Thursday, June 9, 2011

County Board Pike Work Session - Gentrification vs. Preservation

Hi Yupette,

I attended this afternoon's Pike redevelopment work session with the County Board and County Manager at 2100 Clarendon Blvd. The County's primary out-of-state development consultant, Dover, Kohl, and Associates, pitched massive Pike in-fill development to the County Board. The in-fill would consist of new buildings placed on the same parcels as existing apartment buildings, sometimes replacing existing buildings. This would allegedly place enough density on-site to keep the affordable apartments affordable.

County Board members Walter Tejada and Barbara Favola (both candidates this Fall) asked whether enough funds could be obtained to preserve affordable market-rate rental properties on the Pike (like Barcroft Apartments) pretty much "as is" with some upgrades.

Dover, Kohl also pitched the series of Pike Charettes (pronounced "Charades") to be held between June 24th and June 30th to persuade Pike residents to go along with Chris Zimmermans's grand yuppification of the Pike.

36 comments:

Alex said...

FYI, Dover, Kohl is also yuppifying the Beauregard Corridor in Alexandria (King Street to Mark Center).

Anonymous said...

I'm voting for Audrey Clement on November 8th. Enough Yuppification is enough.

Anonymous said...

If the County Board, especially Jay Fisette and Barbara Favola, wanted affordable housing in Arlington there would be plenty of affordable housing in Arlington today.

Anonymous said...

All the "charettes" do is allow residents to pick the color of the brick (beige, brown, tan, or red) exterior walls of the mixed-use redevelopment that's already been approved by Zimmerman

TY said...

If the plan weren't for massive mixed-use redevelopment they wouldn't be spending all the money they are on the planning charades.

Barcroft Apts. Resident said...

Dover, Kohl should go where it's desperately needed - Route 1 in Prince William County. Fix up, don't tear up, Columbia Pike.

Anonymous said...

It's th same old County Board 2-step. Allow an area to become run down, then say the area is run down and needs to be "redeveloped".

Retired said...

The County Board, County Staff, and Dover-Kohl are treating the long-time owners of affordable rental housing on the Pike as "The Enemy".

In fact, the County Board, County Staff, and Dover-Kohl are the enemies - of Arlington's middle class.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, entire County Board despises the middle class, poor people, working poor, seniors, young people just out of college, everyone with a household income under $200,000 / yr.

Anonymous said...

The video of the County Board's treatment of the Young Democrats who live at Howard Manor at the February 15th County Board meeting says it all.

Anonymous said...

I am appalled that County Government has apparently set up an adversarial relationship with the owners of affordable market rate apartments on the Pike who have for decades been providing well-maintained housing at no cost to taxpayers.

The County Board only wants to expand a bloated nanny government bureaucracy which serves the interests of the wealthy elite and their servants.

Anonymous said...

Correct. South Arlington is already subsidized housing for the household servants of the North Arlington Elite and their Mansions and McMansions.

Anonymous said...

Both Tejada and Fisette apparently have some sort of financial arrangement with Dover, Kohl.

Anonymous said...

Who is paying for the week-long Pike planning charade?

Stan said...

Vic Dover was told that the reason there isn't more affordable housing is because the County Bord refused to build affordable housing when it had the opportunity, e.g., Potomac Yards.

Anonymous said...

Most of this work session was about the owners of affordable market rate apartments on the Pike. So how come we haven't heard from THEM?

Anonymous said...

They didn't even mention the impact on schools, streets and roads, parks, etc., from greatly-increased density on the Pike that Dover, Kohl is pitching.

Anonymous said...

Barbara Favola could care less, she had the 31st Senate District drawn to exclude as many poor people as possible.

2100 said...

If you want to tell Victor Dover what you think, his e-mail address is: vdover at doverkohl dot com

Anonymous said...

How did we get to a situation where County Staff is characterizing the Pike apartment owners as the "bad guys"?

Anonymous said...

OF COURSE apartment rents are increasing. County Board hasn't wanted to build affordable housing.

Anonymous said...

County Board is of, by, and for greedy out-or-state developers, REITs, law firms.

Anonymous said...

I tried to go over and talk to vic dover but some guy was talking to him for about 20 minutes. I wish I could have heard them, since it sounds like the guy was trying to give it to him.

2100 said...

Same guy who slammed dunked the CB for the Pike gentrification charades at today's CB meeting.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, he also slammed dunked McCaffrey for being the Arlington Chamber's media lobbyist before the C.B. meeting began.

Barcrofter said...

Dover, Kohl will make a G-D freaking MESS of whatever Zimmerman hasn't already made a mess.

Anonymous said...

I will tell you what this is all about: infilling another neighborhood so it becomes a "profit center" to fund the County Board's extravagances.

Anonymous said...

Victor Dover is full of s---. He's another one who is laughing all the way to the bank imposing dumb growth on the sheeple.

delegate said...

According to the report presented to the CivFed last week, while the County's population has grown by 2,000 per year since 2000, on-average 300 affordable units have been constructed every year, while thousands have been lost to gentrification.

Anonymous said...

Anyone know which luxury gated community Vic Dover lives in?

Anonymous said...

I'm voting for Audrey Clement for County Board in November. Enough trashing of our neighborhoods by predators like Dover, Kohl.

22205 said...

I vote for telling non-residents who are seeking to make tens of millions by destroying our suburban county to put their urbanization in the neighborhoods where they live, starting with Vic Dover, Terry Holzheimer, Barbara Donnellan, and Robert Brosnan.

Anonymous said...

When Vic Dover is finished yuppifying the Route 1 corridor in PW County he should visit his alma mater, VPI, and yuppify Blacksburg.

Fix up don't tear down the Pike.

Enough said...

Time is overdue for a moratorium on tear-downs and in-fill urbanization and a 50% RIF of CPHD and Transportation Staff. All these people do is come up with new ways of destroying old neighborhoods to justify their bloated bureaucracy's growth.

Anonymous said...

If Arlington is such a great place to live, why don't the County Manager, Economic Development Director, and CPHD Director live in Arlington?

Anonymous said...

The long-time owners of affordable rental apartments are local heroes and should be regarded as such. Time to vote the bums out, starting with Hynes and Tejada.