The Arlington County Board voted Thursday to accept the recommendations of its base closing transition task force — including the recommendation that Crystal City be redeveloped.
The Base Realignment and Closure Transition Task Force was appointed by the Arlington Economic Development Department to devise ways to deal with the loss of some 17,000 Crystal City jobs triggered by the Pentagon’s base realignment.
Arlington County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman told The Examiner the county is now setting up a team to work on an implementation plan.
Many of the buildings in Crystal City, the task force noted, do not meet modernconstruction standards. The group said tearing down the buildings and replacing them with modern structures would be important to the area’s redevelopment.
A report done at the request of the Economic Development Department found that county tax revenues from a redeveloped Crystal City could reach $161 million over the next 14 years. But Terry Holzheimer, director of the department, has cautioned that the estimate might be overly optimistic.
Arlington, in anticipation of the recommendation, appointed a Crystal City Planning Task Force earlier this week to review development options for the area. Marty Almquist, chair of the transition task force, will lead the panel.
“Crystal City holds tremendous potential; the area offers some of the most impressive qualities of any location in the National Capital Region,” Zimmerman said. “It is a transit hub close to the airport, served by Metro and other transit options. It also has a great base of office space, housing, hotels, restaurants and entertainment sites on which to build.”
Other recommendations accepted by the board include providing job placement services for civilians working for the government who want to stay in the area, and giving assistance to businesses so they can stay open during the transition.
