Arlington officials see the decision to phase out assisted living facilities at Culpepper Garden as part of a larger, nationwide problem with no easy fixes.
At a Saturday meeting, county leaders faced pressure to address the planned changes at the senior housing community, which are scheduled to go into effect next summer and impact more than 70 residents. However, they said that their ability to influence such issues is limited.
Numerous large-scale redevelopment and conversion projects are scheduled to go before the Arlington County Board at upcoming meetings.
A full slate of projects would bring a total of 1,535 new residential units and 344 hotel rooms to Rosslyn, Ballston, Shirlington, Crystal City and Virginia Square. They include both teardowns and adaptive-reuse projects involving underused office buildings.
The Virginia Court of Appeals has withdrawn a recent decision reinstating Arlington’s “Missing Middle” ordinance, once again striking it from the books as judges reconsider arguments.
In a ruling that adds yet another layer of complexity to the legal fight over the controversial zoning change, the appeals court agreed on Tuesday to reassess a judgment that the court handed down just last month.
With the cost of a two-bedroom apartment above $3,000 for another month, Arlington rent continued a gradual upward trajectory in June.
The county’s median rent for an apartment was up 0.3% month-over-month, contributing to an increase of 3.6% since the start of the year and 2.6% year-over-year, according to data reported by Apartment List.
A proposed 845-unit redevelopment project in Rosslyn has won the support of the Arlington Transportation Commission.
The commission voted 11-0 in support of the project on a 2.3-acre site at 1901 and 1911 Fort Myer Drive, near Gateway Park.
True Ground Housing Partners has filed plans to redevelop an affordable housing complex in Waverly Hills with even more affordable housing.
The nonprofit developer, formerly the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, filed site plans last week for a 10-story building with 249 committed-affordable units at the current Leckey Gardens site at 2031 N. Woodrow Street.
The Culpepper Garden senior-housing community has announced plans to close its assisted-living wing, leaving some families to scramble to find new homes for loved ones.
Current residents will be able to stay until at least next summer, which leadership hopes will give families enough time to find other housing. Still, the closure means Northern Virginia will be losing one of its only assisted-living facilities for low-income seniors.
Political leaders need to meet the moment and connect with a fearful and angry Northern Virginia electorate, one county leader believes.
“The status quo is just not good enough. What are we going to do about it?” County Board member Julius “JD” Spain Sr. said during a Saturday forum sponsored by NAACP branches of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County.
Last week’s ruling that put Missing Middle zoning changes back on the books in Arlington presents a major setback for plaintiffs, experts say.
The determination in the Virginia Court of Appeals, which found last year’s circuit court ruling invalid for procedural reasons, could substantially set back the timeline for the case and require even more resources to support a privately funded lawsuit.
Arlington’s top elected official is embracing a this-too-shall-pass view of the impacts of Trump-era government cuts on the local community.
“We will weather this storm and come out stronger,” County Board Chair Takis Karantonis said at the annual Arlington Chamber of Commerce “State of the County” event yesterday (Thursday).
Arlington’s Missing Middle zoning ordinance is back on the books, at least for the time being, following a ruling in the Virginia Court of Appeals.
In the latest development in the dramatic legal battle over the county’s Expanded Housing Options (EHO), three appeals court judges issued a ruling yesterday (Tuesday) that reverses a circuit court decision declaring the zoning change void.
A decision on whether there’s any historic value in a former schoolhouse bound for redevelopment in Aurora Highlands is unlikely until next year.
Historic-preservation staff will begin a study of the Melwood property “by the end of the year at the latest — like the December time frame,” said Mical Tawney, a historic-preservation specialist, in response to a question at the June 18 meeting of the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB).
