but] we’re taking the right steps to restructure,” said de Ferranti, who was first elected to the County Board in 2018 and is in the midst of a re-election campaign.
Chosen by his colleagues to chair the five-member Board for 2026, de Ferranti touted confirmation of AAA/Aaa bond ratings for the county’s general obligation debt by Moody’s S&P Global and Fitch Ratings. The county is one of only 54 nationally to hold top ratings from all three agencies, and has held them for 26 years.
In his remarks, the Board chair defended action this year raising the tax rate 2 cents per $100, which will cost owners of both commercial and residential property more.
“I’m keenly aware that we raised taxes,” said de Ferranti, who previously served as Board chair in 2021.
As in a recent debate where de Ferranti defended the increase against attacks from his two challengers in the Democratic primary, he told business leaders most of the extra funding was going toward public-safety initiatives.
The State of the County forum, which dates back decades, provides a chance for the year’s Board chair to provide a midyear update to his or her priorities as outlined in January.
Chamber president/CEO Kate Bates said her organization is hopeful that county efforts supporting the repurposing of out-of-date office buildings will lead to ongoing reductions in the overall vacancy rate. She said the rate represented “a great North Star” in evaluating the county’s economic health.
County officials are awaiting the arrival of Anna Nissinen, who is slated to start June 29 as director of Arlington Economic Development. Nissinen was recruited from the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, where she served on the staff leadership team.
At the June 9 meeting of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Board Chair Jeff McKay said local leaders are sorry to see Nissinen depart, but are glad she is staying as part of the local region’s economic-development efforts.
Since the departure of previous economic-development director Ryan Touhill last November, the Arlington department has been led on an acting basis by Kate Ange.
The impacts of Covid and changes in the commercial-office environment, coupled with federal layoffs and downsizing, represent the latest in a series of economic challenges for Arlington and Northern Virginia.
In his remarks, de Ferranti noted that the county had weathered past economic storms. “We’ve been here before,” he said.
De Ferranti and those who seek to unseat him will be in front of a business audience on Tuesday, June 23, when the Chamber hosts its annual candidate forum.
Open to the public, the event will feature the three Democratic County Board contenders running in the Aug. 4 primary — de Ferranti, James DeVita and Julie Farnam — and others who qualify for the Nov. 3 general election by the June 16 filing deadline.
