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.
A six-story office building in Virginia Square could be converted into a 94-unit apartment development.
Site plans filed late last month by Gilbane Development Company call for an adaptive reuse project at 3601 Wilson Blvd. Instead of tearing down the existing building, built in 1999, Gilbane proposes to keep the outside largely intact but rebuild much of the interior as apartments.
Arlington County is currently seeking feedback on three development projects with a total of 1,255 proposed units.
Online engagement periods for all three proposals, located in Rosslyn, Ballston and Shirlington, are wrapping up soon. A list of the projects and their locations is below.
Return-to-office mandates at Amazon and in the federal government could provide an economic boon to Arlington, experts say.
As President Donald Trump’s executive order to end many remote-work arrangements sent shockwaves through federal workplaces last week, Amazon employees this month also began working five days a week at HQ2.
A lack of commercial properties in Arlington’s development pipeline is having a negative impact on the community’s tree canopy.
The Arlington County government’s Tree Canopy Fund last spring had “essentially run out of money” and was being kept alive by a one-time, $250,000 appropriation from County Board members.
Its leadership may be changing, but the role of Arlington’s Economic Development Commission will remain vital in 2025, its members believe.
The body is “filled with professionals … that can offer guidance and perspective,” said Bill Dunn, the commission’s outgoing chair, at its December meeting.
Long-delayed plans to redevelop aging Rosslyn office buildings and a parking garage notably involved in the Watergate scandal could be getting a fresh start.
Developer Monday Properties has recapitalized the development site at 1400 Key Blvd and 1401 Wilson Blvd, home to two 12-story office buildings.
Arlington’s likely 2025 County Board chairman has economic-development and property-repurposing initiatives atop his to-do list for the coming year.
“One out of four square feet [of office space in the county] is unoccupied,” Takis Karantonis on Dec. 10 told members of Arlington Senior Democrats. “It’s the highest for us ever, and one of the highest in the nation. What is worse, it’s not looking like the business is coming back.”
Plans to build a new apartment building and townhouse development near Columbia Pike have taken a significant step forward.
The Arlington County Board last month approved use permits for two projects, just a few blocks away from each other, with a total of 104 proposed housing units.
