Early renderings from a conceptual plan for the Shirlington House site (via Arlington County)
Early renderings from a conceptual plan for the Shirlington House site (via Arlington County)
Early renderings from a conceptual plan for the Shirlington House site (via Arlington County)
Early renderings from a conceptual plan for the Shirlington House site (via Arlington County)
New apartments might one day be built on open space surrounding the Shirlington House apartments.
Arlington-based Snell Properties, which owns the property at 4201 31st Street S., filed conceptual plans with Arlington County last month, seeking staff feedback on a variety of topics.
This is an early step applicants can take before filing an official site plan application to pursue development. It does not guarantee the project — as currently envisioned — will move forward. Rather, it is a way developers can consult county staff and evaluate options.
Since January, Snell Properties has separately had informal discussions and communications with Dept. of Community Planning, Housing and Development staff, per its application.
The applicant proposes to build one 64-unit apartment building with a mix of studio, 1- and 2-bedroom units on a hilly open space between the existing 436-unit apartment building and the Citizen at Shirlington Village complex.
Open space near the Shirlington House and how Snell Properties envisions adding an apartment building there (via Google Maps and Arlington County)
It also proposes seven “street liner” buildings along 31st Street S. — between Shirlington village and the Fairlington neighborhood — which would create 14 2-story, 3-bedroom units, the application says. One purpose of the conceptual site plan is to ask county staff whether adding these “street liner” buildings is feasible.
Three-bedroom units are in high demand and Planning Commission members have frequently requested or discussed these “family-sized” dwellings during recent reviews of development proposals.
31st Street S., where ‘street liner’ buildings could go and how they would fit into the sloping on the site (via Google Maps and Arlington County)
The new units would be served by excess parking available in the Shirlington House surface lot and below-grade parking garage. The existing apartment building will remain as-is, according to the application.
Arlington County granted permission to build 437 units on the site in the 1980s. To get more units, Snell has to make the case it can mitigate the potential effects of adding density through community improvements.
Snell suggested “possible onsite affordable dwelling units.” Developers can also make transportation upgrades — such as adding bicycle lanes — to offset a potential uptick in car trips from the new development, or make cash contributions to affordable housing and public art funds.
New homes at ‘The Grove at Dominion Hills’ development on the former Febrey-Lothrop Estate (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Nearly finished homes in ‘The Grove at Dominion Hills’ development on the former Febrey-Lothrop Estate (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Signage advertising homes in ‘The Grove at Dominion Hills’ (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Signage advertising homes in ‘The Grove at Dominion Hills’ (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Nearly finished homes in ‘The Grove at Dominion Hills’ development on the former Febrey-Lothrop Estate (staff photo by James Jarvis)
New homes at ‘The Grove at Dominion Hills’ development on the former Febrey-Lothrop Estate (staff photo by James Jarvis)
The first homes being built on the old Febrey-Lothrop Estate could be ready for move-in early next year.
Developer Toll Brothers says its nine quick move-in homes at ‘The Grove at Dominion Hills’ are in progress and expected to come online in early 2024, according to the company’s D.C. Metro Division President Nimita Shah.
A model home has been open for tours since September, she said.
The first available models, per the website, are each 3-story, 5-bedroom homes priced at $1.9 million. They come with interior and exterior finishes picked out by designers.
There are 10 to-be-built home sites available, for which home buyers can choose their floor plan and personalize their finishes, says Shah.
Potential homebuyers can also take a “hard hat tour” of a home next Sunday from 1-3 p.m, according to the website.
The aging but notable Febrey-Lothrop house on the 9-plus-acre estate, at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. McKinley Road, was demolished to make way for news housing after local preservationists, including the Arlington Historical Society, were unable to find a way to stop the project in time.
Attempts to get the county to purchase the site, parts of which date back at least to the Civil War, or to give it a local historic designation, failed.
The history of the site lives on in the names of some of the home design names — dubbed “Randolph,” “Rouse” and “Woodward.”
Alvin Lothrop, one of the namesakes of the Febrey-Lothrop Estate, was a founder of the Woodward and Lothrop department stores chain in 1898. The estate’s last owner before Toll Brothers was a trust for the local sportsman Randy Rouse.
The history, however, will be preserved in part through markers the Dominion Hills Civic Association plans to put up.
“We are in the research and design phase, including seeking input from members of our community,” says civic association President Terri Schwartzbeck.
The civic association received a $6,600 grant from Arlington County to create and install them.
“This land represents a rich swath of Arlington’s history, and the signage will include information about the Powhatan people, the Civil War, and the 20th century,” the county press release said at the time. “These new markers will allow residents and visitors to share in this forgotten history.”
The community includes new streets, curbs, utilities and street trees, Shah noted. In a bid to improve stormwater retention and water filtration, Toll Brothers added permeable driveways and, for each home, rainwater collection tanks and planter boxes.
A rendering of the proposed Goodwill redevelopment (via Arlington County)
A rendering of the proposed Goodwill redevelopment (via Arlington County)
A rendering of the proposed Goodwill redevelopment (via Arlington County)
Goodwill at 10 S. Glebe Road (via Google Maps)
Goodwill’s Glebe Road donation center (file photo)
Plans to redevelop the Goodwill near Route 50 — with affordable housing, childcare and a new store and donation center — have received a relatively warm reception, per a recent survey.
Goodwill and AHC Inc. propose to replace the existing Goodwill Retail and Donation Center in the Alcova Heights neighborhood with a 6-story apartment building with 128 units of affordable housing, a new store and donation center and a 3,300-square-foot childcare facility.
The redevelopment at 10 S. Glebe Road would have 168 total parking spaces, including 50 for customers and four for childcare.
The plans are early in the Arlington County approval process. Now that the recent feedback opportunity is complete, there will be two site plan review committee meetings, not yet scheduled, followed by Planning Commission and Arlington County Board hearings.
A majority of respondents, including community members, planning commissioners and other county commission members, welcome the addition of childcare and affordable housing to the site. Most of the 167 respondents said the density and land use “appropriate,” with several suggesting even more units could be added.
“I love this!” wrote one. “The more childcare facilities and housing the better!”
Another noted that about three-quarters of the units would be family-sized 2- and 3-bedroom units, which are in short supply in Arlington.
“Likewise, Arlington is in desperate need of additional childcare facilities like this,” the person continued. “The playground and green space proposed would benefit the entire neighborhood. This corner abuts office, commercial, and multifamily site, so additional density here should not be a problem.”
Not everyone is pleased with the increased density, however. Some objected to locating housing and childcare so close to busy Arlington Blvd, predicting even more congestion.
“The building is much [too] close to Route 50 and the residents are not connected to the surrounding community,” wrote one commenter. “They will be isolated. For all its progressive bona fides, it looks like Arlington is opting for the warehousing of the poor.”
“I question whether this site can handle this sort of expansive growth,” said another. “Traffic in this area is already horrendous and has been getting worse. This new site use will only increase that.”
For self-identified county commissioners who responded to the survey, the devil will be in the details, with concerns about insufficient landscaping, greenspace and traffic.
“Installing Right- as well as Left-turn traffic lights for South- and North-bound traffic across S. Glebe Rd. at the entrance to and exit from the proposed building site would make it more convenient and safer for motorists and pedestrians who will use S. Glebe Rd. close to its intersection with Arlington Boulevard,” recommended one.
The county says the developer conducted a traffic analysis that looked at three signalized and three stop-controlled intersections around the site. It found that the overall operations are and will be “at an acceptable Level of Service” if the development moves forward, per a staff report.
As for donation traffic, donors would enter and exit a drive-thru line from S. Glebe Road, similar to the configuration used today. The difference is that the new one would take drivers inside the building and up a level.
The current line sees backups onto S. Glebe Road during busy donation seasons, according to some commenters and a county report. The report did not indicate whether the plans would address this, noting that traffic volumes were manageable most of the year.
The designs received several compliments, including that it was “genius” and “light years better than the existing circulation plan.”
Goodwill donation queuing crosses two levels (via Arlington County)
An anti-Missing Middle sign in front of a house in Westover (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Although Arlington County is set to go to court next summer over its Missing Middle zoning ordinances, it has not stopped approving these new housing projects.
Judge David Schell has scheduled a 5-day trial to begin on July 8, 2024 after ruling in October that the 10 residents suing Arlington over the ordinances had standing. Among other claims, they argue the county violated state law by not sufficiently considering the impacts of Missing Middle.
“The court found it ‘readily apparent’ that a homeowner whose land is rezoned could sue, adding that it would be difficult to understand how such a property owner would not have standing,” per a press release from Arlingtonians for Upzoning Transparency, or AfUT, a group that formed in opposition to the ordinances but is not a party to the case.
“Such a challenge, the Court stated, was a ‘quintessential use’ of the law,” it continues.
The county disagrees. Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey told AfUT in an email it “is wholly within the purview of the local legislative body, which has the constitutional authority to make countywide land use decisions, revisions, and repeals if necessary.”
“It is our position that the Judiciary should not substitute its judgment for decision-making expressly reserved for the local legislative body,” Dorsey continued.
Arlington County will attempt to appeal the judge’s standing decision in a hearing on Jan. 11. Should the judge grant the appeal, the Virginia Court of Appeals would decide whether to accept the case.
“The County’s hubris in claiming that the courts don’t have a role in reviewing EHO zoning is astonishing,” says Dan Creedon, speaking for Arlington Neighbors for Neighborhoods, the organization that is financially supporting the lawsuit. “But now that a trial date has been set, and maybe reality is setting in, the County is seeking an appeal that could delay the trial and add tremendous expense to the litigation.”
The residents, meanwhile, plan to appeal the judge’s decision to deny its claim the county violated Freedom of Information Act laws in how it disseminated information to the County Board and the broader community.
“They had argued that they asked the County clerk for all public comments and the clerk emailed a link to the County website that had only a few letters,” anti-Missing Middle group Arlingtonians for Our Sustainable Future said in a press release last week, after the trial date was set. “A FOIA request revealed, in fact, the County had far more.”
Twenty-one Missing Middle projects — about a third of the 58 permits currently allowed per calendar year — have been approved as of last week, according to the county’s permit tracker. Five are under their first or second review, eight had their first review rejected and one application was withdrawn.
None of the projects are located in the county’s zoning districts with the largest lot sizes, or 8,000 to 20,000 square feet.
Developers who spoke to ARLnow said their project’s status depends on how many of the required permits they have in hand.
Home builder Ned Malik, whose Bluemont neighborhood project has started demolition following county approval, says he is undeterred by the lawsuit.
“We’re hoping to get started on construction in the first quarter of 2024,” Malik says. “We are moving forward on it. We definitely would be a witness for the county [as to] why it’s a much-needed thing, smart thing to do.”
Arlington County Board on Nov. 11, 2023 during their discussion of the Plan Langston Blvd document (via Arlington County)
(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) A plan guiding the future of Langston Blvd was approved on Saturday.
After hearing from some three dozen speakers, the Arlington County Board passed the plan — with some broad wording changes and neighborhood-specific tweaks that respond to months of public comments, including those made in the days leading up to the vote.
The county said in a press release that the newly adopted plan will help turn the 4.5-mile-long, car-oriented commercial and residential corridor into a “green, mixed-use main street that provides safe and multimodal access and is rooted in environmental resiliency, economic sustainability, and equity.”
“I am proud of the new vision for a resilient and equitable Langston Boulevard that was developed through years of work with the community,” Board Chair Christian Dorsey said in a statement after the vote.
“The plan’s land use framework and design guidelines will shape the new development in this corridor by helping expand the housing supply and its commercial base, improving its transit network and the connectivity of its public spaces, and strengthening the overall climate resiliency of the corridor by managing stormwater effectively, adding quality green spaces, and improving energy efficiency,” he continued.
Board members added and removed language in an attempt to firm up commitments to more aggressive affordable housing goals and county investments in better infrastructure. They added language intended to ensure privately owned public spaces — the bedrock of new green space envisioned on the boulevard — feel as accessible as their government-owned counterparts.
Some changes were tailored to specific neighborhoods and sites, made by individual community members and property owners. For instance, height transitions were lowered from five stories to four along 22nd Road N., a narrow road populated with single-family homes that abut commercial properties along Langston Blvd, including Moore’s Barber Shop.
Board members also lowered maximum heights from five stories to four, and transitional heights from four stories to three near the Calloway United Methodist Church in the historically Black neighborhood of Halls Hill/High View Park. For some supporting Board members, this vote was done with the neighborhood’s history in mind, as it was once segregated from a development for white residents by a wall.
Interim Board member Tannia Talento says lot size and street widths increase on the formerly “white” side of the segregation wall.
“What [the Halls Hill neighborhood is] asking for is not to feel locked in again,” she said. “Based on the history and recognizing and acknowledging mistakes made in the past, it’s important to hear the community, respect our history, respect what the request is, recognize that we have generational families who experienced that segregation.”
Board member Matt De Ferranti said he listened to John M. Langston Civic Association president Wilma Jones explain the rationale for her request in a recent ARLnow podcast. He said these concerns led him to support the amendment.
“Until I have next to me a 7-Eleven, I shouldn’t over-talk about [density],” he said.
Dorsey opposed the vote on the grounds it could create unintended consequences.
“We have made it more likely to develop by-right, providing no community benefits,” he said. “While I know you are all quite sincere to bring an equity lens and support historically Black communities, I don’t think they’re asking us at this point to deny them the opportunity to receive community benefits from redevelopment, which could be a consequence of this action.”
Board members also softened tree canopy requirements around the Lyon Village Shopping Center, which requested relief, saying the 35% canopy requirement would be impossible to meet if the property owners were to redevelop. They struck a recommendation to extend 25th Road N. west to connect with N. Harrison Street, instead adding language to suggest increasing pedestrian and bicycle connectivity between these two streets.
The Board also included a directive to the County Manager ensure that conversations move forward with the Virginia Dept. of Transportation and WMATA about redeveloping land these agencies own near the East Falls Church Metro station. De Ferranti says he would like to see staff directed to assess “re-zonings that lead to more affordable housing as fast as we can reasonably and appropriately do so.”
More about the plan’s passage, below, from a county press release.
Renderings of Cherry Hill Road in front of the Lee Heights Shops in the draft Plan Langston Blvd document (via Arlington County)
The Lee Heights Shops in May 2023 (via Google Maps)
Potential redevelopment and amenities at the Lyon Village Shopping Center (via Arlington County)
Shops in the Lyon Village shopping center in May 2023 (via Google Maps)
Calloway United Methodist Church on Langston Blvd (via Google Maps)
Renderings of Moore’s Barbershop and new cycling amenities in the draft Plan Langston Blvd document (via Arlington County)
Rendering of a potential redevelopment and open space at N. Woodrow Street and Langston Blvd in the draft Plan Langston Blvd document (via Arlington County)
Proposed streetscape enhancement along Langston Blvd (via Arlington County)
Plan Langston Blvd — a sweeping document outlining the future development of the corridor — is teed up for a vote by the Arlington County Board on Saturday.
The vote would culminate years of grassroots activity, followed by a county planning process that included about a year of public engagement. Despite the long lead time, the plan was recently criticized during County Board campaigns and commission meetings for introducing too many last-minute changes, which the county maintains were largely technical.
Although these tweaks have had time to settle, longstanding concerns continue to arise, pertaining to affordable housing, retail, building heights and park space. The Planning Commission addressed some of these earlier this month when, after voting to recommend the Board adopt the plan, members added in a few recommended changes.
On affordable housing, the Planning Commission, residents and community groups asked the County Board and staff to push for more committed affordable units.
“We don’t ask enough of our developers,” Commissioner Elizabeth Gearin said, per meeting minutes. “I hope we’re looking at how to get more on-site units. We should identify tools to where the County doesn’t need to outlay money. We haven’t fully exhausted this issue.”
Plan Langston Blvd projects to create 2,500 committed affordable units along the corridor by 2075, while the county’s 2015 Affordable Housing Master Plan previously called for the creation of those units by 2040. A sticking point for affordable housing advocates, the breakdown is because the Affordable Housing Master Plan, or AHMP, “was a projection, not necessarily a goal,” county planner Natasha Alfonso-Ahmed said, per meeting minutes.
“We’ve done extensive analysis of development capacity, and at the end of the day, the building envelope is set,” she said. “The result based on the recommended building envelopes is somewhat less than the AHMP projection.”
Planning commissioners approved a motion articulating their support for a countywide effort to “identify new tools and strategies to preserve and achieve more affordable housing related to a review of the Affordable Housing Master Plan,” according to the minutes.
Rev. Ashley Goff and Pat Findikoglu, representing VOICE — Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement — wrote that the Board has a vested interest in doing this.
“You have consistently shown your support for housing affordability for Arlingtonians across the income spectrum in many other areas of the County,” they said in a letter to the Board. “Now you have a chance to make clear that the North Arlington Langston Boulevard corridor, like all the other areas, also has a significant role to play in ensuring future housing opportunities for a broad range of residents.”
Attachment to the Lee Heights Shops — a one-story retail strip that includes an independent wine store, a salon, restaurants and a toy store with distinct colored awnings — also generated buzz.
“The Commodore” apartments in Courthouse in September 2023 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
“The Commodore” apartments in Courthouse in September 2023 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Costs are rising for some traffic signal upgrades in Courthouse.
Developer Greystar is installing new traffic signals at three intersections near its new, 423-unit, 20-story building that replaced several restaurants, including Summers Restaurant, in an area known as the “Landmark block.”
The new signals are part of a host of other county-funded projects the developer agreed to undertake in January 2022, along with pavement, sidewalk and curb and gutter improvements to public streets.
These improvements have progressed on a separate timeline from the building, approved in March 2021 and on which Greystar broke ground that fall. This July, as construction on the apartments drew to a close, Greystar received extra time for the transportation projects.
Earlier this year, when the civil engineering plan for the traffic signals was under review, county staff made some “refinements to technical details” regarding the signals, per a county report.
These tweaks increased the overall project costs by $1.1 million, according to the county. Greystar is requesting the additional funding to complete the work and the Arlington County Board is set to review this ask on Saturday.
The overall cost of the project is now $3.5 million, up from $2.4 million.
The traffic signals will be installed where N. Courthouse Road bisects Wilson and Clarendon Blvd as well as the intersections of N. Courthouse Road and 15th Street N. and N. Uhle Street and Clarendon Blvd.
The changes, which the county describes as “refinements to technical details,” are as follows:
A. Increases in all mast arm lengths, which require more costly structures and foundations.
B. Increases in the lengths of trenched conduits due to the density of the underground utilities.
C. Changes to equipment specifications to accommodate newer technologies in the control cabinets.
D. Increases in signal and civil design costs.
E. Additional duration of maintenance of traffic due to the complexity of the anticipated work.
DES obtained an independent cost estimate of this work, $2.77 million. The county says Greystar’s $2.75 million request is thus “fair and reasonable.”
As for the apartment building, the first set of tenants were set to move into “The Commodore” starting last month. The first retail tenants in a slate of restaurants and fitness studios were also set to move in last month, too, though others will not open until next year.
Papillon Cycles owner Bailey Garfield (right) and store manager of 14 years John Harpold (staff photo by James Jarvis)
After a nearly 50-year ride, Papillon Cycles on Columbia Pike shuttered on Tuesday.
The bike shop, founded by Ted Decapiteau in 1976 and later acquired by Bailey Garfield in 1989, shared a heartfelt goodbye on its Facebook page yesterday.
April fool’s 1976-Halloween 2023. It’s been a long strange trip, and Awesome! Thanks Customers Friends Family, STAFF! Owners, BAILEY! and long ago TED! But honestly ALL of you crazy riders. We are closed officially tonight. LOVE PEACE PEDALS!
Although his retirement was already on the horizon, Garfield, 70, shared with ARLnow he had hoped to hand over the reins to a new owner. However, the business had become increasingly unprofitable post-pandemic due to a combination of factors, including a lack of foot traffic, supply chain issues and the soaring rent costs.
“The bicycle industry, in general, is not good right now. Every week some of our major suppliers are showing signs they’re in economic distress… It’s a perfect storm,” he told ARLnow, adding that he knows several other small business owners on the same block who are also still struggling.
The building at 2801 Columbia Pike — housing Papillon and other neighboring retailers on the block — may be razed for a mixed-use development, according to filings with Arlington County.
The Christopher Companies proposes building an 88-unit, 7-story building with 5,800 square feet of retail space, UrbanTurf first reported in 2022.
Rendering of proposed 7-story mixed development at 2801 Columbia Pike (via Arlington County)
Garfield said he is in the dark about the project but observed that Alexandria-based Seaport Properties hasn’t renewed long-term leases for several building tenants, including Papillon.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. Eventually, they’re gonna put in a 6- to 8-story mixed-use building here and we’re seeing what they’re doing all up and down the Pike. I don’t see how this is going to be any different,” Garfield said.
Completed Red Top Cab development on the corner of Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Completed Red Top Cab development on the corner of Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Completed Red Top Cab development on the corner of Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Red Top Cab’s facility in Clarendon in 2014 (file photo)
Red Top Cab’s facility in Clarendon in 2014 (file photo)
Red Top Cab’s facility in Clarendon in 2014 (file photo)
The third and final building in the long-awaited Red Top Cab redevelopment in Clarendon is complete — ahead of schedule.
The building comprises the second of two phases for the “Clarendon West” project by Arlington-based Shooshan Company and its partner, Trammell Crow Residential, or TCR. The Arlington County Board approved the overall project, replacing the old Red Top Cab headquarters and dispatch center, and two small commercial buildings, in 2015.
The new building has been christened by its ownership with a regal name.
“Alexan Fitzroy is TCR’s second Class A high-rise in Clarendon, which underscores our commitment to building high-quality housing in the [Rosslyn-Ballston] corridor,” TCR Mid-Atlantic Region Managing Director Matt Hard said. “We are excited to get leasing underway and could not be more thrilled with the collaboration and performance of our design and construction team members.”
The 269-unit LEED Gold-certified building is at the corner of Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. When construction kicked off at the start of 2022, the building was projected to open either late this year or early next year.
Work progressed quickly, says TCR Vice President of Development Adam Stone, because both phases used the same general contractor, architecture firm, civil engineers, landscape architects and interior designers.
This “allowed us to complete the second phase more efficiently,” he tells ARLnow, adding that the team avoided significant unforeseen issues and setbacks during construction.
“Overall, the majority of the credit is due to the great team that has been working with us for over five years now between both phases,” he said.
The apartment building was about 15% pre-leased when it opened last week and leasing activity has increased since the start of in-person tours, says Stone.
He highlighted the slate of amenities for new and potential residents.
Inside, there are two lounge areas with bars — one with billiards — as well as work remotely from conference spaces, Zoom rooms and private meeting rooms. For wellness, the building has a fitness center and pet spa.
Outside, both the main level and the rooftop have fire pits, grills and places for outdoor dining seating, while the rooftop also has a pool.
As part of the project, the developer completed a new sidewalk around the building and extended 12th Street N. from N. Irving Street to Washington Blvd.
Nearby, Arlington County redesigned the intersection of Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. and made other public improvements recommended by the Clarendon Sector Plan. The county turned the triangular-shaped intersection into a more conventional “T” intersection, moved utilities underground, revamped sidewalks and made accessibility upgrades. It is also providing public open space for a future park at the intersection.
“The project is near completion with landscaping scheduled for Nov. 14,” Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Katie O’Brien said.
The first phase, comprised of two buildings with a total of 333 apartment units on N. Hudson Street and 13th Street N., was completed in the spring 0f 2021. Construction broke ground on the pair of buildings in March of 2019 and the complex, dubbed The Earl Apartments, was sold to another property owner last July.
TCR does not have plans to sell the Alexan Fitzroy at this time, Stone said.
Rendering of a potential redevelopment and open space at N. Woodrow Street and Langston Blvd in the draft Plan Langston Blvd document (via Arlington County)
Renderings of Cherry Hill Road in front of the Lee Heights Shops in the draft Plan Langston Blvd document (via Arlington County)
Renderings of Moore’s Barbershop and new cycling amenities in the draft Plan Langston Blvd document (via Arlington County)
Proposed streetscape enhancement along Langston Blvd (via Arlington County)
Potential redevelopment and amenities at the Lyon Village Shopping Center (via Arlington County)
A map showing infill development and new streets creating a grid around existing condos and apartments east of Spout Run, near Rosslyn (via Arlington County)
Plan Langston Blvd — a sweeping document envisioning a tree-lined, walkable Route 29 with apartments over retail — is gearing up for final discussions and eventual approval.
The newest draft landed last Thursday: two business days before a Planning Commission meeting on whether to advertise hearings on the plan. It contained a slew of changes county staff explain are policy clarifications, responding to recent feedback from citizen commissions, the Arlington County Board and residents.
In a 3-hour meeting Monday, some Planning Commissioners objected to the timing and moved to delay hearings one month, though this failed. They instead unanimously recommended hearings by the commission and the Arlington County Board in November. The deliberations echoed this stage of the Missing Middle hearings, last Thanksgiving, with commissioners noting this step simply sets what can be considered next month.
“I do think that it is an unfortunate timeline,” Planning Commission Vice-Chair Sara Steinberger said. “[This] document would be a struggle for most people to get through in that period of time. And I think that we should aim to do better because I think that’s important for the community to trust the process.”
Steinberger, who made the failed motion to delay hearings on Plan Langston Blvd, or PLB, had backing from Commissioner Nia Bagley.
“[Steinberger] was a little bit more polite than I probably would be,” Bagley said. “I hope we never do this again. I hope we give this more time in the future.”
Commission Chair Devanshi Patel said she understands the concerns of her colleagues but, sometimes, making real-time changes cannot be reconciled with giving ample time for people to review them.
“I think that staff did the best job that they could do by getting a comprehensive plan together with up-to-date information, reconciling the comments that they’ve been hearing from every single meeting of this body and other bodies, and being able to provide it in advance of this meeting as possible,” she said.
Agreeing with Patel, Commissioner Daniel Weir did say he and others have been “harping” on staff to return to the pre-pandemic days when meeting materials were published seven to 10 days before meetings.
But, he continued, “just because this form of the document wasn’t published before a certain day out, I don’t think it follows from that that there hasn’t been a full and robust public process… at least for the purposes of moving forward on the [request to advertise hearings].”
Recalling yet another controversial plan, the Pentagon City Sector Plan, Commissioner Jim Lantelme said changes were made “literally up to the final Board meeting.”
“If we’re not thrilled with something, it’s okay, because the idea is to get everything out there,” he said. “We can cut it back later. We can’t add to it, but we can cut it back later.”
County planner Natasha Alfonso-Ahmed assured commissioners that Monday’s decision still leaves time for them and other residents to review the changes.
That the draft came out on Thursday “doesn’t mean that there isn’t any time to process and to continue to review this draft that’s out before you,” she said. “We have another four weeks or five weeks before this goes to the again to you all for review.”
Views from Clarendon Presbyterian Church (courtesy Pastor Alice Tewell)
Views from Clarendon Presbyterian Church (courtesy Pastor Alice Tewell)
Views from Clarendon Presbyterian Church (courtesy Pastor Alice Tewell)
Clarendon Presbyterian food drive (Photo courtesy of John Gunn)
Clarendon Presbyterian food drive (courtesy of John Gunn)
Inside Clarendon Presbyterian Church (via Friends of Clarendon Presbyterian Church/Facebook)
(Updated at 12 p.m. on 10/10/23) A church in Clarendon could be redeveloped with senior housing, pending the outcome of a forthcoming county land-use study.
The church would move into a new 8,000-square-foot space in the building, with design elements and programming specifically geared toward LGBTQ seniors, says Pastor Alice Tewell. The Clarendon Child Care Center — which a parent co-op board runs from the church — would also move in and have space for up to 58 children. It has that capacity now but currently serves 40.
The process is in its early stages. This summer, Clarendon Presbyterian and APAH asked the county to embark on a special General Land Use Plan (GLUP) study to determine if the property can be redesignated from “semi-public” to “low-medium residential.”
The county granted the request and scheduled a “Tier 1” review to begin later this fall, though no meetings have been scheduled. In this stage, the Long Range Planning Committee would review whether it is appropriate to consider the property for a new land use designation.
Removing the “semi-public” designation would lay the groundwork for this project, located a 5-minute walk from the Clarendon Metro station. The project would require rezoning, too, as the site is zoned for single-family homes — and now 2-6 unit homes, with the approval of ‘Missing Middle’ changes.
The church is located next to older garden style apartments and new, market-rate apartments.
If the Arlington County Board approves the designation change, the church and APAH would then file a site plan application subject to public review. It will be a few years before the duo has the approvals they need to obtain financing from federal tax credits and commercial, local and state loans, says Tewell.
Should all this happen on schedule, the church could open its new doors in 2029 or 2030 after a two-year construction period. That means a few more years in a church building that is too big and too old to serve the congregation and community effectively, according to the pastor.
“Our current building of nearly 75 years — built for 450 people and now serving a congregation of less than 80 — is literally falling apart with massive annual repair costs, and we will soon no longer have the resources to maintain it and continue serving the Clarendon community unless we redevelop and create a new and much smaller worship space for the congregation,” Tewell said.
The congregation identified the need to redevelop in 2021 and a year later voted to work with APAH, she said.
During this time, the church sunk more than $100,000 into HVAC, electric and plumbing maintenance, according to a letter to Arlington County. The letter foretells the church moving, possibly from Arlington, in five to 10 years if the expenses continue to mount with no redevelopment option.
Should the church leave, it says, childcare, community programming and monthly food and toiletry drives would go with it, and would be “a sore loss for the entire Arlington community.”
But not everyone is on board. A petition to “save” the church and “preserve our residential neighborhood” has north of 640 signatures to date.
