retail

‘Plan Langston Blvd’ nears finish line, though some resident concerns linger

By Jo DeVoe
1/8

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.

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Revamped, food-centric Crystal City Water Park set to open next week

By James Jarvis
1/5

After nearly three years of waiting, the Crystal City Water Park is slated to reopen next week, JBG Smith announced yesterday.

The newly renovated, privately owned 1.6-acre park will feature nine restaurant kiosks, a cocktail and oyster bar, seating areas, public art installations, new water features — including a water wall — and a live performance stage.

“Water Park is a manifestation of our vision for National Landing as a premier 18-hour community that warmly embraces families, workers, students and visitors of all ages,” Kai Reynolds, chief development officer at JBG Smith, said in a press release.

“In addition to creating an urban oasis where people can relax, linger and enjoy time spent together, we have intentionally curated Water Park to serve as a celebration of the region’s rich and diverse culinary traditions,” he continued.

JBG Smith says it plans to host a grand opening ceremony next Friday, Oct. 6, from 6-10 p.m.

After deferring an initial proposal due to concerns about pedestrian and cyclist safety, the Arlington County Board approved plans for the park in March 2021. Construction started in March 2022.

While the park previously had a small food and drink kiosk, the new iteration has nine kiosks for a variety of food vendors, with a focus on “local, minority- and women-owned businesses.”

The vendor lineup features:

  • Brij, D.C. a café and wine bar by Skyler Kelley, supporting single mothers, the LGBTQ+ community and people who are homeless
  • Bubbie’s Plant Burger, a Kosher, plant-based American eatery by the creators of D.C.’s Pow Pow, Margaux Riccio and Shaun Sharkey
  • Cracked Eggery, a D.C. food truck known for inventive egg dishes that now has two brick and mortar locations in Cleveland Park and Shaw
  • Dolci Gelati, a D.C.-based gelato shop offering over 450 seasonal, artisanal flavors, plus coffee and espresso
  • Falafel Inc., a Georgetown-based charitable eatery that offers hummus and falafel dishes
  • PhoWheels, a new Vietnamese-inspired food vendor
  • Tiki Thai, a Reston-based Thai-Polynesian eatery
  • Queen Mother’s, a fried chicken concept created by James Beard Award semi-finalist Chef Rahman “Rock” Harper

In addition to the kiosks, there is be a new cocktail and oyster bar, dubbed “Water Bar,” perched on top of the water wall at the back of the park.

The restaurant, operated by the Atlanta-based hospitality group STHRN, features a raw bar and an extensive cocktail list, according to JBG Smith. STHRN will also be opening an outpost of Crush Pizza, its New York-style pizzeria.

“We are excited to bring the delicious taste of Water Bar to life through unique, tasty cocktails and the deeply immersive flavors of the east coast,” Elizabeth Feichter, a partner at STHRN, said in the release.

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Boxing gym and Japanese restaurant, among others, to move into new Courthouse apartment tower

By Jo DeVoe
"The Commodore" apartments in Courthouse in September 2023 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
1/4

A forthcoming apartment building in Courthouse already has a lineup of restaurants and fitness studios slated to move in. 

A franchise location of Rumble Boxing and a Japanese restaurant and bar called Gingerfish are among those getting in on the ground level of The Commodore, a nearly completed apartment building at 2055 15th Street N.

Over the last two years, developer Greystar has been at work building a 20-story, 423-unit building on what is dubbed the “Landmark Block.” This block, at the corner of Clarendon Blvd and N. Courthouse Road, was once home to a collection of restaurants, including Summers.

When photographed today, the building appeared nearly complete from the outside, though separate transportation upgrades — which include pavement, sidewalk, curb and gutter improvements to public streets — are ongoing. 

Work appears to be wrapping up on the building, as social media posts — playing up the apartment’s pet-friendliness — note the building is “coming soon.” Other signs of completion include the retailers that are already listed as forthcoming tenants.  

Gingerfish is “by a local restaurant group with various other concepts in the Arlington market,” according to CBRE leasing agent Jared Meier. 

“[Regarding] other tenants for the space, we are not at liberty to announce who they are, but I am excited to note that we are close to finalizing leases with an açai bowl operator, a yoga studio, and a taqueria,” he said.

A leasing map indicates a letter of intent has been or is being put forward for the one space, leaving just one listed as available.  

The project broke ground almost two years ago, projecting a fall 2023 completion date at the time. It appears developer Greystar remains largely on schedule.

“We are anticipating first move ins for The Commodore in early October,” said Allison Rynak, the director of marketing communications for Greystar.

Meier also expects retail tenants could move in next month. The new restaurants and fitness gyms could be open for business next spring or summer, he said. 

Meanwhile, work continues on another Greystar project a few blocks away. What was once a Wendy’s will become an apartment tower, ground-floor retail and a plaza at 2025 Clarendon Blvd. The two projects realize a significant part of the county’s vision for the neighborhood.

Silver Diner redevelopment project faces delays over ‘unresolved design challenges’ with N. Irving Street

By Jo DeVoe

1/12

The empty Silver Diner in Clarendon may remain standing for a little longer while redevelopment plans for the site wrap up.

The former restaurant at 3200 Wilson Blvd closed in December and soon thereafter reopened in Ballston. Seven months later, developers proposing to build a hotel and apartment building on the site say more time is needed to make the ground floor of their project more welcoming to pedestrians.

Bounded by 10th Street N., Wilson Blvd and N. Irving Street, the site includes the diner, The Lot beer garden — itself issuing a last call for drinks this year — two brick structures called “The Doctors Building,” and an auto repair facility.

The developers, TCS Realty Associates and The Donohoe Cos., are asking the Arlington County Board for another two months to fix “unresolved design challenges” that arose during the public review process, per a county report. On Saturday, the Board is set to vote on the request, potentially delaying a final review until September.

Mostly, the design challenges relate to how the developer plans to use N. Irving Street.

TCS and Donohoe intend to put hotel-related facilities and a loading area along N. Irving Street, which Arlington County staff said in a report earlier this year deviates from the 2022 Clarendon Sector Plan. This plan, developed in anticipation of the Silver Diner redevelopment, among others, envisions this street as walkable and with outward-facing retail.

In response to earlier feedback, the developers added a “living green wall” to the hotel façade along N. Irving Street. While appreciative of the effort, staff said in March that a grassy wall does not address the lack of retail or the pedestrian-vehicle conflicts a loading area could create.

Façade changes to 3200 Wilson Blvd redevelopment (via Arlington County)

“The applicant has designed the ground floor plan of the Hotel building to have the less active uses (i.e. kitchen, employee break room, etc.) along Irving Street,” said a county report from March, adding that county planning documents instead suggest the street should have “retail, retail equivalents, food establishments, entertainment establishments.”

Arlington County says the loading area, meanwhile, pits vehicles turning in and out of the hotel against pedestrians who use N. Irving Street to access the Clarendon Metro station.

It anticipates more people using N. Irving Street to access a public plaza called for in the Clarendon Sector Plan. The space where this will go became public right of way after some street upgrades along Wilson Blvd. The future plaza will be delivered with a project to redevelop the Wells Fargo nearby.

Silver Diner site and future N. Irving Street plaza, elements emphasized by ARLnow (via Arlington County

“Irving Street is recognized as a pedestrian desire line from the Ashton Heights and Lyon Park Civic Associations to the Clarendon Metro stop,” the county report said. “The addition of a curb cut on Irving Street presents pedestrian conflicts and is contrary to County policies that discourage curb cuts and loading activity near public spaces, in this case the public plaza at the terminus of Irving Street.”

The sector plan suggests loading should instead occur on 10th Road N. It envisions the new road as an east-west connection to provide access to parking and loading facilities.

Days Inn developer tees up planned apartments for County Board approval

By Jo DeVoe

1/6

A midcentury modern-inspired apartment project, heralded as the “gateway to Lyon Park,” is headed to the Arlington County Board for approval.

The 8-story, 251-unit building, with nearly 3,000 square feet of ground floor retail, would replace the Days Inn motel along Arlington Blvd, once a 1950s-era roadside motel named the “Arva,” a portmanteau for “Arlington, Virginia.”

When complete, the motel’s historic sign and lobby will be recreated. There will be protected bike lanes on both sides of N. Pershing Drive and N. Wainwright Road — a vestigial frontage road for the motel — will become a 12-foot multi-use trail with a bike “fix-it” station.

Applicant and owner Nayan Patel, doing business as Arlington Boulevard LLC, is making monetary and in-kind contributions to an on-site public space project that the Dept. of Parks and Recreation will design.

There will also be seven committed affordable units on site: 1-2 bedroom units with either a loft or den attached, as well as two three-bedroom units. The developer intends to plant 25 new, healthy trees to replace the 28 unhealthy ones that will be removed.

Although the project — dubbed the Arva Apartments — could clear the finish line this weekend, some Arlington Planning Commissioners had quibbles with the project or dug into criticisms levied by the public speakers related to tree planting and other community benefits.

The tree plantings, for instance, are “clearly an improvement, but the bar is so low to begin with,” Planning Commissioner Leonardo Sarli. “We still have to aspire to something.”

Lyon Park resident Anne Bodine, who has spoken in other meetings as a member of the slow-growth group Arlingtonians for Our Sustainable Future, says she was underwhelmed by the on-site affordable housing provision and tree planting plans.

She asked the Planning Commission to reconsider how it weighs community benefits.

“If we see these at-cost, we can better assess these trade-offs,” she said.

She said she felt the county effectively told residents it was too early to advocate for benefits during a special study of the site — completed in advance of redevelopment proposals and adopted in 2021 — but it was too late once the public review process began for this project.

Planning Commissioner Jim Lantelme had a different view.

“I do want to commend the staff and developers for how closely they did work with Lyon Park, which did participate at every phase in every meeting and they were very vocal,” he said. “They were very much involved. Their input was heard and responded to, so I think this project did evolve in response to that community process.”

Climate Change, Energy and Environment Commission Chair Joan McIntyre said this project relies too heavily on fossil fuels for its HVAC and water systems, though she was heartened to see these systems could be converted to electric in the future.

A project architect said that the method selected, counterintuitively, would emit less carbon than a fully electric system, based on an analysis of “where the electricity is coming from.”

Plans for more apartments and retail on Crystal Towers site enter home stretch

By Jo DeVoe

1/9

A development proposed for Crystal City is entering the home stretch.

Tonight (Thursday), the Arlington Planning Commission is slated to review and vote on plans from Dweck Properties to add a residential building and a retail building to the existing the Crystal Towers Apartment complex at 1600 S. Eads Street.

The 132-foot, 11-story residential building would have up to 209 units and a penthouse with an amenity space and ground-floor retail, per a Planning Commission report. Dweck proposes 54 studios, 120 1-bedroom and 35 2-bedroom units and is aiming for LEED Gold certification in exchange for extra density.

A single-story, 27,901-square-foot retail building would have building heights ranging from 16 to 22 feet.

If approved, the apartment building would replace an existing surface parking lot between the Crystal Flats building and the existing Crystal Towers buildings fronting S. Eads Street, according to application materials. The new retail building to the north, also fronting South Eads Street, would replace another existing surface parking lot to the north.

As part of the project, dubbed Crystal Towers 3, S. Eads Street will get a median buffer connecting to a buffer built as part of the first phase of Amazon’s second headquarters, north of the site. Dweck proposes adding new sidewalks, street trees and street lights along S. Eads Street as well.

The project would also realize some improvements to an existing open space at the corner of 15th Street S. and S. Eads Street, according to a recent county staff report. Dweck proposes expanding the space by some 700 square feet and adding a boardwalk area with public tables and chairs, bench seating and new pathways, without disturbing a mature oak tree.

Plans call for two green roofs, one over a portion of an existing building and a second over the new retail development fronting S. Eads Street.

Prospective tenants in the new residential building would have access to an existing garage that already serves Crystal Towers residents and the Lofts building nearby. Despite the increased occupancy, the total number of spots is set to drop from 1,152 to 1,061 spots, plus 11 visitor bicycle spots.

The developer intends to make an affordable housing contribution to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) of $1,421,380.

This “could provide gap financing for approximately 18 (committed affordable units) at the nearby Crystal Houses infill development project, a project which is anticipated to request a significant amount of AHIF financing to achieve the County’s stated objective of partnering with the property owner to significantly increase the supply of low and moderate income housing options in Crystal City,” the report says.

The Arlington County Board is slated to review and vote on the project during its meeting on Saturday, June 10.

Public input drives developer to nix drive-thru ATM from Clarendon Wells Fargo redevelopment plans

By Jo DeVoe

1/9

In response to criticism from residents, citizen commissioners and county staff, a developer has removed a drive-thru ATM from its plans to redevelop the Wells Fargo in Clarendon.

One year ago, McLean-based developer Jefferson Apartment Group filed plans to replace the bank — the one someone recently attempted to rob — with a mixed-use building. It is set to consist of 238 apartments, 60,000 square feet of office space and 30,000 square feet of retail, including a new Wells Fargo branch.

The current two-story bank building at 3140 Washington Blvd has a drive-thru in addition to a surface parking lot. Critics of keeping the drive-thru say it would detract from walkability in the area, which is seeing significant redevelopment that will result in more people living, shopping and using public amenities in Clarendon.

“This is the most walkable place in the county and drive-up for anything doesn’t make sense to me,” said Planning Commission member Jim Lantelme back in February. “You would have to have a second ATM that people could walk up to.”

One commenter said drive-thrus are “horrible for the environment and they aren’t faster than parking and going into the building,” while another called it “a relic of the 70s [that] doesn’t belong here.”

A third said it “seems like a very bad idea that will take away space from pedestrians and increase the chance of crashes and congestion in an area that is meant to be dense and walkable.”

Jefferson had originally doubled down on the drive-thru ATM, saying in a county document this was “for the convenience of existing customers and as requested by Wells Fargo based on customer feedback during and after the pandemic.”

Ultimately, it agreed to changes that resemble a suggestion from the Clarendon Courthouse Civic Association: walk-up ATMs and free, short-term parking on a new local street that Jefferson will construct as part of the project.

The walk-up ATMs will be located at the northern and southern edges of the bank, which looks out over N. Irving Street. This street, which dead-ends in a green space, is set to become a plaza through a separate, Dept. of Parks and Recreation-led planning process.

People using the ATMs will be able to park in short-term parking on the north side of a planned public road. As part of the project, Jefferson will build a new 10th Road N., which will run parallel to Washington Blvd and separate the new construction from the existing Verizon building to the south.

The proposed changes to the Clarendon Wells Fargo redevelopment (via Arlington County)

Even with the walk-up ATMs, staff have concerns that a bank, generally, is not the kind of lively retail that encourages people to use the planned Irving Street Plaza. Those who commented were not as concerned with this but suggested sculptures or water features could help “activate” the plaza.

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Developer files new long-term plan for redeveloping Pentagon Centre

By Jo DeVoe

1/10

A new vision for replacing the Pentagon Centre shopping center, including the Costco, is coming into focus.

Kimco Realty Corporation revised its plans envisioning the long-term redevelopment of the 16.8-acre site, which were first approved by the Arlington County Board in 2015. Kimco submitted documents articulating these changes — which call for new high-rise residential and commercial buildings — in late December.

“With the redevelopment approvals that have been granted since 2015, and because the Pentagon City Metro Station is contained within the Pentagon Centre block, Pentagon Centre should be part of the intensification of redevelopment — in height, in mix and in overall density — to leverage the significant positive impacts of Metro ridership, job creation and livability here in Arlington County,” per the plan.

Pentagon City has recently been the focus of private redevelopment and county planning initiatives. On the Pentagon Centre site, Kimco has completed the redevelopment of surface parking into an apartment building dubbed the Witmer (710 12th Street S.) in 2019. Another apartment tower, dubbed the Milton (1446 S. Grant Street), is nearing completion.

Elsewhere, the first phase of Amazon’s second headquarters is set to open this summer, and — once economic headwinds change for the company — a second phase with the marquee “Double Helix” building is still planned, though delayed. JBG Smith, meanwhile, plans to redevelop acres of surface parking at the RiverHouse apartment complex into more residences.

Kimco updated its guidelines for redeveloping the Pentagon Centre site because much has changed in seven years. Office demand dropped due to the pandemic, so the real estate company proposes swapping some proposed office space for more apartments. It made changes to align with the 2022 Pentagon City Sector Plan, which guides long-term growth in the neighborhood.

“While we are not part of the sector plan, we thought it was a good time to look at the plan,” Kimco’s Director of Multifamily Development Abbey Oklak told the Arlington Ridge Civic Association during a meeting last week.

The new plans propose two office buildings, down from three, as well as three additional residential towers. Green space increased by about 30%, to nearly three acres, criss-crossed by planted paths, or “green ribbons,” envisioned in the Pentagon City Sector Plan.

Kimco divides the redevelopments into two phases. In the new first phase, S. Grant Street — which currently dead-ends at the southern edge of the mall — will extend through the site as a double-sided retail street.

Existing retail space west of the extended S. Grant Street, including Marshalls, Best Buy and restaurants, would become a pair of towers, one residential and one office, with ground-floor retail and parking.

“We wanted to look at the realignment of S. Grant Street so that Costco could stay,” Vice President of Development at Kimco Greg Reed said. “We’d take the mall down and bring the tenants back if they want to stay, in a different format… and have density above that in the future.”

In the new second phase, the Costco and parking garage on S. Fern Street would become an apartment building, an office tower with a conference center and a mixed-use hotel and apartment building, all with retail at the base.

These changes will not be happening for a while, as Kimco is still signing 10-year deals with retailers in the shopping center with 5-year extension options beyond that, civic association meeting attendees were told.

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Americana Hotel redevelopment in Crystal City nears finish line

By Jo DeVoe

1/6

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) Plans to redevelop the Americana Hotel in Crystal City with apartments could get final approval next month, Arlington County says.

“The County is targeting April for full Planning Commission and Board review, but that is subject to change,” Dept. of Community Planning, Housing and Development spokeswoman Erika Moore told ARLnow.

JBG Smith proposes to demolish the former hotel at 1400 Richmond Hwy and build a 19-story, 639-unit apartment building with 3,885 square feet of ground-floor retail. If approved next month, construction could wrap up in 2026 or 2027, a company representative said in a Site Plan Review Committee meeting last month.

Up to this point, JBG Smith has overcome sloping terrain and maneuvered future development plans for neighboring sites and Route 1, which the Virginia Department of Transportation plans to lower. Per the meeting discussions, the developer is spending the remaining time before final review ironing out transportation and sustainability elements.

The building will have 188 on-site residential and visitor parking spaces. JBG Smith proposes setting aside 206 spaces for residents at the nearby Bartlett Apartments, which is a quarter-mile away. County code allows property managers to provide spots on other properties they own up to 800 feet away, says Kedrick Whitmore, an attorney for the project.

Some SPRC members differed over whether this would be a burden.

“One of our group members in that situation, they lived in a place and had off-site parking, it was so hard every time they had shopping to get from one place to another,” said Pedestrian Advisory Committee Secretary Pam Van Hine. “How are you going to mitigate that?”

Also speaking from experience, Transportation Commission Chair Chris Slatt said his first apartment after college had off-site parking about the same distance away.

“It was occasionally annoying but otherwise not a big deal,” he said. “We all know how much parking costs to build. If it means you are 100 bucks a month under rent because it’s annoying, I would happily take that if I were fresh out of college.”

Malcolm Williams, an associate with JBG Smith, said the Bartlett garage is three-quarters full and use will likely decrease with additional transit usage.

(The county is expanding bussing in the area via the extension of the Crystal City-Potomac Yard Transitway, while advocates of an at-grade Route 1 want to see more walking, cycling and scooting along the urban boulevard.)

The building will also target younger people working at Amazon or other nearby companies who are less likely to own cars. To Van Hine’s point, however, Williams did acknowledge the need for additional managerial effort.

“Anytime you have shared parking, it’s going to require heavy touch from the onsite property manager to make sure that drop offs and things of that nature are managed efficiently… and it’s legible for people,” Williams said. (more…)

Arlington County Board approves redevelopment of Clarendon auto shop, small office building on the Pike

By Jo DeVoe

1/5

Over the weekend, the Arlington County Board approved two redevelopment proposals, one in Clarendon and one on Columbia Pike.

It greenlit an apartment complex for the Joyce Motors site at 3201 10th Street N. in Clarendon and one for the Bank of America office building at 3401 Columbia Pike.

The Clarendon proposal includes a site plan to construct an 11-story apartment building with ground-floor retail. It includes nine on-site committed affordable units, including five “family-sized units” as well as the relocation and preservation of the historic Joyce Motors façade and the full building preservation of the Clarendon Barbershop building several blocks away.

“For historic preservation purposes, the Board also approved transferring developmental rights from the Clarendon Barbershop Building to the Joyce Motors site, allowing unused density to be used toward the proposed 11-story [mixed-use] building,” per a County Board press release.

The developer committed to installing new sidewalk, building portions of 10th Road N. and a new alley, as well as LEED Gold certification and nearly $1 million in cash contributions for transportation and public spaces.

“It’s really a big win for staff, the community, the project development team, I’m really thrilled to see it manifest this way,” said Board Chair Christian Dorsey. “It’s a testament to the fact that, I know developers are often considered the enemies in society, they are also the conduit to the implementation of the plans that the community wants to create.”

“It’s not going to happen if we don’t have people who are willing to put together and take on all kinds of risks to get things done,” Dorsey continued. “The beauty of that is we can have win-wins, where you have a development team that hopefully has a successful project but the community, for generations, has something that reflects the plans they come up with.”

On the Pike, the Board approved the construction of a six-story, 250-unit apartment building and about 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and commercial space, at the busy corner of S. Glebe Road and the Pike.

Normally, these kinds of projects are supposed to receive administrative approvals via the Columbia Pike Form-Based Code. This project, however, required County Board approval in part because the developer, Marcus Partners, requested relief from height restrictions on a portion of the property.

“This is a strong project, I do… appreciate a little bit of architectural diversity coming forward, I think it will add a lot to the neighborhood,” said Board Member Katie Cristol. “I appreciate our staff’s efforts to make sure compliance with the code is a floor in terms of fulfilling the vision of the neighborhood as well as thorough, additional work to mitigate impacts that may be happening and maximizing the positives.”

Plans to redevelop bank on Columbia Pike clear Planning Commission, head to County Board

By Jo DeVoe

1/7

A residential redevelopment planned for a four-story office building, bank drive-thru and parking lot on Columbia Pike is now heading to the Arlington County Board.

On Monday night, the Planning Commission unanimously voted its approval for a project that would tear down the Bank of America building at 3401 Columbia Pike, at the northwest corner of S. Glebe Road and the Pike, next to the Wendy’s. It will now head to the Arlington County Board, which is slated to consider the project at its meeting next Saturday, Feb. 18.

The property falls within the Pike’s Commercial Form-Based Code, which provides a streamlined process for developers provided they meet certain guidelines. The project needs Planning Commission and County Board approval because of its size, according to Commissioner Stephen Hughes.

“Otherwise, the goal is for it to be a by-right development subject to the Zoning Administrator, if every checkbox is met,” he said.

The developer, Marcus Partners, proposes a 250-unit, six-story apartment building with 4,500 square feet of ground floor retail and 287 parking spaces across a 2.5-level underground garage. It will have 172 one-bedroom, 39 two-bedroom and 38 studio units.

“I for one am excited to see this building get built because it’s different,” Hughes said. “The materiality and the architecture of it are something we’ve yet to see on the Pike, and so I think we’re a little excited to see that.”

As part of the project, Marcus Partners will make streetscape improvements, revamp an existing alley for parking and loading and build a 7,800 square-foot private open space. It will landscape a small triangular lot to create more of a buffer between the building and a single-family home to the north.

Throughout the review process, people have been sensitive to how close the proposed building will be to this home and have recommended ways to minimize impacts on residents, said county planner Matt Mattauszek.

“This is not the first, nor will it be the last time, that a form-based code has an adjacency to a low residential development zone and it is always shocking to me… the embracing of the density that goes on with my neighbors on the Pike,” Hughes said.

The proposed building will round out development of this prominent intersection, says Lauren Riley, a land use lawyer with Walsh Colucci. It is flanked by three form-based code projects: Pike 3400 to the south, Gilliam Place to the west and the under-construction Westmont project to the east.

Riley assured anyone who banks with Bank of America that the branch — which was set to close late last year — will move across the street to the former Capital One building.

“No need to worry, you’ll still have your bank services across the street,” she said.

The form-based code comes with height restrictions: three to six stories for what it designates as main streets, two to five stories for avenues and two to three stories for local streets. Developers are able to extend or retract these designations up to 50 feet to make their project work.

Even with this workaround, Marcus Partners would have had to make a small section of its building three stories shorter, which county staff agreed would be unworkable. The developer is asking the County Board for relief from the tapering requirement.

“The transition from a higher density to a single-family home had been well thought out on the form-based code and the unique instance of this site and the way the site was assembled warrants this change,” said Commissioner Leonardo Sarli. “But the transition from main street to residential is a really good approach and one that benefits the community as a whole.”

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