One of the two residential properties will be the Dakota on Center Park, which will feature about 480 luxury condominium units in a high-rise structure. Comstock Potomac Yard LC, the developer of the Dakota, will spend $150 million to open its doors in 2006. The building will feature an unspecified amount of ground-level retail space for shops and a grocery store. The second proposed residential building is Camden Potomac Yard, a 386-unit structure tower that will feature just over 4,000 sf of ground-level retail space. To be developed by Camden USA Inc., it will cost $85 million to realize. The 12-story high-rise will also be ready for occupancy in 2006.

Both developers are making a contribution to the county's affordable housing fund, resulting in a donation of a total of $1 million. "With their mixed-use development, comprehensive transit plans and environmentally-sensitive design, these two projects align well with Arlington's smart growth principles," Arlington County Board chairman Paul Ferguson notes. "The $1 million contributed to Arlington's affordable housing fund helps address a top policy goal to provide more affordable housing." As for the remaining facets of the Potomac Yard development, construction on a 650,000-sf office complex has already gotten under way.