In the midst of record-high office vacancy rates and a changing work economy, Arlington County, Virginia, has passed a plan to cut red tape, so that empty office buildings can be transformed into multi-use spaces.
Arlington faces significant challenges in its commercial office market, with more than 10.7 million-square-feet of vacant space and an oversupply of outdated office inventory.
“Close to half of the office buildings in Arlington are basically costing more to the owner than they are producing in income, and sometimes by a whole lot,” said Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey, during a Saturday meeting.
The county’s adaptive reuse policy — part of the Commercial Market Resiliency Initiative — is an attempt to not only deal with current high vacancy rates, but to create spaces that work for current and future workforces.
“It isn’t the really big, strong species that survive — it’s the ones that can adapt and change,” said Garvey, citing Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. “Life is pretty tough, and we’re heading into a very bumpy future, and survival of the fittest really kind of applies in economics.”
Kevin Yam, with the county’s economic development commission, spoke in favor of the new adaptive reuse policy.
“This is exactly the kind of bold action we need to attract developer and investors, who can help us breathe new life into our community’s obsolete office buildings,” Yam said. “Our neighboring jurisdictions, like Alexandria, Fairfax County and D.C. have already taken these actions and they’re starting to see benefits.”
Reducing the regulatory barriers could make it easier for new projects to replace underutilized facilities, according to staff members briefing the board. For instance, an empty office building’s garage space in a neighborhood with small apartments could be transformed into public storage units, bicycle storage or an indoor dog park.
“The first things these buildings will do is actually adapt to a changing labor market and the changing economies,” added board vice-chair Takis Karantonis, alluding to the current trend of hybrid work. “I think this will maintain Arlington’s ability to create and maintain top-tier jobs.”
Yam said re-envisioning businesses in Arlington is crucial.
“Arlington’s commercial core has always been a vital source of tax revenue that funds this vibrant community that we all love,” Yam said.
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