On Oct. 10, 2023, the Arlington County Board held a working
session with economic development staff to discuss potential policy
changes to facilitate office-residential projects.
The effort, which is phase two of Arlington County's
Commercial Market Resiliency Initiative (CMRI Phase II), seeks to
stem the tide of rising office vacancies throughout Arlington
County. Driving this point home, the staff presentation at the Oct.
10 working session stated that 76 of the 328 office buildings in
Arlington County (23%) are "at risk for sustained
vacancy/obsolescence" in today's market.
The goal of CMRI Phase II is to enact policies to improve and
expedite Arlington County's entitlement process for
office-residential projects. Potential policy changes could
include, but are not limited to, changing the major/minor site plan
amendment threshold, providing flexibility to meet parking and
signage requirements, and addressing how green building policies
should apply to
