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ARLINGTON, VA-Arlington County has approved the first project under the Clarendon Sector Plan, to encourage preservation in the historic district of Saul Centers' Clarendon Center. It includes office space, retail and a residential tower, and is located between Wilson Boulevard, North Highland Street, 11th Street North and North Garfield Street.

A county spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com the county was pleased with the developer's willingness to preserve two buildings in the project, instead of just the one building it initially proposed. "The thinking was, we had to get this one right, as it is essentially an anchor for the rest of the Clarendon sector," she says. "A lot of negotiations went into it with the developer." The end plan, "was considered a serious win. We had not been able to save two historic buildings in one project before," she said. The two buildings kept intact in the development are the Underwood Building, built in 1939, and Old Dominion Building, built in Art Deco style in 1941.

"This is one of the most significant site plans ever approved in Arlington," Arlington County Board Chairman Christopher Zimmerman says. The site plan calls for an addition of a 97,860-sf, six-story office building and 15,725 sf of new ground floor retail space to the Underwood Building, on the north block. Two towers--one a 244-unit, twelve-story residential tower and the other a nine-story, 84,395 sf office tower--will be added to the Old Dominion Building, on the south block. Some 38,333 sf of ground floor retail will also be added.