development | ARLnow.com

Redevelopment of American Legion Post into Affordable Housing Complex Wins County Approval

Published February 25, 2019 at 11:00AM

County leaders have now given the green light to plans to redevelop the American Legion post in Virginia Square into an affordable housing complex, a project widely hailed as an innovative effort to provide reasonably priced homes to veterans.

The County Board voted unanimously Saturday (Feb. 23) to approve plans from the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) to replace the Legion’s current home with a new seven-story structure. The building will have room for 160 apartments — half will be set aside specifically for veterans, and all of them are guaranteed to be affordable to people of more modest means for the next 75 years.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 25, 2019 at 8:00AM

High Wind Warning Today — Arlington is now under a High Wind Warning until 6 p.m. today. Gusty winds knocked out power in a number of areas overnight. As of 8 a.m., more than 250 Dominion customers in Arlington were still without power. [Twitter, Weather.gov]

American Legion Project Approved — “The Arlington County Board today approved a redevelopment plan to replace the aging American Legion Post 39 at 3445 Washington Blvd. with a seven-story building that will include 160 affordable units atop a new Post 139. In a related action, the Board allocated a $5.79 million loan from the County’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund to help build the project.” [Arlington County]

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County Manager Pitches Tax Hike to Meet School Needs, But Otherwise Avoids Many Cuts in New Budget

By Alex Koma

Published February 21, 2019 at 4:30PM

Arlington’s top executive is calling for a real estate tax hike and some select staff cuts to meet rising expenses passed along by county schools.

However, County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed budget for the new fiscal year is not quite as unpalatable as he’d initially feared.

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Residents of Ballston Apartments Feel Blindsided by Plans to Convert Building into Marymount Dorm

By Alex Koma

Published February 21, 2019 at 10:00AM

Marymount University's office and educational building and "The Rixey" apartments (file photo)

Janet Caputo and her husband thought they’d found just the right home for a new chapter in their lives when they moved into an apartment at “The Rixey” building in Ballston last month.

The couple had just sold their Cherrydale home of the last 22 years, looking to downsize now that their children are all heading off to college. Caputo says they spent months on the apartment search, touring buildings across Arlington multiple times before settling on The Rixey, located at 1008 N. Glebe Road.

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New Bill Would Let County Waive Fees for Affordable Developments, A Key Change Sought by Advocates

By Alex Koma

Published February 19, 2019 at 3:30PM | Updated February 19, 2019 at 7:28PM

A new bill just passed by state lawmakers could soon allow localities like Arlington to start waiving many fees for new affordable housing developments, a change that advocates expect could have big impact on the county’s housing crunch.

New legislation backed by Dels. Lamont Bagby (D-74th District) and Alfonso Lopez (D-49th District) would let officials across the state pass ordinances to do away with any building permit fees or other local levies on affordable housing plans, in a bid to ease the construction of such projects.

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County Considers Changing How It Reviews Major Development Plans, Irking Arlington Chamber

By Alex Koma

Published February 19, 2019 at 11:00AM

Kirkwood Road and Washington Blvd aerial site plan

County officials could soon change how they sign off on major zoning alterations, sparking some pushback from the county’s business community over fears that the new process could make large redevelopments more difficult.

The county is currently mulling an overhaul of its methods for reviewing applications for special “General Land Use Plan” studies.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 15, 2019 at 7:30AM

Update on Key Bridge Marriott Development — The Los Angeles-based developers that bought the 5.5-acre Key Bridge Marriott property in Rosslyn plan to extensively renovate the hotel, which is the second Marriott ever and the oldest currently in operation. Also planned: additional development on the site according to its zoning, which would allow more hotel rooms plus up to 660,000 square feet of office space and 630 residential units. [Washington Business Journal]

Holiday Closures Monday — “Arlington County Government offices, courts, libraries and facilities will be closed on Monday, February 18, 2019, for George Washington Day. Trash and recycling pickups will operate on a normal schedule for Monday customers.” [Arlington County]

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Planners Say D.C. Region Has Enough Room to Meet Amazon-Induced Housing Demands

By Alex Koma

Published February 14, 2019 at 3:30PM

Arlington and other localities around the D.C. region have enough room to add the housing necessary to keep pace with the Amazon-driven population influx expected over the coming years — but actually realizing that potential won’t be easy, regional planners say.

Researchers with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, a coalition of local leaders, have warned in the past that the region needs to add about 100,000 more homes through 2045, or else risk seeing rent prices creep up even higher and more people pushed into the outer suburbs.

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Lee Highway Planning Process Kicks Off Tonight, Setting Up Lengthy Debate Over Corridor’s Future

By Alex Koma

Published February 12, 2019 at 1:30PM | Updated February 12, 2019 at 1:48PM

A rendering of possible new development at Glebe Road and Lee Highway (via Arlington County)

Arlington leaders are starting a planning process to chart out the future of the Lee Highway corridor in earnest tonight (Tuesday), setting the stage for a lengthy debate over how the county allows development along the many neighborhoods lining the highway.

Officials are holding a community kick-off for “Plan Lee Highway” at 6:30 p.m. at the newly renamed Washington-Liberty High School (1301 N. Stafford Street) tonight, giving anyone interested in the corridor’s future a chance to learn more about the process and offer their thoughts.

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Plans Taking Shape for Large New Mixed-Use Development on Amazon’s Doorstep in Crystal City

By Alex Koma

Published February 11, 2019 at 10:00AM

JBG Smith's plans for a redevelopment at 1900 Crystal Drive.

JBG Smith is starting to sketch out its plans for a major redevelopment of a Crystal City property that will drop hundreds of new apartments and thousands of square feet of retail space directly adjacent to some of Amazon’s new office space in the area.

The developer has now filed preliminary plans with the county detailing the future of a vacant office building at 1900 Crystal Drive. The company has already started some demolition work for the current structure, and previously announced plans to build two new mixed-use buildings in its place, accelerating the project now that Amazon is on the way.

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‘Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste’: Amazon Prompts Debate Over How to Make Arlington Homes Affordable

By Alex Koma

Published February 4, 2019 at 3:30PM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 11:27AM

Arlington leaders agree that Amazon’s impending arrival in the county demands urgent action to address housing affordability — but there’s a lot less agreement on what sort of policy response is necessary to hold down the area’s skyrocketing housing costs.

Some of the changes officials are envisioning are relatively modest ones, expanding on existing efforts that began long before the tech giant announced its plans to bring 25,000 workers to the area. After all, many have argued that the new headquarters set to pop up in Crystal City and Pentagon City won’t prompt the sort of explosion in gentrification that Amazon’s opponents fear.

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Nonprofit Opens New ‘Columbia Hills’ Affordable Housing Complex

By Alex Koma

Published February 1, 2019 at 1:30PM

County Board members Libby Garvey (left) and Christian Dorsey join a ribbon cutting for the Columbia Hills development (via @libbygarvey)

A new affordable housing complex off of Columbia Pike is now open to renters.

The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing held a ribbon-cutting Wednesday (Jan. 30) for its Columbia Hills Apartments at 1010 S. Frederick Street. The new development includes two eight-story buildings with room for a total of 229 committed affordable homes.