New conversion projects on three aging, mostly empty office buildings in Arlington have caused the county’s office vacancy rate to drop by more than a full percentage point.
County leaders hope that these adaptive reuse projects, combined with newly approved standards for signage on commercial buildings, contribute to making Arlington a more enticing place for developers and corporate tenants alike.
More relaxed rules for business signage and lower speed limits on five roads are on the agenda for an upcoming Arlington County Board meeting.
Other items up for consideration at the Saturday meeting include the purchase of two homes to reduce flood risks, funding for an East Falls Church road project and grants to support seniors experiencing cognitive decline.
As interest in building and renting many varieties of office space declines in Arlington, more focus is falling on creative solutions.
Only a single new office building is currently under construction in all of Northern Virginia — although demand for offices with at least 50,000 square feet of space remains relatively strong, according to a new office market report from CBRE Research.
A man is fighting for his life after being severely burned in an under-construction office building in Crystal City.
It happened around 2:15 p.m. at 2011 Crystal Drive, which is being renovated. Initial reports suggest that there was a “flash fire” of some kind on a basement level of the building, critically injuring a construction worker in his 20s and setting off the sprinkler system.
Arlington County staff hope to leverage strengths in the county’s location and workforce as advances in AI bring shake-ups to the nature of work.
Despite recent forecasts that AI will lead to corporate layoffs at Amazon in coming years, Ryan Touhill, director of Arlington Economic Development, told ARLnow that he believes the county has the potential to come out on top amid rapid technological changes.
Arlington’s unemployment figures remained high in April after a surge the previous month, new data shows.
Preliminary jobless figures for April, released last week, indicate a sizeable 64% year-over-year increase in Arlington’s jobless claims. A total of 4,862 residents were looking for work that month, compared to 2,972 in April 2024.
Another office-to-residential conversion project may be on the horizon in Arlington, this time at a nine-story Ballston building.
Rooney Properties acquired The Ellipse at Ballston, located at 4350 N. Fairfax Drive, last month. The firm considers the property “a candidate for future redevelopment” and residential conversion, vice president Greg Hoffman told ARLnow.
An Arlington strength training gym hopes to open this summer on the ground floor of a new Virginia Square office building.
M2, a fitness studio by Method Fitness, has signed a lease at 3901 Fairfax Drive, joining the nine-story building’s growing tenant lineup, according to a release from developer Skanska. The acclaimed gym currently has one outpost on Langston Blvd.
Another developer is setting its sights on redeveloping a Ballston office building as a residential high-rise.
Aria Development Group filed plans last week to replace a five-story structure at 4420 Fairfax Drive with a 22-story tower. The new building would have 302 residential units, 5,017 square feet of retail and 86 parking spaces.
Though federal workforce reductions will likely cause fluctuations in office space this year, Northern Virginia’s most sought-after properties are expected to remain valuable.
A new data analysis from Savills US notes some “encouraging signs of recovery” in the first quarter of this year, but anticipates a bumpy ride for the region’s commercial properties as shakeups at the federal level play out.
Even more Arlington office space could become apartments after plans for another adaptive reuse project in Ballston were filed last month.
The owner of 4100 Fairfax Drive, the 13-story tower home to Bronson Bierhall, proposes to convert the structure into an apartment building with 269 housing units. Site plans call for 186 one-bedroom apartments, 66 two-bedroom apartments and 17 studios.
A five-story storage facility is proposed to replace a brick office building in Lyon Park.
The Lock Up Self Storage has filed plans to rebuild the headquarters of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions as a storage facility with 5,580 square feet of retail space.
