Arlington council gives downtown apartment complex more time to attract businesses
A developer wants to bring retailers to the first floor of his group’s apartment complex in downtown Arlington. But his group just needs more time, he told city council members.
Christopher Kritzman with Park7, a New York-based contractor, asked officials for a zoning change that would allow the group to temporarily lease retail space for residential use as the pandemic progresses and his company attracts businesses. The goal, he said, is to phase those spaces back to retail use by 2030.
“What we’re trying to do with this … is create a vibrant downtown — one that has lights on the ground floor,” Kritzman said.
Part of that vision, he added, would ideally feature a coffee shop or bodega-style market to anchor a mix of other services. He cited 101 Center, a similar live-work complex, as an example of the project’s viability, as well as a structure that similarly struggled to initially attract businesses.
Kritzman’s proposal drew majority support from the council, which voted 6-3 in favor of granting his request preliminary approval. Councilwoman Helen Moise, who represents District 1 in north Arlington, said she hopes Kritzman’s group finds itself ahead of the 10-year timeline he laid out.
“I think it’s really ambitious that as a city, we want a first-floor business environment,” she said. “That’s really difficult to pull off, even in big cities.”
The 308-unit apartment complex is among the latest built in downtown Arlington in a movement to drive more foot traffic to a historically quiet work and retail space. The city partnered with developers to build 101 Center nearby, as well as rebuild the George W. Hawkes Downtown Library and nearby Levitt Pavilion.
Council members Victoria Farrar-Myers of District 7, Robert Shepard of District 6 and Sheri Capehart of District 2 opposed the measure. Additionally, resident Kim Feil opposed it.
Farrar-Myers asked why Park7 failed to attract retailers to the complex’s 45 retail units between the time they designed in 2017 and the start of the pandemic.
“This problem was pre-COVID,” she said.
Kritzman said the buildings were under construction when brokers initially pitched the development to businesses.
“If they can’t walk into the space, see the space or touch the space,” he said, retailers weren’t interested. The concern right now among retailers across the country, he said, is that Paycheck Protection Program funds will run dry and companies would consequently scale back.
“There’s just so much uncertainty in the marketplace, we haven’t had success,” he said.
