According to Meredith Baumann, spokesperson for the BRA, the significance of the recommendation to the project's ultimate approval "is important because our community investment in this is important."

Arlington, VA-based Charles E. Smith Residential wants to build a 275-foot building with 419 units. The company had originally proposed a higher, denser building but the BRA insisted that the number of units be cut from 449 and the height reduced from 291 feet.

Bill Moy, a co-moderator for the council tells GlobeSt.com that the group had several meetings with the developer and held a series of public meetings after which the 16-member council voted nearly unanimously to approve the project. "The neighborhood now is almost all subsidized housing," he says. "We have no middle class. This would add diversity and improve the quality of life." Twenty units in the building will be set aside for affordable housing; the rest will be market rate. Moy adds that residents hope the building will bring more business to the community.