Plans to develop nearly 1.8 million square feet of mixed-use space in Arlington, Virginia's Pentagon City neighborhood outside the nation's capital are moving forward as well as a separate measure to allow some apartment units at the Millennium at National Landing to be used for short-term stays.
The Arlington County Board approved Brookfield Properties' request to redevelop a pair of 12-story office buildings, collectively known as 12th Street Landing, into a mix of residential buildings and offices or hotels. The approval allows Brookfield to add additional density and height to the site and divide the area into three land bays for its future final site plans.
Board members also approved allowing up to 30 residential units at the Millennium at National Landing apartment building to be used as hotel rooms.
The amendments to the Pentagon City Phased Development Site Plan earned unanimous approval during a Sept. 17 meeting despite concerns from a local union and civic association about whether or not the projects are best serving the community.
The 12th Street Landing site, previously occupied by the Transportation Security Administration, includes the 601 S. 12th St. building that is currently partly filled by a corporate tenant whose lease is set to expire by the end of this year, and the vacant property at 701 S. 12th St., according to a county board report.
Brookfield Properties is proposing to build up to nearly 1.78 million square feet at the site, with the specific types of real estate to be determined at the time of final site plan approval.
“The developer expects to develop the site in phases over the next few years, rather than all at once, hence the approach of dividing their site into land bays,” according to the report. “No construction will be permitted on the site until a final site plan is approved for a specific land bay.”
Though there will be more details in subsequent site plan applications, Brookfield Properties said in the report that improvements to the space could include a public plaza at the southwest corner of the site, a protected bicycle lane on a nearby street and affordable housing units as part of any residential uses.
While not opposed to the development, some local union members were not in favor of exactly what the site could be transformed into.
“We don’t want another hotel that brings low-wage jobs. Arlington needs affordable housing, not poverty jobs,” Mike Haack, a representative from the labor group Unite Here Local 25, told CoStar News in a statement. “We already struggle to house all of those who are already working and living within our county, why not provide housing for them, instead of creating more poverty level jobs, that create jobs for workers who cannot afford to live in our area?”
A representative from Brookfield said at the board meeting his team would be glad to meet with the union and other local stakeholders “at the right time,” noting, however, that the first phase of development would likely not include a hotel.
“Whether there will be a hospitality use in future phases is going to be addressed as we develop those plans,” the representative said.
Meanwhile, the board gave a thumbs up to allow residential units to be utilized for short-term stays of less than 30 days at the Millennium at 1330 S. Fair St., a short walk from 12th Street Landing.
The amendment applicant, Churchill Living, provides temporary living solutions for corporate and government clients for nearby businesses, according to another county board report. They currently lease 50 units in the building, of which they wish to use up to 30 units for hotel stays.
A representative from Churchill Living, who explained his team was seeking approval on behalf of the building, said during the board meeting that the hotel rooms would be geared toward someone from a big tech company traveling to town for a few weeks, maybe with their family, as they look for a more permanent residence in the area.
The board’s approval of using those apartments as hotel units expires in five years unless it is extended.