A proposed new residential building on the western edge of Ballston’s urban core has drawn concerns about its height.
But in a twist, it isn’t that the planned building is viewed as too tall. Some in the public and serving on the site-plan review committee (SPRC) evaluating the development plan see it as not tall enough.
With Easter on the way, a familiar, festive rabbit is making his annual return to the Pentagon City mall.
The Easter Bunny will visit the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City at 11 a.m. this Friday, April 4, and he’ll be available for photos at 1100 S. Hayes Street until Saturday, April 19.
This regularly scheduled column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. If you would like to work with Eli and his team in Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. Metro area, you can reach him directly at [email protected].
Question: How much of an impact do you think the ROAD to Housing Act will have on housing affordability in Arlington?
Answer: The Road to Housing Act became law ten days ago, with the stated goal of improving housing affordability in the United States.
I don’t see many policies in the Act that will improve affordability in the Arlington/Northern VA/DC Metro markets, outside of incentives for more affordable multi-family housing, but there are policies that should improve affordability in other markets that are more saturated with institutional investors that own swaths of single-family homes (e.g. Atlanta and Phoenix) and for manufactured/mobile homes.
The Local Conversation Needs to Change
If we are going to improve affordability in our market, most of the change has to be done locally/regionally, not nationally, but it requires a paradigm shift in how we discuss and solve for housing affordability.
Affordability Disconnect: Near Term Expectations Not Realistic
A disconnect between housing affordability expectations and reality prevents the right community and political conversations from happening. We expect/demand housing affordability immediately, ignoring the difficulty, and consequences, of achieving it that quickly.
Stable and healthy housing affordability is a long-term process requiring gradual change over a 10-15+ year period.
Demand-Side Solutions Won’t Work
Demand-side solutions, such as lower interest rates or easier financing, artificially inflate home values, as seen during the COVID-era housing boom and early 2000s. They are not a good long-term solution to affordability because they push values even higher (along with your property taxes) and affordability gets worse when rates/lending normalize and no longer provide artificially low monthly payments.
Supply-Side Solutions Are Not Immediate
Most policy discussions focus on supply-side solutions: building more/faster and denser housing (e.g. Arlington’s Missing Middle/Expanded Housing Option), incentivizing more existing home sales, or disincentivizing concentrated ownership by companies and individuals. Econ 101 tells us that more supply = lower prices = affordable housing (winner winner!).
This is the only path to stable, long-term housing affordability…BUT, at current interest rates, prices must drop 30-35% in the United States to become affordable, at current income levels. A 30-35% drop in home values would devastate the economy, so a supply-side solution won’t (shouldn’t) provide immediate affordability. (more…)
Proposals to build more housing in Green Valley and a new restaurant and gas station in Claremont are slated for County Board consideration this weekend.
Potential sidewalk improvements to S. Carlin Springs Road and a reduction in the number of early voting sites are also on the agenda for the Saturday meeting.
Rosslyn Redevelopment on Hold — “Snell Properties is putting on hold its major redevelopment of the site of the former Ames Center office building in Rosslyn, waiting to see how Trump 2.0 affects construction costs and residential demand. The Arlington-based developer won county approval in 2021 to raze a 1960s-era office, church and gas station at 1820 and 1830 Fort Myer Drive to make way for two residential high-rises with up to 740 units. The office building has been demolished, but construction of the new towers is delayed.” [WBJ]
Fire in Arna Valley — “A car that caught on fire damaged two homes in Arlington on Monday evening. The Arlington County Fire and EMS Department said crews responded to the 2700 block of S Cleveland St. for reports of a fire… The fire was put out, but the heat damaged two buildings nearby.” [DC News Now]
Air Traffic Controller Arrested — “An air traffic controller has been charged with assault and battery in connection with a scuffle in the control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last week, airport police have confirmed. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said its officers responded to an incident on March 27 where controllers got into a fight at the control tower.” [Politico]
Board Member on Mall Incident — “Arlington County Board Member, JD Spain Sr., said more conversations will be had [about the weekend violence at the Pentagon City mall] in the coming days among the board, County Manager Mark Schwartz, law enforcement, and businesses. However, he said one solution could be partnering with non-profit organizations and finding safer outlets for teens.” [WUSA 9]
Wrong-Way Driver Nabbed — “Where’s a cop when you need one? In this case, right there as a driver made a left turn to head south in the northbound lanes of Route 110 near the Pentagon. That driver didn’t have to worry about making any other wrong turns for the rest of the morning thanks to the nice @ArlingtonVaPD officer who gave him a ride and stored his car for safekeeping.” [Dave Statter/X]
County Touts New Incubator — ” Arlington County… [is] proud to announce the opening of Starburst’s National Landing Launchpad. The initiative, supported by a $200,000 grant from VIPC’s Regional Innovation Fund (RIF), will further position Arlington as a premier hub for aerospace and defense startups, reinforcing the region’s leadership in national security innovation.” [Arlington County]
Scooter Safety Tips — “Scoot cute in Arlington with 4 key safety tips 1. Use a bike lane (when present) 2. Ride with one person per scooter 3. Park the scooter out of the way of sidewalks or ramps 4. Wear a helmet & avoid hanging items.” [Arlington County/X]
It’s Tuesday — Expect sunshine and a high temperature near 59 degrees, accompanied by a northwest wind between 11 to 16 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. As the night progresses, there will be increasing clouds and the temperature will drop to around 43 degrees. [NWS]
*Mamistad Groups meet IN PERSON-only the introductory Zoom call is virtual. :)
Pregnancy and new mom groups are a lifesaver when it comes to normalizing those feelings we just can’t be prepared for.
Two teens were taken in custody after an unsuccessful armed carjacking attempt in Pentagon City over the weekend.
The incident, which happened early Saturday morning a few blocks from Amazon’s HQ2, was caught on camera. Local public safety watcher Dave Statter posted video of the suspects hiding in wait, then the would-be victims fleeing on foot.
Fresh off a successful first year in D.C., a family-operated Ethiopian restaurant lauded as one of the best in the region is planning a potential new Arlington location.
Eatopia Eatery, which The Washington Post recently named one of the region’s best Ethiopian restaurants, has been searching for an Arlington space since October, owner Surafel Gizachew told ARLnow. It would be the restaurant’s second outpost, joining the U Street location that debuted last April.
An Arlington leader is among several local officials opposing a proposal to merge bus systems in Northern Virginia in a quest for greater efficiency.
Though the possibility of merging transit systems came up during DMV Moves meetings late last year, leaders including County Board member Matt de Ferranti expressed skepticism after the concept re-appeared during a meeting last week.
A group of protesters carrying a coffin draped with a Palestinian flag received trespassing citations this morning after entering a Rosslyn office building.
A crowd of about 30 people entered Arlington Tower, home of the Israel-based defense firm Elbit Systems, around 8:30 a.m. Monday, according to scanner traffic.
The population of every jurisdiction in Northern Virginia, including Arlington, increased between 2023 and 2024 for the first time in seven years.
The region as a whole saw its largest population increase in quite a few years, rising by 35,181, according to new estimates from the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. Arlington’s population estimate increased by just under 2%, while the region as a whole grew by 1.4%.
