JBG Wins Approval for Apartment Redo

ARLINGTON, VA-The JBG Cos. has received approval to redevelop a garden apartment complex into two apartment towers and townhouses that will be LEED certified. The Arlington County Board approved the project with no changes, a spokesperson for the county tells GlobeSt.com.

JBG first submitted the proposal last September. She did not have development costs or when the project was scheduled to break down. JBG did not return a call in time for publication. All together, Rosslyn Commons will include 454 apartments in two towers, 25 four-story townhouses and more than 12,000-sf of ground-floor retail.

The redevelopment of Rosslyn Commons will include a strong affordable component that will substitute for the affordable housing units that currently exist at the complex. There are currently 84 market-rate affordable units, most of them one bedroom. These will be demolished and replaced with 54 units that will provide the same number of bedrooms. They will remain affordable for 30 years.

The new affordable units will include 26 two-bedroom apartments and six three-bedroom apartments, which will rent for $1,535 to people who earn 60% of the regional median income. The two-bedroom units will rent for $1,329 and the one-bedrooms, $1,107. Arlington County also amended the General Land Use Plan to designate the site a Special Affordable Housing Protection District, ensuring that the market-rate affordable units that will be demolished will be replaced on-site.

Located close to the Rosslyn metro, the site is a transit-oriented development project, which was another plus for the county as it considered the proposal. “Rosslyn Commons offers the County a rare opportunity to secure family-sized affordable rentals within walking distance of Metro,” County board chairman J. Walter Tejada, says in a prepared statement. “In this era of ever-rising gas prices, it is crucial that we seize opportunities to provide housing near public transit that working people can afford.”