The approval of the PDSP permits CAP to prepare development plans for the 49.72-acre south tract bounded by Reagan National Airport, the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Four Mile Run and the City of Alexandria, Jefferson Davis Highway and Crystal Drive.

“As part of this approval, the developer is required to make significant contributions to our transportation infrastructure, traffic calming and utility undergrounding,” said Barbara Favola, chairman of the County Board.

CAP envisions 2.94 million sq. feet of office/commercial space, 1 million sq. feet of residential space and 469,835 sq. feet of hotel space for the tract. To reduce the traffic impacts of the development and enhance its pedestrian character, Potomac Yard has been planned as a transit-oriented development. The County and its citizens will be active participants in future studies to determine the type of transit that will operate on the transitway through Potomac Yard. Options to be studied will include light rail and bus rapid transit. A new Metrorail station in the Arlington portion of Potomac Yard will also be considered.

The plan also calls for adding Potomac Avenue as a four-lane street from the Alexandria City line to Crystal Drive as well as extending South Glebe Road across Jefferson Davis Highway to intersect with Potomac Avenue. Other transportation amenities planned include on-street bicycle lanes to Potomac Avenue and a connection between the Four Mile Run Trail and the Potomac Avenue bicycle lanes as well as a pedestrian corridor with open space between South 29th Street and Four Mile Run with a connection to Alexandria.

“This PDSP essentially permits mixed development on the south tract for an exchange of 28 acres on the north tract, which can be used for recreational purposes and associated parking,” said Favola. “For a County as small and urban as Arlington, 28 acres of open/recreational space is like a ‘diamond in the rough.’ Moreover, less density will be permitted under the PDSP than the combined density allowed if by-right development were permitted on both tracts.”

The north tract is located north of Crystal City and is generally bounded by South 10th Street, the Old Jefferson Davis Highway, the former Twin Bridges Marriott site and the Waterfowl Sanctuary. The total site area affected by the Board’s decision to amend the General Land Use Plan in connection with the approval of the PDSP is 46.07 acres, of which CAP owns 41.75 acres.

The property being transferred to the County surrounds a 4.46-acre site contaminated with petroleum products, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead. This portion of the site was formerly operated as a scrap metal reclamation facility by Davis Industries pursuant to a lease with the Richmond, Frederick and Potomac (RF&P) Railroad (now CAP). While remediation of the contaminated site is the joint responsibility of CAP and more than 40 other parties, including the County, that brought contaminated materials like transformers and batteries to the Davis site. The contaminated property will not be transferred to the County for recreational uses. Less than half of the 4.46-acre site is seriously contaminated, and in accordance with Environmental Protection Agency and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality mandates, this area can be “capped” by asphalt for use as a parking area without posing any danger to users, ground water or the surrounding area.

“CAP has agreed to install an asphalt cap to enable use of the site as a parking lot, which will facilitate our plans to open the north tract for recreational uses,” said Favola.

The County also agreed to grant CAP an additional 1.161 million sq. feet of density in the south tract in exchange for the property being transferred to the County in the north tract. CAP is also giving up 2.7 million sq. feet of density in the north tract.

“This is a significant concession overall,” said Favola. “CAP could have developed the 2.7 million sq. feet on a by-right basis. This overall agreement will put the density where it can best be absorbed—in the south tract—and allow the County to add open space and recreational activities in the north tract.”