The Arlington County Board approved the creation of a Ballston Business Improvement District on Saturday, effective Jan. 1. A group of major business and property owners from the Ballston area, led by representatives from the JBG Companies, the Shooshan Company and Gates, Hudson & Associates spearheaded the move to form the BID.
About half of the businesses in Ballston approved creating the improvement district, which allows a special tax to be levied against the district’s occupants and applies the money it generates toward improving the area, according to county officials.
The BID’s proposed $1.1 million introductory budget for fiscal 2012 will be funded by a commercial property surtax of $.045 per $100 of assessed property value. Only the 119 commerical properties in the area will be taxed. Like the county’s other BIDs in Crystal City and Rossyln, the Ballston BID will operate as a private non-profit organization.
