There always seems to be cranes moving about in Arlington, and with an unanimous approval from the county board in April, there will be some high soaring ones as the 350-foot Helix building for Amazon’s HQ2 was approved.
By Lynn Norusis
The spiraling structure will be the showcase of the campus and is designed to mimic a mountain hike as it will have upward walkways among trees that are integrated into the design. The building will also include park space and a community high school, along with ground level retail.
Just this month a list of some of those local businesses have been announced: Arlington’s second Conte’s Bike Shop, a South Block, the second location of Vienna-based Social Burger and the first brick-and-mortar location of HUSTLE, a cycling workout studio. These will join the already announced District Dogs and RĀKO Coffee.
The overall project encompasses a 10.4 acre site in Pentagon City known as PenPlace. Plans include three corporate office buildings, retail pavilions, a futuristic glass Helix, a child-care facility and about 2.75 acres of open space.Amazon has said it hopes to complete the project in 2025.
Another initiative that is making waves in Arlington is the Missing Middle Housing Study, which calls for rezoning changes to the current zoning laws to allow for a mix of housing opinions on single-resident lot spaces.
ArlNow has an in-depth look at what is being proposed and the current community climate on the proposal that was started in fall 2020:
“Missing Middle Housing (MMH) types with up to 8 dwellings can fit within the same footprint, placement, and height standards as single-detached housing,” said the proposal. “Applying single-detached standards to MMH can minimize or eliminate environmental impacts, compared to status quo redevelopment.”
That represents a significant change from Arlington’s current zoning, which restricts most of the non-federal land in the county to only single-family homes. A county spokeswoman noted that while the proposed zoning changes would increase flexibility for property owners seeking to build, it would not force owners to change anything if they don’t want to.
“The draft framework would add housing type options in the County’s zoning districts that currently only allow single-detached housing and accessory dwelling units,” said Erika Moore, spokeswoman for Arlington’s Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development. “It does not eliminate any housing options that currently exist.”
ACTIVE PROJECTS
Ballston Macy’s
Major Site Plan Amendment and Transfer of Development Rights
- Transfer of development rights of 236 units from The Haven (sending site) to Ballston Macy’s (receiving site)
- Demolition of existing Macy’s department store and office building
- Major site plan amendment to construct a new building containing 555 residential units and a 41,5000 sq. ft. ground-floor grocery store
Crystal Plaza 5
Rezoning, Major Site Plan Amendment (SP #11), and New Site Plan
- Construct two new mixed-use buildings, 31 and 24 stories in height – 645 total residential units
Xerox Building
Rezoning and Major Site Plan Amendment (SP #85)
- Construction of new 290 ft. residential tower at 9.95 FAR (691 residential units proposed)
Joyce Motors
New Site Plan
- Construction of a new 110-foot residential building containing 241 units (5.92 FAR proposed).
- Preservation of the Joyce Motors historic facade
Take a look at our last Arlington Development Update for more upcoming projects for the area.
For more information on development happening around Northern Virginia, check out our development updates page. We focus on a different area in Northern Virginia each month.
If you have any questions about Northern Virginia real estate, reach out as we are happy to help.
