Author: Jo DeVoe

Fire department staffing increase leads county to renovate fire stations

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 3 p.m.) A half-dozen Arlington fire stations will be upgraded to accommodate more firefighters.

The renovations will give firefighters and EMTs at Fire Stations 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9 more space and amenities to use while they’re at the station.

On Saturday, the Arlington County Board approved the $1.4 million project, which responds to a recent change to the Arlington County Fire Department’s schedule that required the department to hire more staff.

Last month, the county officially implemented the “Kelly Day,” an extra 24-hour shift off every 28 days, which reduces a firefighter’s average work week from 56 to 50 hours per week. The day helps reduce absenteeism, exposure to hazardous and stressful conditions, and overtime, while improving work-life balance, recruitment and retention, according to the county.

“[The] implementation of the Kelly Day [is] the result of committed funding across multiple years and dedicated advocacy on behalf of our firefighters to modernize the schedule of the Arlington fire service to improve their balance and quality of life to make ACFD more competitive across the region,” Board Chair Katie Cristol said on Saturday. “We’re really excited to see the Kelly Day implemented as a way of thanking and respecting our firefighters as the professionals they’ve been, especially our firefighter EMTs, who’ve worked so hard during the pandemic.”

Kelly Day planning began in the 2017-18 fiscal year, and the county began funding additional firefighter positions in the 2019 fiscal year, ACFD spokesman Capt. Nate Hiner tells ARLnow. Between then and the official implementation on Jan. 16 of this year, the department hired 39 firefighter EMTs.

Those 39 firefighters will need additional personnel lockers for their gear, uniforms and street clothing, he said. Other upgrades include expanded refrigeration and storage spaces in the kitchen, additional bathrooms and showers, stackable washer-dryer units to increase laundry capacity and expanded and improved gym areas.

Only Fire Station 4 will require additional locker space after these renovations are complete, says Hiner.

Fire Station 10 in Rosslyn, which was finished last summer, has the additional amenities, as will the new Fire Station 8 in the Halls Hill neighborhood once it’s complete about two years from now, he said. The old Fire Station 8 is currently being torn down and crews are operating from a temporary station.

Also related to firefighters, the County Board approved a deadline extension in its civic code giving new labor unions — authorized last year — more time to get through the necessary procedures to officially form as collective bargaining units. Firefighters were concerned that the delayed hire of a labor relations administrator would put off compensation negotiations another year.

Latest county jail death prompts questions, pledge of oversight from County Board

By Jo DeVoe
County Board member Matt de Ferranti on Saturday, Feb. 12 (via Arlington County)

Arlington County Board member Matt de Ferranti says he has lots of questions for the county’s criminal justice system after an inmate died in the county jail two weeks ago.

On Saturday, he released a statement committing to figuring out why Paul Thompson, a homeless man arrested for trespassing at a place from which he was previous banned, died in the Arlington County Detention Center earlier this month. He also committed to avoiding preventable deaths at the jail.

“Typically, a number of state agencies — the Magistrate, the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, and the Public Defender’s office and our Judges — along with the Arlington County Police Department and the Department of Human Services all have a role in cases like Mr. Thompson’s,” he said. “In my oversight role as a Board Member, I share in the responsibility to make sure we are doing everything we can.”

On Feb. 1, Thompson became the seventh man in seven years to die in the custody of the Sheriff’s Office. Six of the seven have been Black.

The Arlington branch of the NAACP has been sounding the alarm on in-custody deaths in part because of their disproportionate impact on men of color since the 2020 death of Darryl Becton.

“We are failing men of color [and] we are failing people who are homeless in this community,” said Juliet Hiznay, an education and disability rights attorney and a member of the NAACP, during the County Board meeting on Saturday.

Last fall, the ongoing investigation into Becton’s death led to charges filed against a man police say falsified a patient record. It also prompted the Sheriff’s Office to change its jail-based medical provider, which was finalized within 24 hours of Thompson’s death.

And now, the death of Thompson — who did not have a criminal history but did suffer from a mental illness, Sheriff Beth Arthur told WTOP — is prompting greater scrutiny from the Arlington County Board.

“There will be follow-up in the coming weeks through the County Manager, and I personally will be following up in the short term,” de Ferranti tells ARLnow. “We do have to focus on solutions, and that’s why, I’ll be engaging with staff and subject-matter experts on this.”

Thompson’s death is being investigated by Arlington police and an autopsy is still pending, the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said today (Monday).

De Ferranti said he looks forward to answers to the following questions.
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Cybersecurity company Shift5 nabs $50M to develop products, hire staff

By Jo DeVoe

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1515 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn.

Cybersecurity company Shift5 has raised $50 million in a Series B funding round to protect planes, trains and military weapon systems from mounting threats.

The round was led by private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners, and follows up on a $20 million Series A funding round last fall.

“Shift5’s experienced founding team with deep national and cybersecurity experience, plus early success, makes the company a standout in the industry,” Nick Sinai, a senior advisor at Insight Partners who will join Shift5’s board, said in a statement. “We’re excited to work with Shift5 as it fills a crucial space in defending national infrastructure.”

Shift5 intends to use the funding to new products and hire new employees to keep pace with demand for its services across transportation and national defense industries. It works with some notable clients, including the U.S. military’s Special Operations Command.

The Rosslyn-based startup, headquartered at 1100 Wilson Blvd, currently offers a platform that identifies the weak points in the systems making planes, trains and militaries run, and wards off cyber threats. It began selling this product last year, and reported netting tens of millions of dollars in revenue.

The commitment to hiring staff comes after the company doubled the size of its team in 2021.

Airlines, train operators and militaries often rely on outdated operational technology to power their fleets, according to Shift5. As more of these operational systems get connected to the Internet, they become more vulnerable to cyber attacks — which can cost them millions of dollars in losses, remediation and ransom payments.

And soon, they may have a human cost, as these attacks could result in injuries and deaths by 2025, according to research firm Gartner.

Shift5 founders deploy their product on a train during COVID-19 (courtesy of Shift5)

Cyber threats are becoming more commonplace, and demand for Shift5’s services is rising, the company says. Recent attacks have targeted pipelines and surface transportation, including New York’s public transit authority and a major port in Houston. Hacks into maritime operational technology have increased by 900% since 2017 and, overall, the transportation industry witnessed a 186% increase in weekly attacks from 2020 to 2021.

“If the past year has proven anything, it’s that the leading defenders in rail, aviation, and national defense see the prescient risks and are mobilizing to get ahead of costly damages,” said Shift5’s President Joe Lea in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with Insight Partners as we continue to grow and defend.”

Jury convicts man of 2019 Rosslyn stabbing spree

By Jo DeVoe
Wondwossen Kassu in 2019 (courtesy of ACPD)

(Updated at 11 a.m.) An Arlington County jury found a 43-year-old man guilty of stabbing three people in Rosslyn three years ago.

Wondwossen Kassu stabbed two men sitting at a table inside Gateway Park in May 2019 and a third man walking by. The jury convicted him on three counts of malicious wounding.

Kassu is scheduled to be sentenced on May 6 in the Arlington County Circuit Court. Malicious wounding is a felony that carries a minimum prison sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years.

“This was a tough case, but my office will never shy away from prosecuting such acts of violence,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, in a statement. “We are grateful for the jury’s verdict, and we were happy to provide some measure of closure to the victims.”

On May 21, 2019, Kassu approached two men sitting at a table inside the park and began talking to them, according to the 2019 police report. Then, he stabbed them and a third man who happened to be nearby.

Two of the victims were able to flee and get help. All three required hospitalization, but survived the attacks.

More on the crime from an Arlington County Police Department press release at the time:

At approximately 9:27 p.m. on May 21, police responded to the report of multiple stabbings in Gateway Park located at 1300 Lee Highway. Upon arrival, officers located the suspect and took him into custody without incident. During the course of the investigation, officers located three male victims suffering from lacerations. The victims were transported to area hospitals and all are reported in stable condition.

Based on the preliminary investigation, it appears two of the victims were sitting at a table inside Gateway Park when the suspect approached them and initiated a conversation before producing a knife and stabbing the victims. The third victim was walking in the area when he came upon the initial assault. The suspect then turned his attention towards the third victim and stabbed him as well. Two victims were able to leave the scene to seek assistance. They were located by responding officers in the 1900 block of Fort Myer Drive and the 1800 block of N. Nash Street.

Dehghani-Tafti, elected as the top prosecutor for Arlington and Falls Church on a criminal justice reform platform, has faced some local skepticism — culminating in a recall campaign organized by a Northern Virginia political group last year — about whether she is sufficiently tough on crime. Dehghani-Tafti’s office started sending press releases about major convictions earlier this year.

Pentagon City Sector Plan to reach County Board on Saturday amid some vocal opposition

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

This weekend, the Arlington County Board is poised to vote on a planning document set to shape several decades of post-HQ2 development in Pentagon City.

The Board’s meeting this Saturday will be residents’ last chance to weigh in on the Pentagon City Sector Plan, which envisions a denser and less car-centric neighborhood with “ribbons” of tree- and plant-lined walking paths.

The plan culminates a lengthy study of the 116-acre community and the county policies that have governed its growth for 46 years. The last plan for Pentagon City — finalized before the arrival of Metrorail service — described the area as “mostly vacant urban real estate” with some existing residential and industrial uses.

Amazon’s decision to build its second headquarters in Pentagon City precipitated the new study’s launch.

The plan’s critics have grown louder in their opposition as the eve of the vote draws near. They say the plan adds density but not green space and doesn’t guarantee space for new and improved public facilities.

In response, the county says the newest version of the plan reflects a number of additions locals requested that flesh out what open spaces should look like and highlight the need for a school, community center and library. But concerns still remain.

“We believe that in order to realize the vision described in the PCSP, where community members have access to employment, schools, multi-modal transit, open space, and other essential services, the plan needs more clarity and assurances,” writes Kateri Garcia, President of the adjacent Arlington Ridge Civic Association (ARCA), in a letter to the Board.

She adds that ARCA represents “a significant number of citizens who feel that their voices have not been heard within the process and that large increases in density are being pursued without rationale and the appropriate studies to ensure the area can absorb the density.”

Much of the opposition is focused on the future of the large RiverHouse site on the west end of Pentagon City, currently home to three apartment buildings and an expanse of parking lots and grassy areas. Specifically, the plan has reignited old concerns about redeveloping the surface parking lots and open spaces surrounding the complex on S. Joyce Street, a long-time goal of property owner JBG Smith.

The document recommends up to 150 units per acre on the 36-acre site, which currently has a ratio of 49 units per acre. Residents who coalesced into the groups “RiverHouse Neighbors for Sensible Density” and “Dense That Makes Sense” have called for moderated growth instead.

A rally held in front of Grace Murray Hopper Park, a public park on the RiverHouse property that’s set for upgrades under the plan, attracted at least two dozen or so demonstrators from the two groups, many of whom held signs decrying the plan and significantly increased density.

As for a new school or improved community center and library, neighbors want details about how they’d fit at Virginia Highlands Park — or a commitment to put them elsewhere.

“The common theme throughout the Plan is that Virginia Highlands Park is the fallback location for all public facilities. A school. A community center. A library. More recreation. Very little of this is feasible — there’s simply not enough space and we have contention over it already today,” writes former Aurora Highlands Civic Association President Scott Miles in the association’s February newsletter.

Planning Commission member Stephen Hughes sympathized.

“I do find the lack of a site proposed for an elementary school — besides the already provided county facilities — to be lacking,” he said during a meeting last week. “I just believe we could’ve done a better job of achieving a grander legacy for future generations.”

While the plan doesn’t achieve a net increase in green space, it improves “poorly designed, generally privately owned, open space,” sets minimum tree and planting requirements for developments and requires a park within a 10-minute walk for every resident, writes the AHCA representative to the project, Ben D’Avanzo, in the same newsletter.

(more…)

County to award $2.8 million contract for Alcova Heights Park renovations

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

Alcova Heights Park is going to get a face lift.

The county is gearing up to award a $2.8 million contract to upgrade a number of facilities in the heavily used 13-acre park on S. George Mason Drive, a few blocks north of Columbia Pike.

Over the course of the renovations, most amenities will be replaced, some new features built, site circulation improved and more greenery planted to address stormwater management.

These changes aim to address complaints residents had about the park back in 2018, including: poor drainage; unsafe crossing conditions at 8th Street S., which bisects the park; the lack of a bridge over Doctors Run, which flows through the park; and old picnic shelters and bathrooms.

The renovations — expected to begin this spring and take about one year — include:

  • a new large picnic shelter and site furnishings
  • an improved fire pit area
  • a new sand volleyball court
  • new stairway entrances to the park at the north and south ends from S. George Mason Drive
  • an improved sidewalk and pedestrian crossing at 8th Street S.
  • a new lighted basketball court
  • new restrooms
  • tree and shrub plantings to improve drainage
  • improvements to site circulation

Arlington Palooza, an annual event held at Alcova Heights Park that made its debut in 2017, will be relocating for this year due to the work.

A rendering of the new bathrooms for Alcova Heights Park (via Arlington County)

“The playground and diamond field are not part of the project and will remain open during construction,” a county report said.

These two park amenities will be replaced as part of a yet unfunded second phase, which will also see the construction of a pedestrian bridge.

Phase 2 can be considered in an upcoming Capital Improvement Plan, according to the county. A timeline for these upgrades has yet to be determined.

The county has budgeted $4 million for all the renovations.

The public process for the project kicked off in 2018. Initially, the county planned to begin renovations in 2020 and finish in 2021. The County Board is now set to consider the construction contract at its meeting this coming Saturday.

Long-vacant restaurant space near Clarendon to become a daycare facility

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

A new childcare center could be coming to a gutted restaurant space between Clarendon and Courthouse.

Ladybug Academy LLC is requesting county approval to convert about 4,391 square feet of vacant, ground-floor restaurant space at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Cleveland Street into a daycare and preschool. The space at 2500 Wilson Blvd was home to Minh Vietnamese Restaurant until 2016.

“The use at this location will fill a ground-floor commercial space that has been vacant for a number of years and the site has sufficient space on-site to support outdoor play and parking requirements,” a county report said.

Ladybug Academy LLC looks to be affiliated with a Ladybug Academy location in Merrifield.

This is the second daycare company to request to take over the space. Last August, ARLnow reported a music-based Montessori preschool program had filed to open a franchise location in the same spot, but that appears to have fallen through.

Ladybug Academy plans to employ up to 14 staff to care for up to 76 children. Kids will have access to an outdoor play area at the back of the property’s frontage on N. Cleveland Street, the report said.

A proposed play area for Ladybug Daycare (via Arlington County)

The hours of operation would be Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Drop-off will occur between 7:30-10 a.m. each morning, and pick-up will occur from 4-6 p.m. each evening.

Eight parking spaces in the surface lot and adjacent garage would be provided for staff and parent use. On-street parking available is also available in the area.

The County Board is set to hear the request during its meeting this Saturday.

County looks to buy Pike office building for $7.6 million

By Jo DeVoe
3108 Columbia Pike (via Google Maps)

Arlington County is looking to buy and eventually redevelop an office building on Columbia Pike.

The county says the vacant, three-story building at 3108 Columbia Pike would make a good home for both the Columbia Pike library branch — currently located on the ground floor of the Arlington Career Center — and affordable housing. Until that project materializes, it will serve as a parking lot.

This weekend, the Arlington County Board is slated to review a proposal to buy the property, appraised at $8 million, for $7.55 million. Money would come from funds already appropriated in previous budget cycles for land acquisition and bond premiums, according to a county report.

It will cost about $1.5 million to tear down the 1960s-era building and turn it into an interim parking lot, the report said. Staff determined retrofitting the building would require “major reconstruction” to meet modern safety and accessibility standards.

The one elevator cab and the restrooms don’t meet accessibility standards, the fire alarm system and the heating and cooling systems need to be replaced, and the building does not have a fire sprinkler system, the report said.

“County staff recommends that the building be demolished, and its footprint paved to the same level as the existing parking lot, providing a 43,101 square foot (approximately 1 acre) site available for future redevelopment for branch public library and co-location of other County Board priorities, such as affordable housing,” per the document.

The acquisition comes after renovations wrapped up to the current Columbia Pike library branch (816 S. Walter Reed Drive) last summer, consolidating the library to one floor to add seats at the Career Center above it. With enrollment there expected to continue rising, Arlington Public Schools is preparing to start construction on a new career center, next to the old one, in 2023.

APS will keep the existing Career Center building as a “flexible space.”

The county says an interim parking lot would be helpful during the construction across the street.

“The existing parking lot is in very good condition with 63 parking spaces,” the report said. “Removal of the building by demolition, with paving and restriping, could add another 58 spaces (for a total of 121 parking spaces) for interim use as a surface parking lot for the Career Center redevelopment and/or metered public parking, pending future redevelopment.”

The county has 60 days after signing the purchase agreement to inspect the building and rescind the offer if need be.

Arlington animal control disputes ‘deer problem’ raised in study

By Jo DeVoe
Deer in Bluemont Park (Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick)

The Animal Welfare League of Arlington is bucking the results of a study suggesting the county has a deer problem.

Arlington County hired a consultant last spring to count the local deer population using drones. The company published a report in September saying that parts of Arlington had populations of 20-39 deer per square mile in certain places, exceeding what’s considered healthy (between 5 and 15 deer per square mile).

In a statement released Monday, AWLA, which oversees animal control for Arlington County, disputed the idea that the local deer population reaches unhealthy levels and urged the county to adopt a “practical, humane, and sustainable deer management plan” that doesn’t place too much focus on the numbers.

“From our extensive work in humane wildlife management, we know from experience that the issue is not the number of deer but rather the conflicts we have with them,” AWLA President & CEO Samuel Wolbert and Chief of Animal Control Jennifer Toussaint said.

The joint statement comes as county staff prepare to incorporate this data into a broader look at what steps Arlington needs to take, if any, to maintain a healthy white-tailed deer population.

Wolbert and Toussaint say there’s “scientific basis” for the claim that 5-15 deer per square mile is healthy, arguing no single count of deer qualifies as over-population.

“The fact is, determining a ‘healthy carrying capacity’ is a political judgement that is not rooted in biology: some communities, and even areas within a community, will be able to sustain different numbers of deer based on multiple factors, like type and quality of food and cover,” they said. “There is no one ‘magic’ number that any community should have. Saying Arlington County, with 13 deer per square mile, has too many deer is a political determination and not based on the environment in which the deer are located.”

AWLA leaders say complaints about deer may have precipitated this survey, but of all the calls and online reports their animal control division receives related to wildlife, relatively few involve deer.

Since November 2020, when it launched an online reporting system, AWLA has received over 650 wildlife concerns, and of those, 17 (3%) related to deer. Meanwhile, in 2021, 131 calls of the 2,733 calls for service related to wildlife (or 5%) were deer-related — and the most common concern was about the health of orphaned fawns.

“If there truly were ‘too many deer’ we, as the County’s wildlife experts, would have more deer-related complaints or issues arising from deer — which is simply not the case,” Wolbert and Toussaint said.

As for the argument that deer contribute to the destruction of the forest understory, cited in the report, AWLA leaders argue that deers are unfairly blamed for the impacts of other factors.

“It’s easy to blame deer for any forestry growth woes, when the reality is that forests are affected by many factors: insect damage, disease, pollutants (like harsh fertilizers), invasive species, increased foot traffic, climate and weather extremes, over-development… and deer,” Wolbert and Toussaint write.

In response, Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation said the survey was just the first step in determining whether Arlington needs to more actively manage deer. Next, the county will hire a professional wildlife consultant to interpret this data and gather additional information to determine if and how deer are impacting the natural landscape, said DPR spokeswoman Susan Kalish.

All this information will guide a public engagement process that will culminate with a presentation to the County Board this summer.

“Deer are necessary aspects of wildlife with important ecological functions when in balance with the surrounding habitat,” Kalish said. “Arlington takes its role as a steward of wildlife and its natural lands seriously.”

New private school set to open this fall in Aurora Highlands church

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

A new K-8 private school is preparing to open this fall in a church near Crystal City.

This weekend, the County Board is scheduled to review a use permit letting Vienna-based Veritas Collegiate Academy open a satellite campus at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in the Aurora Highlands neighborhood at 935 23rd Street S.

The facility, dubbed Veritas Crystal City, would have up to 25 students in grades K-12 and 10 staff members, according to a county report.

The move into Arlington represents an expansion for the Christian liberal arts school, which recently relocated its main campus from Fairfax to a larger site in Vienna. Per its website, Veritas says has been in negotiations with the church for the past year.

“We are very excited to announce that… we have been also pursuing the opening of a campus closer to Washington, D.C.,” the school’s website reads. “I am proud to announce that Veritas National Landing will officially open this fall. Serving the communities of Arlington, Alexandria, and Washington D.C., Veritas… will offer a different campus approach, with more of a unique eclectic city feel.”

Veritas also has three locations in China.

For about 15 years, the church hosted a preschool and kindergarten program called the Potomac Crescent Waldorf School, which has since relocated to Alexandria.

Veritas proposes being open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with school hours from 7:50 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. and after-school activities until 5 p.m., the report said. Drop-off would start at 7:30 a.m. and pickup would end at 3:15 p.m.

Neighbors can also expect occasional extracurricular events on weekday evenings and Saturdays after 5 p.m.

Marbella Apartments is teed up for County Board approval this weekend

By Jo DeVoe
1/8

This weekend, a new affordable housing development in the Fort Myer Heights neighborhood, near Rosslyn, could get the green light to get started.

During its regular meeting on Saturday, the County Board is slated to review plans for the Marbella Apartments, a proposal from Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) to build two 12-story, multifamily residential buildings that will be 100% affordable units for residents earning less than the area median income (AMI).

It will also review a proposal to issue a $10.5 million, 38-year loan to the Arlington-based affordable housing developer to fund one half of the project.

The two buildings, with a total of 555 units, would replace the existing three-story, garden-style complex located at 1300 and 1305 N. Pierce, north of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. These buildings are located on the east and west sides of N. Pierce Street, between N. Queen Street and N. Ode Street.

About two-thirds of the units in both buildings will be affordable to those earning up to 60% AMI and more than half of the units will be family-sized, with two to three bedrooms. The rest of the units will be affordable to people earning up to 30% to 50% of AMI.

Current residents will be prioritized as new tenants and the units will be affordable for 75 years, according to a Board report. In the “unlikely” event of a foreclosure with the senior lender, Virginia Housing, APAH may be able to reduce the number of affordable units to no fewer than 20% of the total, it said.

The project would be built in two phases:

  • Phase 1: “Site A,” a 234-unit tower with 118 below-grade parking spaces
  • Phase 2: “Site B,” a 321-unit tower, 132 of which will be dedicated to senior housing, with 163 below-grade parking spaces

Each building will be oriented around central courtyards, with two new pedestrian walkways across each site. They have some environmentally friendly features, including green roofs, rooftop solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and bicycle parking.

The developer will also take utilities underground and plant street trees.

APAH intends to return to the County Board later to request funds for the second phase. The County loaned the developer $4 million in 2011 when it purchased the existing 134-unit complex, built in the 1940s.

APAH is allowed to build 12-story buildings in the neighborhood through an April 2021 zoning ordinance amendment that hasn’t been used before, according to the report. Developers can tack on height if they commit to keeping all the units affordable and designing effective height transitions to lower-slung neighbors.

But this policy lacked “well-defined planning and urban design guidelines or other applicable policy guidance,” resulting in a contentious public review process, according to the report.

The Radnor/Fort Myer Heights Civic Association, Lisa Court townhouses homeowners and representatives for the Flats at Pierce Court condos all “voiced a number of concerns with the proposal, including issues related to overall building height, density, proposed parking, construction impacts, and transition to lower density properties,” the report said.

The Marbella Apartments site, showing neighboring communities (via Arlington County)

But revisions addressing these concerns worried several Site Plan Review Committee members and advisory group representatives, who said they reduced the number of units too much, the report continued.

The county says the final proposal smoothes the transition from townhouses to 12-story buildings as much as possible while removing only a half-dozen of units.

The evolution of the Marbella Apartments proposal (via Arlington County)

Meanwhile, this summer, APAH intends to renovate some low- and mid-rise affordable apartment buildings it owns next to the buildings intended for redevelopment.

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