Task Force Proposes Realignment

CRYSTAL CITY, VA- Last year when the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure Commission announced its plans to redeploy military assets around the country, the suburban Northern Virginia submarkets — particularly Crystal City – were in the bull’s eye. According to a newly released report by Arlington County’s BRAC Transition Task Force, 76.8% all office space in the Crystal City submarket will be affected by BRAC 2005. Rosslyn (12.8%); Ballston (8.5%); Pentagon City (1.8%); and Court House (0.1%) are other Virginia submarkets that will also feel the pinch.

The task force’s new report, its first since it began meeting at the beginning of the year, suggests several directions in which these submarkets could move in order to attract private development to fill the void that will be left by BRAC when its process is complete in 2011. The overarching goal for the county, the panel recommends, is a transformation of Crystal City’s landscape from the suburban glass, box-like office buildings that characterize it today to a more mixed-use neighborhood.

To reach this goal it made a number of preliminary suggestions including the establishment of a BRAC transition center to provide workforce and business assistance. According to a spokeswoman for Arlington County’s economic development department, the county is currently looking for office space to establish this office. Other suggestions include streamlining the permitting process to facilitate tenant occupancy and building construction and introduce new business incentives to attract tenants.