development

Two proposed 6-plexes in Alcova Heights clear a neighbor’s attempt to appeal them

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

Arlington’s Board of Zoning Appeals has rejected a neighbor’s attempt to stop two proposed Expanded Housing Option developments in the Alcova Heights neighborhood.

An affiliate of local homebuilder Classic Cottages proposes building two side-by-side six-plexes at 4015 and 4019 7th Street S., bordering Alcova Heights Park and a couple of blocks north of Columbia Pike.

A neighbor fought back, filing an appeal with the BZA, which takes up appeals to any decisions or determinations made by the county’s Zoning Administrator.

Normally, residents go to the BZA to appeal decisions related to plans to build additions or add front porches; this appears to be one of the first appeals related to new Missing Middle developments.

In February 2023, before the Missing Middle ordinances were approved, Classic Cottages submitted a request to re-subdivide two properties in a “pipestem” configuration, where the boundaries of one property form a “pipe” around the other. After the Missing Middle or Expanded Housing Option (EHO) ordinances went into effect in July, Classic Cottages submitted permits to replace the current single-family home and circular driveway spread across the two lots with a pair of 6-plexes.

“Pipestem” lots are a rarity now because many years ago, they were so hated by the community that the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee got the county zoning ordinance amended to make pipe-stem developments more difficult, says Barnes Lawson, the attorney for Classic Cottages.

“The reason is that you had problems with driveways. You had houses behind houses. It was just not the ideal way in which to provide housing for our community,” he said.

The ‘pipestem’ lots in Alcova Heights (via Arlington County)

In her appeal, neighbor Kelley Reed argued that the permits were illegally issued. She contends the lots, created via subdivision, did not yet exist in county land records when the permits were issued. Also, she said, they do not conform with the 60-feet minimum width required for EHO developments and the EHOs would have to be put on portions of the lot that cannot be built on.

“This is not a pro- or anti-EHO case,” said Reed. “This case has ramifications far beyond EHO and regardless of use, as this case is about getting the math right. It’s about following the rules. It’s about not cherry-picking definitions. Please correct the staffs’ errors and reject the wrongly approved permits.”

Several neighbors joined the chorus, dwelling less on the math and more on how the project does not fit with the surrounding houses and would hurt the neighborhood.

Jamshid Kooros, who identified himself as a Missing Middle supporter, argued that building multifamily buildings on narrow, deep lots would make this project “the poster child of those who oppose the changes.” That has already come to pass, however, as the project figured into a recent presentation by Arlingtonians for Our Sustainable Future, a local group that has argued against the policy changes.

Others, including the president of Classic Cottages, came to its defense, arguing that residents are hijacking the purpose of BZA appeals to relitigate Missing Middle.

“In all the years we’ve been doing this — building houses all over the county — it never occurred to me that adjacent property owners could file BZA cases against one of our projects. It’s never happened before,” David Tracy, the president of Classic Cottages said. “This particular case seems to be more about the EHO policy itself and I would respectfully ask that, to the extent that it is the policy that’s being challenged, that there’s a proper venue — a larger court case that’s being handled right now.”

(more…)

NEW: Macy’s to close Ballston location this spring

By ARLnow.com
1/5

The Macy’s store in Ballston is slated to close this spring, as soon as March, ARLnow has learned.

The department store at the Ballston Quarter mall was one of five locations the company identified last week as set to close in 2024. Macy’s is also planning to cut some 2,350 jobs this year.

Signs are now up outside and inside the store, advertising a storewide 30% off sales. All sales are final as of Monday, Jan. 22, according to the signage.

A Macy’s spokesperson tells ARLnow that the clearance sale “will run for approximately 8-12 weeks.” The store is expected to close after that.

The Arlington County Board approved a redevelopment plan for the Macy’s site in December 2022. The plan calls for a 16-story, 555-unit apartment complex atop a grocery store and another 1,400-square-foot retail space.

NEW: Ballston Macy’s to close this year, with redevelopment planned

By ARLnow.com
1/4

The Macy’s store at Ballston Quarter will close later this year, the company announced Thursday.

The Ballston location is one of five Macy’s stores set to close in 2024, as the department store chain aims to cut 2,350 jobs, or 3.5% of its workforce, including 13% of corporate staff.

The closure of the Ballston Macy’s is not exactly a surprise. The Arlington County Board approved a redevelopment plan for the site in December 2022. From our previous reporting:

Insight Property Group proposes to demolish the longtime department store and vacant office building at 685 N. Glebe Road and replace it with a 16-story, 555-unit apartment complex atop a grocery store. In response to online engagement, it is adding a second, 1,400-square-foot retail space on the ground floor.

The units would be spread across two 14-story towers joined at the penthouse level. Residents would have 250 underground parking spaces while grocery store patrons would have 148 spots on the building’s second story.

There’s no immediate word of an updated timeline for the development, which was the subject of scrutiny from local residents and transportation planners.

Photo (top) via Google Maps

A mid-century relic of Rosslyn’s pedestrian infrastructure, next to the church-gas station, is coming down this summer

By Jo DeVoe
1/7

(Updated at 3:55 p.m.) One of Rosslyn’s few remaining skywalks is set to come down as part of an effort to realize a walkable corridor from one end of the neighborhood to the other.

Arlington County will be demolishing a skywalk over N. Nash Street, near the Arlington Temple United Methodist Church building and Sunoco gas station dubbed “Our Lady of Exxon.” The county applied for a demolition permit for this project last month, permit records show.

“This is part of the Rosslyn Sector Plan’s 18th Street Corridor,” says Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Katie O’Brien. “The removal of the skywalk will help refocus pedestrian activity at the street level by replacing the remainder of the skywalk system with the envisioned 18th Street Corridor over time.”

Envisioned in the 2015 Rosslyn Sector Plan, the 18th Street Corridor is envisioned as a walkable thoroughfare extending from Rosslyn’s western edge, N. Quinn Street, to its eastern edge, Arlington Ridge Road. The corridor is intended to make Rosslyn more pedestrian-friendly by removing the skywalks, breaking up long north-south blocks and improving access to the Rosslyn Metro station, per the sector plan.

Some skywalks have already been removed as part of redevelopment projects changing Rosslyn’s skyline. Most recently, one that connected the now-demolished RCA building to the Rosslyn Gateway building was removed as part of plans to replace the building with apartments. Another over N. Lynn Street was removed in 2014 for the Central Place redevelopment that replaced a McDonalds.

The county is still working on the plans and obtaining necessary easements, O’Brien said. Demolition is expected to start this summer and take upwards of two months.

The demolition permit does not apply to the redevelopment project from Arlington-based Snell Properties, approved in 2021, to replace the Ames Center office building, formerly occupied by the Art Institute of Washington with two residential towers on the same block.

One tower would abut the Hyatt Centric hotel and another would surround the church and gas station, which will be completely rebuilt, according to a 2021 press release.

The new façade of Arlington Temple United Methodist Church at 1820 N. Fort Myer Drive (via Arlington County)

In advance of this project, Arlington Temple United Methodist Church has relocated to 1701 N. Bryan Street, just north of Courthouse, according to Rev. Martha “Marti” Ringenbach.

As for progress on this development, Snell did demolish 1820 Fort Myer Drive in October but a construction start date has not been determined, a spokeswoman for the developer tells ARLnow. She noted Snell was not aware of this demolition permit.

Once underway, the redevelopment will also advance the 18th Street Corridor by building up a segment from Fort Myer Drive to N. Nash Street, the 2021 release said.

In proposing a corridor that is partially inaccessible to cars, the sector plan admits that the 1960s-era skywalks were a bit of a failed experiment.

These skywalks were “designed to connect blocks, buildings and uses efficiently while keeping pedestrians separated from vehicular traffic,” the plan says. “The execution of the skywalk concept fell short of expectations in some cases, which combined with a renewed focus on directing pedestrian activity to the street level, has led to an incremental deconstruction of the system over the past 15 years.”

Rosslyn’s skywalks were declassé even before the new millenium, according to a scathing write-up in a 1999 study of Rosslyn.

“To the planners of the early 50’s and 60’s, presumably it seemed orderly and logical to separate the pedestrian flow with its erratic, unpredictable movements, from the fast-moving steel machines of the road,” a consulting firm wrote in the report. “Buried in the back of the planners’ minds perhaps lingered images of the piazza at San Marco in Venice or those of Rome. If so, in the instance of Rosslyn, something was lost in translation.”

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.”

(more…)

Residents could start moving into two nearly complete apartment towers in Crystal City next month

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

Two new apartment buildings in Crystal City are almost ready for residents to move in.

Construction started on the two residential towers at 1900 Crystal Drive in 2021, nearly one year to the day after JBG Smith received approval to redevelop the aging office building previously there.

Now, JBG Smith tells ARLnow it expects residents can starting moving into the buildings — a 3-minute walk from Amazon’s second headquarters — this February. The developer has already begun receiving partial certificates of occupancy for certain floors of one tower, dubbed “The Grace.”

JBG Smith said it expects to wrap up construction by the third quarter of 2024.

The 583,000-square-foot north tower, The Grace, and a 567,500-square-foot south tower, called “Reva,” are each 300 feet tall and, across them, have 808 rental units and about 40,000 square feet of street-level retail. A pedestrian-friendly street bisecting the towers will connect 18th and 20th Streets S. and a not-yet-built park.

The Crystal City Sector Plan envisions this park space as the largest in Crystal City, at about 74,000 square feet. The plan says it “would allow for a wide variety of uses, such as passive recreation, exhibitions, concerts, festivals, cafes, some temporary kiosk retail, and evening outdoor movies” among other uses, says Dept. of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Jerry Solomon.

JBG Smith granted to the county a public park easement of approximately 45,000 square feet to establish this open space, dubbed “Center Park.” The county received the easement understanding that the rest of the proposed public space would come as part of a future development, Solomon said.

JBG Smith also contributed $300,000 for the park’s master planning, a community engagement process where people will weigh in on programmed elements and other features.

“The current [Capital Improvement Plan] envisions the design of Center Park to begin in FY 2025 with construction to begin some time in FY 2027,” she said in an email. “In July 2024, the County Board will be considering the FY 2025-2034 CIP which may contain changes to the potential timelines and funding for public space development within the Crystal City corridor.”

While residents of The Grace and Reva can start moving in February, it is looking like a summer opening for at least some of the six announced businesses move into the ground floor retail spaces.

Per window dressings and Arlington County permits, 1900 Crystal Drive will be home to new outposts of Tatte Bakery & Cafe, a the ice cream shop Van Leeuwen, D.C.’s Chinese-French fusion restaurant Bar Chinois and Cuban café and bar Colada Shop, a nail salon called nailsaloon, and New York City-based botox spa Peachy.

Nailsaloon recently opened a location in Chevy Chase and aims to move into Crystal City this summer, a spokeswoman said.

Colada Shop is also targeting a summer opening, a company spokeswoman said.

The other businesses did not respond to requests for more information about when they might open.

JBG Smith says it still has some retail space to fill, so additional announcements may be coming.

Redevelopment plans filed for two hotels in Green Valley to be replaced with apartments

By Jo DeVoe
1/9

New plans have been filed to redevelop two hotels in Green Valley with apartments.

The project would replace Hotel Pentagon — previously a Best Western that saw some prostitution-related run-ins with law enforcement — and the Comfort Inn Pentagon with a 521-unit, 602,000-square-foot apartment complex.

Both hotels are located at the intersection of 24th Road S. and S. Glebe Road, with I-395, the Lomax AME Zion Church, some auto body shops and two apartment complexes all nearby.

The plans were filed by Capital First Investments and Capital Second Investments, which own the parcels at 2480 S. Glebe Road, and CC Rock Arlington Owner LLC, incorporated in Delaware. The Washington Business Journal first reported the filing, attributed to this LLC, last week.

This LLC is tied to a North Carolina-based developer, Crescent Communities, which also invests in real estate and operates mixed-use communities. It has offices in D.C. as well as outposts in several western and southern states. Reached by ARLnow, the company declined to comment.

In filing this new application, the owners and developer have taken the next step forward in the county site plan application process. ARLnow reported this January that preliminary plans had been filed — an optional step some take to discuss the project with and solicit early feedback from county planners.

The number and mix of units has changed since this early filing, which floated a 467-unit apartment complex and 36 stacked townhouses. The apartment building will have 20 additional units, and there will be four four-story buildings with a total of 34 apartments.

The apartment building will include a mix of 1- and 2-bedroom units, some of which will also have dens, and two 3-bedroom units. The plans call for 580 vehicle parking spots and 222 bicycle parking spots — more than the minimum 546 and 219 spots, respectively, required by zoning codes.

The developer also proposes a series of site upgrades, including “enhanced sidewalk and streetscape design, new landscaping, and activation of the ground-floor façades,” a letter accompanying the application says.

“The proposed development will achieve the goals of the Four Mile Run Area Plan by implementing new residential buildings as well as a variety of site improvements in the Four Mile Run neighborhood,” it continues.

The Green Valley Civic Association has had one meeting with the developer and is still trying to schedule a follow-up, association president Portia Clark tells ARLnow.

“We looked at some of their preliminary plans,” she said. “We also wanted them to meet with the church next door, with the cemetery, which will be very close to the development. There were some issues with the naming. They were going to name it Arlington Ridge and we’re not Arlington Ridge — we’re next to it.”

Clark says she would like to see the plans presented to the community at the civic association’s upcoming January meeting.

The ’12 Days of Christmas’ gets a remake focused on Arlington land-use debates

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

It won’t ever beat “All I Want for Christmas is You” on the charts but a new Arlington-specific Christmas song is out, recorded by the group that was on the opposition side of several land-use flashpoints this year.

Arlingtonians for Our Sustainable Future, a neighborhood group that has advocated against everything from Missing Middle to a new planning document for Langston Blvd, dropped an alternative “12 Days of Christmas” this week.

It mocks the policy changes and projects Arlington County undertook this year — the same policies for which other local groups spent the past couple of years advocating.

The short song, brought to you by the same people who brought tombstones for the “Arlington Way” to the final Missing Middle hearing, reiterates criticism ASF raised regarding heights, environmental impacts, governance or displacement and other predicted outcomes of growth.

And the kicker? A tribute to the paused second phase of Amazon’s second headquarters in Pentagon City: PenPlace, best known for the proposed marquee glassy double-helix building.

The lyrics are below.

On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

12 story towers,
11 displaced tenants,
10 YIMBYs leaping,
Nine acres bulldozed,
Eight vacant buildings,
Seven cars a-swimming,
Six-plex a-zoning,
Five special GLUPs.
Four homeless birds,
Three lawsuits,
Two lame ducks,
and a PenPlace that never will be.

While this take on the “12 Days of Christmas” had a sardonic edge, the proverbial 10 YIMBYs leaping do see this year as one to celebrate, kicking off with the ratification of Arlington’s Missing Middle policies.

In late 2023, YIMBYs of Northern Virginia saw the fruits of their advocacy in the passage of similar zoning ordinances in Alexandria. In between, organization members were busy responding to engagement opportunities on development projects moving through Arlington County approval processes.

“We are proud to have joined with a diverse set of community advocates to end exclusionary zoning in Arlington and Alexandria, reduce burdensome parking mandates in Fairfax County, support new market-rate and committed affordable apartment buildings, and elect forward-looking leaders across the region who prioritize making their jurisdiction a more inclusive, sustainable, and affordable place to live,” the group said in a statement.

The group invited anyone who shares its “Yes in My Backyard” values to celebrate the New Year on Jan. 14, 2024 from 5-7 p.m. at Makers Union pub in Pentagon City.

County ratifies financing plan for Barcroft Apartments redevelopment despite push from advocates for deeper affordability

By Jo DeVoe
The Barcroft Apartments on Columbia Pike (via Arlington County)

Arlington County Board members and advocates were split this weekend on how many units at the Barcroft Apartments should be set aside for Arlington’s lowest-income earners.

Two years ago, the county and Amazon loaned $150 million and $160 million, respectively, to developer Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners to purchase the aging garden apartment complex, located on 60 acres near the corner of S. George Mason Drive and S. Four Mile Run Drive.

The purchase agreement stipulated all 1,335 units would be affordable to households earning up to 60% of the area median income, or AMI, for 99 years, in an effort to avoid displacing the 1,100 resident families who lived there.

After community members advocated for deeper affordability, Jair Lynch developed a financing plan that further commits the county and property owner to keep at least 134 units for households earning up to 30% AMI. This would be the county’s largest commitment of 30% AMI units to date, among the properties in its affordable housing stock, according to a county report.

Board members celebrated the plan, which outlines how Jair Lynch will refinance the county’s loan to cover various renovation and redevelopment phases and try to achieve savings for the county in the long run. During remarks when they approved the plan, members said it documents how this project can be financially viable, despite cripplingly high interest rates.

“There are so many good things that are happening here,” County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said. “The areas where people want improvements are absolutely doable because the partners involved are committed not only to making this a financially viable experience but a good experience.”

He said that Saturday’s discussion was not the time or place to add in a new affordability commitment.

Advocates wanted to see a total of 255 units set aside for 30% AMI households — a single person earning $31,65o or a family of four bringing in $45,210. That number reflects that 255 households at the Barcroft Apartments that reported earning up to 30% AMI in 2021, when Jair Lynch purchased the complex, according to the Arlington Community Foundation.

“Deeper affordability should not expire when the current residents move on,” Arlington Community Foundation Director of Grants and Initiatives Anne Vor der Bruegge said. “We acknowledge the sobering financial dynamics at play and the need to protect the viability of this deal, however, we believe that our goal can ultimately be accomplished using land use and other tools that have not yet been explored.”

Interim County Board member Tannia Talento was not so sure.

“When we look at other committed affordable properties in Arlington that are not able to maintain a good quality of maintenance for their buildings, I just cannot in good mind say, ‘Let’s deepen affordability and we’ll figure it out later,” she said. “I just can’t do it.”

Should market conditions improve or Jair Lynch finds other funding sources, the county and the developer will revisit this minimum commitment, which will hold if market conditions worsen instead, per the report.

“Part of the financing plan is utilizing these potential savings to pay down the County’s debt while still meeting County goals,” a report says. “These anticipated savings are important due to the significant increase in the cost of capital to the County because interest rates have jumped dramatically since the 2021 acquisition.”

Debt service on the county’s short-term line of credit is currently $9 million annually for interest alone — more than four times what was projected in 2021 for the 2023 fiscal year, the report says. The county says this puts a strain on its Affordable Housing Investment Fund, or AHIF, and its ability to take on new projects.

“That is an understatement, considering AHIFs total appropriation for FY 2024 is $20.5 million,” said former independent County Board candidate Audrey Clement, the lone speaker this weekend opposed to the project.

She also said the costs are too high for the first renovation phase.

(more…)

A collection of single-family homes in Cherrydale will soon be eligible for Missing Middle redevelopment

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

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.

According to Missing Middle ordinances, these properties would have been exempt from Expanded Housing Option, or EHO, development because they were intended for larger-scale redevelopment. But that was unlikely to happen.

“Since the redevelopment on adjacent properties did not also include these parcels as part of the site assemblages, it is unexpected and likely infeasible for the balance of properties to redevelop on their own consistent with the Cherrydale plan,” per a county report.

If the Arlington County Board approves the proposed map changes this month, these 18 properties could have a new path forward for redevelopment as EHOs, potentially creating a subtler transition from higher-density or commercial buildings to single-family home neighborhoods.

Proposed changes to the Cherrydale Revitalization District Boundaries (via Arlington County)

Since the revitalization plan was adopted in 1994, several properties in Cherrydale have redeveloped, becoming townhouses, for instance, but leaving a collection of single-family homes nearby.

When the Missing Middle ordinances were adopted, county staff recommended studying the Cherrydale Revitalization District boundaries as part of Plan Langston Blvd, which outlines how the county can leverage private development to turn car-centric Langston Blvd into a leafy, walkable corridor with more housing, retail and open space.

Notably, Cherrydale had been left out of Plan Langston Blvd because its redevelopment plan had yet to be fully realized. Still, with this recommendation, staff sought to find homes unlikely to be assembled for larger-scale redevelopment and free them up for EHO development.

The map shows other blocks with a few single-family homes are still included in district, meaning the county still has high hopes developers could assemble these properties for larger-scale developments.

An aerial view of a car dealership and restaurant, and single-family homes nearby, that could be assembled for larger redevelopment projects (image by ARLnow via Google Maps)

The Planning Commission adopted the changes this month after a month-long delay.

In November, the County Board decided to postpone hearings on the map until December because a copy of the map “was inadvertently omitted” from meeting materials in October, when the Board heard staff’s request to advertise hearings, the report said.

The item is now teed up to go before the County Board on Saturday, Dec. 16.

Potential affordable housing development in Aurora Highlands nears initial milestone

By Jo DeVoe
1/7

(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.

It has picked nonprofit developer Wesley Housing to replace its aging building — from which it offers job training and placement, among other services, to people with disabilities — with 104 units of affordable housing.

Many units would be for households earning around 60% of the area median income. Some units would be set aside for very low-income households and up to 30 units could be set aside for people with disabilities. Melwood would continue using the site to provide services to people with disabilities.

“This collaboration with Wesley Housing has the power to transform the lives of people with disabilities and support Arlington’s continued leadership in building an inclusive community,” Melwood President and CEO Larysa Kautz said in a statement. “We appreciate their support in helping people with disabilities find a place to call home.”

Should everything go to plan, work could be underway in about two years.

“While we’re still very early in the planning process, we hope to seek tax credit financing in 2025 and to break ground shortly thereafter,” a spokeswoman for Melwood told ARLnow.

First, Melwood needs the site’s land use designation changed from “public” use to a low-density residential use, for up to 36 housing units per acre. It can request this change through a Special General Land Use Plan (GLUP) Study process.

This May, the county’s Long-Range Planning Committee recommended studying this change because the county has no planning guidance for the site, and its “public” use is at odds with its private ownership and commercial zoning status. Still, members had concerns about building heights and transitions, density and how the project could impact adjacent Nelly Custis Park.

This fall, county staff studied the site, its potential 4- or 5-story buildings, and other topics, including transportation. Last week, staff briefed the Long Range Planning Committee on its findings as well as the results of a recent online survey.

Staff said a 4-story building would be slightly taller than existing churches nearby and would provide more space for programming. A 5-story building would allow for more open space and a better transition to Nelly Custis Park. It determined the existing transportation system could handle the influx of residents but more study would be needed.

As for the survey, 240 people participated, mostly nearby homeowners. Some 38-42% of respondents said building tall was fine — given the mix of buildings and Metro station nearby — and expressed enthusiasm for more affordable housing.

Many were concerned the development is too big and would introduce too much density. One respondent who lives across the street said the county “has not done its due diligence in studying impacts to traffic, pedestrian safety, or ecosystem impacts” and the building “is not consistent with the sector plan or neighborhood.”

(more…)

View More Stories