A task force created by Arlington County to deal with the upcoming military base realignment’s impact on Crystal City will recommend next month that office buildings be torn down as part of an effort to redevelop the area, Arlington officials said.
All of the buildings in Crystal City are more than 20 years old and most do not meet modern office building construction standards. Tearing down the buildings and replacing them with modern structures is imperative to the area’s redevelopment, said Terry Holzheimer, director of the Arlington Economic Development Department.
“There’s an opportunity to basically recycle a lot of those old buildings” and attract new businesses and residents to the area, Holzheimer told The Examiner.
Arlington formed the Base Realignment and Closure Transition Task Force latelast year following the Pentagon’s announcement that thousands of military jobs would be transferred to other bases as the Defense Department stopped leasing public space for its workers. The decision will result in the departure of 17,000 or more workers from Arlington and a loss of tenants for some 4.2 million square feet of leased space over the next decade, according to Development Department figures.
Task force chair Marty Almquist said the group was formed to help deal with the loss of jobs and office space.
The recommendation to redevelop Crystal City will be made to the Arlington County Board at a June 15 meeting, Almquist said. “We’re saying to the county: ‘Don’t get complacent. Let’s all be proactive.’ ”
Both Holzheimer and Almquist said they envision more residential units at Crystal City. Holzheimer said he expects “several more thousand” units than the approximately 7,000 already in the area.
Almquist said these changes will be made over the next decade.
“The important thing for people to recognize is that it won’t happen overnight. It’s going to take years,” she said.
Developers will cover the cost of building destruction and redevelopment. An Economic Research Associates report conducted this year at the request of the county found that following initial losses, developers could make $161 million over the next 15 years by redeveloping Crystal City buildings.
Recommendations
» Officials fear that job loss could be greater than 17,000 if the contractors that work with
government agencies follow the agencies out of Crystal City.
» The task force will recommend job placement services for civilians who want to stay in the area.
