With four months to go in the Arlington 2050 Initiative, conversations about the county’s long-term future are still underway.
While the goals of residents for the next several decades differ substantially, county spokesperson Kristen Clark told ARLnow that one clear trend has emerged across engagement efforts: “Folks want to be together.”
Greater housing density and more public open space are included in a new development proposal for a Pentagon City shopping area.
Proposed changes to the Pentagon Centre Development Site Plan (PDSP), slated for consideration at a Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, call for an additional 1,195 residential units and 333,300 more square feet of office space. A new “pocket park,” expanded recreation areas and an interim public space are also included in possible revisions to the redevelopment plan last modified in 2015.
The Pentagon City Sector Plan, which the Virginia Court of Appeals voided last month due to insufficient public notice, is heading back to the Arlington County Board for another vote.
However, county staff have indicated that they do not intend to make any substantive changes to the plan, suggesting that the construction of several controversial apartment towers at the RiverHouse property is still likely to proceed.
The Arlington County Fire Department has a new plan for the next five years centered on recruitment, retention and employee wellbeing.
ACFD’s first-ever strategic plan, released earlier this month, is part of an effort to refocus the department around core values. Based on community and employee concerns about staffing, health and workplace culture, the agency developed the document to solve problems and improve existing systems.
An intensifying climate and ongoing impacts of the shift to remote work will transform Arlington over the next 25 years, experts say.
At the same time, the county’s workforce will need to become more nimble to keep up with changes driven by artificial intelligence.
Eighteen properties formerly within a special “revitalization district” in Cherrydale will soon officially be eligible for redevelopment with 2- to 6-unit homes.
On Monday, the Arlington Planning Commission unanimously adopted changes to the county’s General Land Use Plan map that removed 18 properties from the boundaries of the Cherrydale revitalization district, outlined in the 1994 Cherrydale Revitalization Plan.
(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) A land-use study teeing up an affordable housing redevelopment project in Aurora Highlands has generated significant interest as it nears completion.
Melwood, a D.C. area nonprofit that provides services to and employs people with disabilities, is looking to redevelop property it owns at 750 23rd Street S., two blocks west of “Restaurant Row” in Crystal City.
Arlington County will kick off the New Year with the next phase of engagement on its forthcoming plan to manage its deer population.
A study found two years ago that Arlington’s deer population exceeds healthy levels, with the county’s forested areas home to about 20 and 39 deer per square. About 1.5 years ago, the Dept. of Parks and Recreation began considering a management plan in response.
In a bid to improve accountability, the Arlington County Fire Department is looking to put its mission and priorities in writing with its first-ever strategic plan.
The plan is designed to help the department identify its values and strengths and determine where to channel its resources over the next five years.
Arlington County will continue with plans to build dedicated pickleball courts at the Walter Reed Community Center.
The county had mulled pausing the project, putting the question to community members in a survey this spring.
(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) A plan guiding the future of Langston Blvd was approved on Saturday.
After hearing from some three dozen speakers, the Arlington County Board passed the plan — with some broad wording changes and neighborhood-specific tweaks that respond to months of public comments, including those made in the days leading up to the vote.
Plan Langston Blvd — a sweeping document outlining the future development of the corridor — is teed up for a vote by the Arlington County Board on Saturday.
The vote would culminate years of grassroots activity, followed by a county planning process that included about a year of public engagement. Despite the long lead time, the plan was recently criticized during County Board campaigns and commission meetings for introducing too many last-minute changes, which the county maintains were largely technical.
