County Board

County boasts progress in Green Valley but public intoxication hasn’t gone away

By Daniel Egitto
1/5

The Arlington County Police Department has ramped up efforts to curb public intoxication and other illegal behavior near a Green Valley elementary school.

Despite these efforts, however, some of that behavior persists, according to some community members and ARLnow’s observations.

Police, true to their word, have increased foot patrols and community engagement in Drew Park and John Robinson, Jr. Town Square after the neighborhood heard shots fired and witnessed a shooting over one week in December. During an Arlington County Board meeting on Tuesday, County Manager Mark Schwartz said that authorities have “seen a difference in some of the behaviors,” including drinking in public, in the area near Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School, and announced other forthcoming measures to curb this activity.

County Board member Matt de Ferranti applauded police on three arrests in connection with the incidents, along with outreach such as conducting security surveys and hosting a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.

“The residents who have sat there and said, ‘We want results’ — you have pulled through and so has ACPD,” de Ferranti said.

Around 1 p.m. Friday, however, at least one person on a sidewalk within eyesight of Drew Elementary was visibly drunk. He had an empty beer bottle in his hand and was dancing energetically to music.

From reiterating demands for public restrooms to calling for more investment in area businesses, some community members said Green Valley has a long way to go.

“I will say, the county has been very empathetic to the situation,” said Yordanos Woldai, co-founder of the public safety advocacy group Green Valley Matters. “But I want to judge by the action.”

Striking the right enforcement balance

Among the complexities of intervening in Green Valley is how to do so while being sensitive to the area’s strong hangout culture. The drunk person was dancing next to several other people who sat in lawn chairs outside The Shelton, an affordable housing building, who did not confront him.

  • A middle-aged woman enjoying the warm weather was dismissive when asked whether she has seen any changes in how the county approaches her neighborhood.
  • “Nope,” she said. “I’m keeping it real with you right now. All they do is talk.”
  • The woman, who declined to give her name, called the town square’s lack of restrooms, shade and functional water fountains “disrespectful” and scoffed at the suggestion that police have redoubled efforts to keep her community safe.

“If it wasn’t for these older guys that they complain about out here? They look out for us,” she said.

For Schwartz, the focus on Green Valley goes beyond the public nuisance crimes to more serious offenses. The neighborhood is among the “top three or four” in Arlington for firearms offenses and is in the top 12 neighborhoods for a category of offenses that includes weapon law violations, theft, assault and homicide, he noted.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that all civic associations are created equal. Some are in more urban areas; some are in less urban areas,” Schwartz said. “But the reason we’re focusing on Green Valley has to do with firearms crimes.”

One approach will be to improve tracking and public reporting of crimes at the neighborhood level. Schwartz announced last week that a new dashboard displaying crime numbers, broken down by civic association, should go live in the near future.

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Arlington to consider several ways to combat office vacancies this year, starting with looser parking restrictions

By Daniel Egitto
An office building with a leasing availability sign in Courthouse in December 2022 (via Google Maps)

Several measures designed to combat Arlington’s persistently high office vacancy rate are slated for discussion next month.

On the table are expanded opportunities for shared and offsite parking, as well as more lenient parking requirements for fitness centers. Officials are also set to consider whether to allow large media screens for outdoor entertainment in some business districts.

The Arlington County Board is scheduled to vote next month on whether to advertise requests to amend Arlington’s zoning ordinance to make these changes. County Manager Mark Schwartz told the Board last week he hopes that these and other ordinance changes can make it easier for Arlington businesses to get started and grow.

“Very often you’ll have a business that, if it could take advantage of parking very near to it, would be able to move ahead,” he said on Tuesday.

Schwartz noted that fitness centers have particularly strict parking requirements.

Large media screens, meanwhile, could assist with “placemaking” in certain commercial business districts. Currently, it’s an exceptionally arduous process to get large outdoor displays approved.

The county also plans to pursue bigger-picture ordinance changes, Schwartz said. Later this year, the Board is expected to discuss guidance on office-to-apartment conversions as well as potentially simplifying the major and minor site plan amendment process, which landowners must navigate when repurposing or renovating large development projects.

Within the next six months, Board members are also expected to consider plans to facilitate change of use within existing buildings and adopt a more flexible ordinance around signage.

Other possible ordinance changes concern storage uses at office buildings as well as the process for converting underutilized parking spaces.

“We promised we’d be coming to you with sort of a regular rhythm of items, and starting next month we will do that,” Schwartz told officials.

Arlington’s office vacancy rate is currently just over 22%, the county manager said — up from 21.5% in October. Arlington Economic Development predicted in October that this number would continue to rise, as about a quarter of Arlington office space is at risk of sustained vacancies.

The county has scrambled to find uses for its office buildings since the pandemic, passing several zoning changes on a compressed community engagement timeline. Recent adjustments allow urban farms, breweries and podcast studios to move into older office buildings without seeking special permissions.

Despite these efforts, a shrinking commercial base has left Arlington residents shouldering a growing portion of the county’s budget. Historically, the commercial and residential tax base split the budget 50-50 but in recent years, this has shifted to a 55-45 split.

Board member Matt de Ferranti last week called office vacancies “a huge challenge” and praised ongoing efforts by county staff.

“I think it is important to reiterate strong support for the direction we are going in,” he said.

Photo via Google Maps

Parking rates along Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors could change this March

By Daniel Egitto
Parking meter in a performance parking zone in Ballston (staff photo)

The cost to park in many of Arlington’s busiest neighborhoods could change March 1.

The most popular places to park along the Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors could ultimately cost up to $5 per hour, according to a county report. Less popular spots, meanwhile, could become less expensive than the current rate.

These changes are part of a state-funded “performance parking” pilot project that seeks to make it easier to find a parking spot in Arlington by incentivizing drivers to park in underused areas.

Arlington County kicked off the project earlier this year, installing sensors to collect data on parking behavior and determine what streets and neighborhoods should see higher and lower prices.

“These goals relate to improving the experience with parking at the curb, as well as reducing the negative impacts associated with inefficient or unsuccessful search for parking,” the report says.

On Saturday, the Arlington County Board voted to hold a public hearing about a proposed ordinance on Feb. 24. If it is approved next month, the pilot program would last until March 2026.

Parking rates could change up to once every three months but large, sudden changes are unlikely, according to the report.

Although costs could vary based on the time of day and length of stay, the project would not involve surge pricing or an across-the-board rate hike. Instead, each rate change would probably bring a roughly $1 increase to parking rates at some spots and a $0.25 decrease to other spots.

Arlington’s parking rates are currently capped at $1.75 per hour at short-term meters and $1.50 per hour at long-term meters.

A map of areas included in the performance parking pilot (via Arlington County)

While county staff would set the rates, they could never charge more than $5 per hour without the County Board’s approval, per the proposed ordinance.

The pilot program would follow in the footsteps of similar initiatives in major cities including D.C., Boston and San Francisco.

“These pilots have generally shown measurable changes in drivers’ parking behavior, reductions in negative impacts, and more efficient use of available space,” the report notes.

County staff would track this project’s effectiveness using some 4,500 sensors installed in parking spaces in the Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors. The county has already begun investigating where and when parking is most readily available in these areas — along with how often drivers pay for parking.

A recent analysis found that on average, only a third of vehicles parked at meters in these areas had actually paid to be there, which will inform how the county uses its limited cadre of parking meter enforcers.

Parking compliance in October 2023 (via Arlington County)

Although similar programs have tended to increase revenue, the report says this project is primarily designed to improve parking conditions for drivers — not to extract more money from them.

“Intentionally, there is no project goal regarding revenue impact,” the report says. “This is because the project goals are about curb space performance from the community and customer perspective.”

Hope files bill allowing form of government changes but County Board says more discussion is needed

By Jo DeVoe
Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (staff photo)

A new bill in the Virginia General Assembly would give the Arlington County Board the authority to change its structure without seeking further approval from state lawmakers.

Del. Patrick Hope’s HB 1225 would allow the Board to decide if it should retain its 5-member, at-large form of government or consider altering the size, to between three and 11 members, and changing to a district-based representation model. It would also allow the County Board Chair to be elected by popular vote for a 4-year term where currently, the practice is to rotate the chairship among members yearly.

Hope tells ARLnow he wants the County Board to have the same powers currently enjoyed by governing bodies of neighboring jurisdiction. As Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, local governments only have the powers conferred on them by the state legislature.

“The Arlington County Board is one of the weakest localities in Virginia. It is certainly the weakest of a locality of our size,” he said. “If the Board, this year, or the Board five years from now, wants to make these changes, they shouldn’t have to go to General Assembly and figure out who’s in control. They should have the power to make the decision how they want to run their government.”

The Board is not yet on board, however.

Members directed legislators last fall to “oppose any efforts that make changes to Arlington County’s form of government without the County Board’s explicit policy support.” Now, the Board is looking to punt on it until these questions can be put to the community as part of the year-long 2050 Visioning Process — where community members can envision what Arlington should look like in 26 years.

The visioning process is set to launch on Feb. 5.

“We are hopeful those who support such changes will engage more fully with the community during this process,” Board Chair Libby Garvey said in a statement. “Board members have connected with Delegate Hope to discuss our visioning process and the opportunities it offers to engage more fully with the community on H.B. 1225, to consider its implications, what it proposes to solve, and what the community thinks about it.”

“We believe continuing this bill to 2025 will provide the time needed to do that, and we offer the Arlington 2050 Initiative to help create the space for that discussion,” Garvey added.

Some of suggested changes in the bill are not new. Longtime former Arlington County Board member Jay Fisette said in 2017 that Arlington County should have an elected mayor and city council. Before that, in 2010, an attempt to enact district-based representation failed to gather enough valid petition signatures.

More recently, the Arlington County Civic Federation recommended making the Board bigger, among other changes, to improve diversity and competition.

Hope said the impetus now was the unexpected outcome of a 2022 bill, vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, that would have allowed the County Board to hire an independent policing auditor to oversee Arlington’s police oversight board — something other jurisdictions could have done without going to the state.

Arlington’s independent policing auditor now reports to County Manager Mark Schwartz, who also oversees the Arlington County Police Department. Hope and the Arlington branch of the NAACP, concerned about conflicts of interest, chafed at this decision.

“It’s not the Governor’s business, nor the House or the Senate, who Arlington County hires,” said Hope. He previously championed a 2015 bill, which passed, allowing the County Board to hire an independent auditor tasked with conducting performance reviews and finding inefficiencies in county government.

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County drops lawsuit against civic association, residents over attempt to block bus parking

By Jo DeVoe
ART buses move through the Quincy site in the Virginia Square neighborhood (via BVSCA)

There is a new twist in the stand-off between Arlington County and neighbors over bus parking on a county site in North Arlington.

Arlington County recently dropped litigation against three neighbors and the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, who tried to use the Board of Zoning Appeals process to block the county from parking 29 Arlington Transit (ART) buses on a county lot near Washington-Liberty High School.

The parking is a temporary arrangement while a new ART bus facility is built in Green Valley. The Arlington County Board allowed this when it approved a special exception use permit in the spring of 2022.

Nearly two years ago, the county zoning administrator determined the Dept. of Environmental Services could park the buses on the site — a requisite step for obtaining a use permit. One resident appealed the decision but a county staff member rejected it. A week later, the county sued him, his wife, a third resident and the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, alleging he used the BZA process improperly to block the parking use.

The defendants say the county sued them preemptively and that the bus activity would seriously undercut their property values and quality of life.

“This could and should become a case study in how not to run a county government and then considering your role you and not considering your unique role as owners of the site and how your actions may affect neighbors,” said Maurya Meiers during public comment on Saturday, when the Arlington County Board reviewed the special exception permit for the site.

A BZA appeal had been filed on Meiers’ behalf two years ago and she is named in the lawsuit, per meeting materials and court documents.

Some residents came to the defense of their neighbors and their legal plight.

“It’s a SLAPP [Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation] suit: a use of superior resources to haul citizens into court wear them down and demoralize them, perhaps even beggar them lest they become too vociferous and their concerns about pollution, noise and other avoidable nuisances, such as those which this permit enables,” said neighbor Thomas Viles. “So far your lawsuit has accomplished nothing expensive as it was it proved insufficient to shut these voters up.”

Indeed, Arlington County says it dropped its suit because the BZA is now set to hear the appeal case built by neighbors who live in homes overlooking the parking lot. The hearing will determine whether the county zoning administrator acted properly or if her decision runs afoul of zoning ordinances, a site plan and a 1985 deed of covenant.

Viles says the BZA agreed to take up the appeal after hearing about the suit in ARLnow.

“When they did learn, however, the BZA repudiated [county government] for having kept them in the dark,” he said.

This fracas is obliquely referenced in a resolution the BZA passed last September, directing the zoning administrator to avoid this situation again by sharing all appeals with members regardless of their merit.

“The BZA has never authorized any person to decline to accept an appeal on the BZA’s behalf,” the resolution says. “County staff did not consult the entire membership of the BZA before declining to accept any appeals of a zoning administrator determination, nor did County staff inform the BZA of its communications and actions in regards to any appeals filed between March 7, 2022 and the date of the adoption of this resolution.”

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BREAKING: Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey to retire at the end of year

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington County Board Vice-Chair Libby Garvey speaks at a press conference in 2023 (courtesy photo)

Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey is retiring at the end of her term in 2024.

She announced her decision near the top of a County Board meeting today (Tuesday).

“When my term ends in December, it will be 28 years of elected public service and about 17 primaries and general campaigns,” she said. “I’m loving this work. I love working with the staff, my colleagues and the residents. I mean, that’s the best part of this job, in many ways, but at this point, both my head and my heart are telling me it’s time I passed the baton.”

Garvey was first elected to the County Board in 2012, after previously serving on the Arlington School Board.

Continuing the relay analogy, Garvey says she intends “to sprint to the finish” and looks forward to accomplishing more for Arlington in the next 11 months, including leading the newly unveiled 2050 visioning process — a sweeping public engagement opportunity to envision what the county should look like in 26 years — and making Arlington more energy resilient.

“There will be time for more proper thank-yous and acknowledgments in the future,” she added in a statement to people who subscribe to her monthly newsletter, issued shortly after her announcement. “Please know that my friends and supporters have made it possible for me to do this work, which I love. And I look forward, as always, to your thoughts and suggestions as I continue to work for Arlington throughout this year.”

The acknowledgements have already started, however.

“We would like to thank Libby Garvey for her years of service on the County Board,” the Arlington County Democratic Committee said, in a statement posted on social media. “We know she’ll keep working for Arlington the rest of her term and beyond.”

So far, there are three candidates who have stepped up to fill her place, all vying to be the Democratic nominee selected in a primary this June.

Natalie Roy, who made her debut last election cycle on an anti-Missing Middle platform and received an endorsement from Garvey, is running for the second time. First-time candidate Julie Farnam, an Arlington Ridge Civic Association board member, is campaigning on improving public safety and taking what she calls a “smart” approach to planning and growth.

James DeVita, who ran for State Senate last election cycle, has also thrown his hat into the ring, according to Virginia Public Access Project.

Garvey’s decision follows that of fellow former County Board colleagues Christian Dorsey and Katie Cristol, who both announced last year they would not seek re-election. Cristol made her exit before her term ended while Dorsey saw out the end of his term.

Plans to upgrade East Falls Church bus loop move forward

By Daniel Egitto
East Falls Church Metro Station bus bays (via Google Maps)

A larger, more accessible bus loop may soon be coming to the East Falls Church Metro station.

The Arlington County Board on Saturday approved a $527,681 project-coordination agreement with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. This is part of a $12.7 million plan to provide the station with additional routes, expanded passenger capacity and improvements to parking and crosswalks.

The bus loop is set to get three more bus bays as the four current bays are at maximum capacity, per the report. Other proposed upgrades include improving the physical condition of the bus loop’s pavement and sidewalks and replacing the traffic signal at the N. Sycamore Street entrance.

On Saturday, County Board member Susan Cunningham said she is particularly excited about upgrades to the station’s bus shelters. She encouraged her colleagues to remain attentive to the bottom line of improvement projects, however.

“We all need to keep an eye on how those projects go,” she said. “They’re often quite complex, and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to control costs going forward.”

County staff publicly presented their plans for the Metro station at the intersection of N. Sycamore Street and Washington Blvd during a community meeting in March 2022.

“Overall, public response indicated support for the proposed concept design,” a county report says. “Respondents generally found the presented plans to be safer for all modes of transportation when compared to existing locations.”

The proposed construction site for improvements to the East Falls Church Metro station (via Arlington County)

Also included in the initiative, which is part of the county’s 2023-2032 Capital Improvement Plan, are plans to enhance landscaping and stormwater management; upgrade accessible parking, crosswalks and curb ramps; and improve pedestrian access from the Metro park-and-ride lot.

The last major upgrade to the East Falls Church Metro station was the addition of a $2 million bike parking facility. The 92-spot facility made its debut in the middle of the pandemic, though it was set to open in 2015. The structure was delivered five years late and $1.1 million over budget due to miscommunication and a lack of oversight, among other problems.

The county had hoped to add a second entrance to the station but put those plans on the backburner for at least a decade back in 2018.

Photo via Google Maps

This could be the year Arlington transfers ownership of the Reeves Farmhouse

By Daniel Egitto
1/4

(Updated at 5:35 p.m.) A yearslong attempt to convert a historic Arlington property into a home for adults with developmental disabilities may be nearing the finish line.

The Arlington County Board is expected to consider agreements to transfer the Reeves Farmhouse into the hands of local nonprofits and allocate community development block grant funds later this year, according to a county report. In advance of this, the Board on Saturday took steps toward streamlining the efforts of Habitat for Humanity DC-NOVA, HomeAid National Capital Region and L’Arche of Greater Washington.

Officials voted to approve a use-permit amendment and accept permit applications for building and land disturbance activity — decisions that will make it simpler for nonprofits to renovate the property if they assume possession of it.

The county report argues that the nonprofits’ plans, which have been refined over extensive conversations with local agencies, are in keeping with the county’s vision for the 124-year-old Boulevard Manor structure.

“As proposed, the historic building will be renovated and expanded in a historically sensitive manner, to provide for the needs of the applicant and the intended residents of the building,” the report says.

Six years of planning and increasingly firm agreement on what to do with the farmhouse led up to this point.

The structure, which was built in 1900, sits on a property that was home to the last remaining dairy farm in Arlington County before it closed in 1955.

The county once considered transforming the farmhouse into a museum or learning center, but ultimately concluded these changes would be too expensive. The county entered talks about transferring possession of the property back in June 2018.

It took three years, but the county and nonprofits finally reached a non-binding letter of intent in February 2020 — just before the pandemic hit.

Talks about what to do with the building stalled for another three years. But they revived in April 2023 when Habitat for Humanity, HomeAid and L’Arche met with the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board to discuss the home’s future.

The review board gave its official stamp of approval to proposed renovation plans at a July meeting.

The nonprofit coalition hopes to build a two-story addition on the south side of the farmhouse and a one-story addition on the west side, giving the home a total of seven bedrooms. Housing fewer than eight people, per the county report, means the building would be legally classified as a dwelling and not a group home.

The prospective owners also intend to outfit the existing structure with the following features:

  • New exterior guardrails and handrails
  • A new front door
  • New gutters and rain spouts
  • New asphalt shingles
  • Two windows in the new shed-roof dormer

The farmhouse would receive a new driveway allowing for “adequate emergency vehicle access,” along with four parking spaces, two of which would be handicap accessible. Plans additionally include stormwater management facilities and landscaping enhancements.

Other parts of the historic property, including a popular sledding hill — heavily utilized after the recent snowfall — will remain open to the public.

“The sledding hill has been a constant. Everybody wants to make sure we kept that sledding hill,” County Board Chair Libby Garvey said on Saturday.

The Board’s vote makes it possible for Habitat for Humanity, HomeAid and L’Arche to continue pursuing their plans. County staff argued that this decision is in keeping with the goals for the Reeves Farmhouse that the county adopted in 2015.

“Staff believes that the proposed renovations and site improvements to accommodate the applicant’s intention to own, renovate, and operate the Reeves Farmhouse as a residential dwelling providing care for adults with developmental disabilities [continue] to meet these criteria,” the report says.

How Arlington plans to turn your poop into energy and fertilizer

By Daniel Egitto
The Water Pollution Control Plant in South Arlington (via Arlington DES/Flickr)

More dirty details have emerged in the county’s $175 million plan to start using sewage for consumer-friendly fertilizer and renewable energy.

The first step is a $32 million budget authorization, set to be considered by the Arlington County Board this Saturday, to begin new upgrades the Arlington County Water Pollution Control Plant.

The county says the upgrades are overdue. The plant currently relies on solids handling processes that date back to the 1950s through 1990s. Irritating fumes sometimes force staff to use respirators, according to a county report.

“The facilities that thicken, store, dewater, and stabilize the residuals are beyond their useful life and break down frequently,” the report says.

All that is supposed to change.

Better sludge storage tanks, improved odor control systems and anaerobic digesters all play a role in the county’s plans to turn sewage into fertilizer and harness the natural gas byproduct for energy. Additionally, while Arlington sewage byproducts already fertilize agricultural land elsewhere in the state, better equipment will make it possible to either sell the county’s biosolids as a retail product or make them available to residents.

“The upgraded processes will produce a higher quality biosolids product as well as renewable natural gas, which will reduce the County’s dependence on fossil fuels,” according to the report.

How sewage can become power and fertilizer (via Arlington County)

Arlington wouldn’t be the first municipality to sell its processed sewage to consumers. Anyone who enriches their garden or lawn using the fertilizer brand Milorganite does so using treated sewage from Milwaukee.

The county is budgeting $175 million for all the upgrades and changes, plus an additional $23 million in soft costs, bringing the total budget to nearly $200 million.

The bulk of the funding comes out of $510 million in bonds that Arlington voters approved in 2022. This project is part of a host of initiatives, upgrades and maintenance projects that make up the county’s 2023-32 Capital Improvement Plan.

Staff have discussed the project with community members since 2015, the county report notes. People near the Water Pollution Control Plant, near the Arlington-Alexandria border and west of Route 1, have raised concerns about noise and vibrations that construction might cause, as well as possible emissions.

The county has pledged to use techniques to minimize impacts on the neighborhood when possible, per the report. Following stakeholder concerns, the county also nixed plans to burn the biogas byproduct to generate electricity onsite. It will instead clean and inject the resulting natural gas directly into the Washington Gas pipeline.

Photo via Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services/Flickr

Apartment building proposed for old Red Lion hotel site nears finish line

By Jo DeVoe
1/7

A redevelopment project near Rosslyn is teed up for Arlington County Board approval this weekend.

Reston-based Orr Partners proposes to build an 8-story apartment building with up to 446 units on a 2.2-acre site in the Radnor-Fort Myer Heights neighborhood.

The site at 1501 Arlington Blvd is currently home to the Red Lion Hotel, formerly the Best Western Iwo Jima hotel, which opened in 1958, as well as the Ellis Arms and Williamsburg apartments, which were built in 1954. It is bounded by Fairfax Drive to the south and the Parc Rosslyn Apartments and Belvedere Condominiums to the north.

The proposed building would add 418 net new units while still coming 62 feet under the height maximum allowed in this area, county planner Adam Watson told the Planning Commission last week. Its construction would eliminate surface parking lots and result in underground utility lines, new streetscapes and accessibility improvements.

Orr took over never-realized plans to build a 10-story condo tower and a 12-story hotel on the site, which the County Board approved in 2019.

After going through the county’s public review process, Orr changed the building’s form and design in response to staff and commissioner comments, says Watson. The developer made changes to the building at the corner of N. Pierce Street and Fairfax Drive to improve circulation on the sidewalk below, near a planned bicycle storage room.

It also added visual interest to gates along Fairfax Drive at the pedestrian level, intended to screen transformers from view and made design changes to give the lobby more prominence, he said.

Orr will replace existing market-rate affordable units with 24 on-site committed affordable units set aside for households earning up to 60% of the area median income. The units — seven 1-bedroom, 16 2-bedroom and one 3-bedroom — add up to 42 bedrooms, the same as currently exists.

Members of the Planning Commission urged the developer to consider trading some of the proposed 1-bedroom units for 3-bedroom ones.

“This would be a really great opportunity, as we rarely see 3-bedroom held market-rate affordable units that come before us,” said commission Chair Sara Steinberger last week. “You found one [3-bedroom unit]: I’m asking you guys to see what you can do to find one or two more. I do see some consensus in this body that that’s something that we would appreciate.”

Ryan Orr, the senior vice president of development, said his company is “happy to explore adding more 3-bedrooms in lieu of one or twos,” noting this would require “a holistic look” at the floor plans.

Representatives from the nearby Belvedere Condominiums owners association and the Radnor-Fort Myer Heights Civic Association expressed concern that the project will displace existing tenants of the market-rate affordable units.

Company chairman David Orr said he has heard these concerns from these neighbors since the kickoff of the project review process.

“We took that to heart. My son has met with every resident there — two didn’t open their doors — and we talked to them about their plans,” he said. “Some have had personal issues. Some are delinquent. We are not enforcing the leases and we are working with them in every way to bring them back to community.”

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Office vacancy rate is leveling out but Arlington is not yet out of woods

By Jo DeVoe
Office buildings, including the Nestle building, in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington’s office vacancy rate remains high but may be stabilizing after an initial, sharp increase due to Covid remote work policies.

As of the fourth quarter of 2023, the countywide office vacancy rate stands at 24.4%, according to a new report from commercial real estate company Colliers.

Since 2020, Arlington’s overall vacancy rate has risen 4.3% points, per the report, prompted by the pandemic-era shift to remote work and in defiance of return-to-office efforts. The county saw a 3-percentage-point jump between 2020 and 2021 followed by a more modest 1-percentage-point increase over the last year.

“The big story last year was the delivery of Amazon’s HQ2 which drove absorption earlier in the year,” Colliers Research Manager Miles Rodnan tells ARLnow. “Sublet space across the D.C. region has leveled off, which has helped slow down vacancy increases.”

“Additionally, as companies continue to settle into their return-to-office/hybrid policies, the decisions to offload space have been made in many instances,” he continued. “As leases continue to expire, there will be downsizes, but the rate should taper off.”

The vacancy rate in Arlington since 2015 against the average asking rent price (courtesy Colliers International)

(Arlington County also tracks its vacancy rate and, notably, it reported a rate hovering around 21.5-22% this fall. This discrepancy may be because the county and Colliers have different numbers for total office buildings and rentable square footage. Graphs tracking rates over time, from the county and Colliers, have similar trend lines.)

At the end of 2023, the Colliers report says vacancy rate was slightly higher for the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, at nearly 25%, than for National Landing — Pentagon City, Crystal City and Potomac Yard — at 24%.

While the difference is marginal, the rate is trending down in National Landing dropping 0.7% point over 2023, while the rate increased 0.8% point on the R-B corridor, the report said.

Compared to National Landing, where all the new office construction was tied to Amazon, the R-B corridor saw more speculative office projects: 3901 Fairfax Drive in Virginia Square, slated for delivery next year, as well as George Mason University’s FUSE at Mason Square building, which will house university programs in addition to private office space.

Overall, however, these projects contribute less than a million square feet of leasable office space. Rodnan says this could be a saving grace, given predictions that vacancy rates will continue to rise.

“A breath of fresh air comes from the restrained construction pipeline, which will hopefully allow vacancy rates to stabilize in the region as negative absorption is still anticipated in the near future,” he said.

Generally, newer office buildings — which real estate analysts dub “Class A” — are attracting tenants who are willing to pay upwards of $2 more per square foot to get out of dated office stock, or so-called “Class B/C” buildings.

This is a trend playing out across the region, Rodnan said, not attributing the submarket-level upticks to any tenants in particular.

Amid the well-established “flight to quality,” Arlington County is working on several initiatives to make it easier to reposition these obsolete buildings from which people are moving.

“The work is cut out for us: zoning needs to become reasonably more flexible and less burdensome,” Arlington County Board Vice-Chair Takis Karantonis said during his New Year remarks this week. “We need to be innovative and courageous in repositioning and reusing obsolete buildings.”

County Board member Matt de Ferranti spelled out what this office vacancy rate means for the county budget.

“We depend on our office vacancy rate, which leads to a lower tax rate than our surrounding localities in northern Northern Virginia,” he said, noting that commercial real estate comprises a greater percentage of Arlington’s budget than that of neighbors.

Either this month or next, Arlington County will learn the extent of the impact of decreased office property values on the expected budget deficit, which is preliminarily projected around $20-$40 million.

“That will be sobering news, or perhaps hopeful news,” de Ferranti said.

Through April, the 2024-25 budget process will address the ongoing challenge of high office vacancies.

“Why is this budget more difficult than our last? Haven’t we known about the work-from-home paradigm shift for two years?” said de Ferranti. “Well, we have, but the office assessment process and that market is based on 5-, 10- and 15-year leases. So this year, we’re seeing the reality come home to us.”

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