4th high school - building binge Langston Blvd and RB Corridor

[Anonymous]

On another thread there was an allusion to more high rises planned for Langston (do we know which neighborhoods) and Orange Line in general, and that the 4th comprehensive high school is dead in the water.

Are there really that many new high rises planned? I thought demand for communal living had fallen with remote work and COVID, and Arlington is less of a destination? Or are these all affordable housing projects? Either way, a slew of kids could result, and we still don’t have a high school plan!

We were over crowded as it is — is there really that much building in the pipeline? Our DD starts K next year and we are wondering if she will be going to a 5k student WL.

[Anonymous]

Sign on to the YIMBY Facebook page. Their goal is to have Langston Blvd lined with high rise apartments from Rosslyn to the East Falls Church. There motto is Arlington for all and the County planning staff is pursuing the same goal. They brush off concerns about overcrowded schools and lack of parks, parking, and green space. Everyone will use an electric bike and put their kids in carts attached to bikes.

Look at the intersection of Washington Blvd and Kirkwood
One 70 unit building was just finished. The huge Modera (seriously they kept that name) is about halfway up and the 250 unit building on the Red Top site is underway.

That’s the future of Langston Blvd, despite there being thousands of vacant units in Arlington, the County is continuing its push for communal living.

[Anonymous]

They’re talking about the area from glebe to Lexington Street on Langston. This is already a busy area, no idea how it will support the traffic. However at least the schools are less crowded in that area.

[Anonymous]

Where I grew up when a developer built a certain size community, they built schools as part of that development. Why don’t developers put money into APS as part of large projects?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where I grew up when a developer built a certain size community, they built schools as part of that development. Why don’t developers put money into APS as part of large projects?

Because the county board treats the schools like an unwanted stepchild. Not their problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On another thread there was an allusion to more high rises planned for Langston (do we know which neighborhoods) and Orange Line in general, and that the 4th comprehensive high school is dead in the water.

Are there really that many new high rises planned? I thought demand for communal living had fallen with remote work and COVID, and Arlington is less of a destination? Or are these all affordable housing projects? Either way, a slew of kids could result, and we still don’t have a high school plan!

We were over crowded as it is — is there really that much building in the pipeline? Our DD starts K next year and we are wondering if she will be going to a 5k student WL.

Ha ha ha ha ha! This is the funniest thing I've ever read on DCUM. That much affordable housing projects in that part of Arlington? HA! other than maybe in the Rosslyn area itself, no.
If WL parents don't stop insisting on never being districted away from WL and APS leadership doesn't actually start leading and making decisions in the best interest of the system, then yes, you will someday see a 5K WL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where I grew up when a developer built a certain size community, they built schools as part of that development. Why don’t developers put money into APS as part of large projects?

Because the county board treats the schools like an unwanted stepchild. Not their problem.

And because the County has limited authority to extract meaningful stuff from the developers.

[Anonymous]

The developers and shitty Arlington County board are looking to over-ride long-standing building limitations. Next to Whole Foods, the empty lot is zone for commercial building---no taller than 1-4 stories.

The Board wants to push through over-riding this and allowing YET ANOTHER behometh apartment building.

There is a reason Clarendon doesn't look like Ballston and there is actually light on the streets instead of giant apartment buildings blocking out all light and making the streets appear narrow.

Density is already through the roof. There is another new apartment building where the Cosi used to be next to Courthouse Metro and another where the VA on Washington Blvd...

End the madness!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where I grew up when a developer built a certain size community, they built schools as part of that development. Why don’t developers put money into APS as part of large projects?

Because the county board treats the schools like an unwanted stepchild. Not their problem.

The County Board is a whore, only interested in $$$$$. It screws its long-time home-owners and children/schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sign on to the YIMBY Facebook page. Their goal is to have Langston Blvd lined with high rise apartments from Rosslyn to the East Falls Church. There motto is Arlington for all and the County planning staff is pursuing the same goal. They brush off concerns about overcrowded schools and lack of parks, parking, and green space. Everyone will use an electric bike and put their kids in carts attached to bikes.

Look at the intersection of Washington Blvd and Kirkwood
One 70 unit building was just finished. The huge Modera (seriously they kept that name) is about halfway up and the 250 unit building on the Red Top site is underway.

That’s the future of Langston Blvd, despite there being thousands of vacant units in Arlington, the County is continuing its push for communal living.

This is exactly right. "Density" is a word used with a religious fervor by these people. Activists and county staff are pushing through a zoning change for Langston that, despite the lack of access to Metro, will allow massive development in the area.

There is a plan for more schools but it requires building them in our increasingly overstressed parks. I have some great pictures of my son playing Little League on a park that is now the parking lot for Cardinal Elementary. Another example is Discovery, which was built on the once beautiful Williamsburg site. What remains of the park is now astroturf. It's what the urban planner types think of as heaven.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They’re talking about the area from glebe to Lexington Street on Langston. This is already a busy area, no idea how it will support the traffic. However at least the schools are less crowded in that area.

OP asked about areas feeding into W-L. Most of that area is Yorktown


The Langston Blvd Alliance is focusing on the entire corridor, not just Glebe to Lexington. With the many individual owners of those commercial buildings, it will be difficult. The Alliance is also focusing on intersections

At Veitch (Moms Organic Market) and Langston, a plan is underway to build a high rise facing Rt 66 but part of the land belongs to VIDOT, so good
luck getting it back. The most promising is the Air Force building just a little east with a plan to convert it to housing for indigent veterans.

Every other intersection has issues (like Spout Run under the Lyon Village shopping center preventing building of underground parking) to owner at southeast corner of Langston and Glebe holding out for top dollar.

Like the old Arlington family that owned Barcroft Apartments, the heirs eventually want the money. Lots of heirs along Langston but it will take time.

[Anonymous]

Developers aside, the YIMBY density people are nuts. "Everyone should be able to enjoy Arlington! You live here, why shouldn't somebody else?" Ok, except the things you allegedly find appealing about Arlington disappear when a) you build highrises everywhere and b) don't have the infrastructure to support the influx of additional people. That's called Tysons Corner.

[Anonymous]

OP- you need to visit this page for Plan Langston Blvd, sign up for updates, and make comments and ask your neighbors to do the same. They want to turn the entire corridor into high-density housing and they want to go into the neighborhoods to do it. They don’t have any answers re: what infrastructure, including schools, will support all these new residents.

https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Projects/Plans-Studies/Land-Use/Plan-Langston-Boulevard

There is a Plan Langston Blvd Alliance that’s sponsored by the parties that have the most to gain from this development including land use attorneys and developers. You need to get up to speed and encourage your neighbors to do the same.

[Anonymous]

You should reach out to your civic association to see how your neighborhood might specifically be affected by Plan Langston Blvd should any changes to land use get approved. You should be concerned with the corridor as a whole if you’re worried about school capacity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sign on to the YIMBY Facebook page. Their goal is to have Langston Blvd lined with high rise apartments from Rosslyn to the East Falls Church. There motto is Arlington for all and the County planning staff is pursuing the same goal. They brush off concerns about overcrowded schools and lack of parks, parking, and green space. Everyone will use an electric bike and put their kids in carts attached to bikes.

Look at the intersection of Washington Blvd and Kirkwood
One 70 unit building was just finished. The huge Modera (seriously they kept that name) is about halfway up and the 250 unit building on the Red Top site is underway.

That’s the future of Langston Blvd, despite there being thousands of vacant units in Arlington, the County is continuing its push for communal living.

This is exactly right. "Density" is a word used with a religious fervor by these people. Activists and county staff are pushing through a zoning change for Langston that, despite the lack of access to Metro, will allow massive development in the area.

There is a plan for more schools but it requires building them in our increasingly overstressed parks. I have some great pictures of my son playing Little League on a park that is now the parking lot for Cardinal Elementary. Another example is Discovery, which was built on the once beautiful Williamsburg site. What remains of the park is now astroturf. It's what the urban planner types think of as heaven.

This is accurate. Even if (and it’s a big if) the county can come up with money to build more schools, they would have to be built on county-owned land. Arlington can’t afford to buy a big parcel of land to build a school any more than most people can afford to buy land for a SFH. So they would be taking away parks and recreation space for the school or schools, which is the opposite of what you should be doing for high-density housing. High-density housing requires communal green space- you shouldn’t be building high-density housing and then taking the existing green space or recreation space away to build infrastructure. But these people think it’s more environmentally-friendly to pave over Arlington then let people move farther out (even if further out isn’t really that much further- think Annandale). It’s insane.