Check out the latest version of the County Board's agenda for tonight's meeting. Regular agenda item just added is the sale of open space surrounding the farmhouse at Reeves Farm to a developer or developers. From a County Government that's supposedly desperate for open space and which is paying $30 million to acquire 6 acres and a couple of older office buildings across Quincy Street from the School Board's offices. Check it out at arlingtonva.us.
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Same CB that pays $450,000 for old homes on 6,000 square foot lots and demolishes the house for open space?
Which developer did they owe a favor?
Someone has to monitor and see whether board members are receiving bribes from certain developers.
Reeves Farm neighbors were pissed tonight. Some County Board Democrat corporate crony is looking for a gimme in return for a few thousand in campaign contributions and whatever else is necessary to make a redevelopment deal (preserving the farmhouse in return for developing some yet-to-be-determined parcel on-site) happen.
Publicly-owned open space for a PlutoCrat to redevelop into McMansions in return for the PlutoCrat buying, restoring, and living in the restored Reeves Farmhouse? Only in Arlington.
Vote was 3-2 to sell. This is apparently the way the County Board is going to work from now on, put controversial proposals on the regular agenda at the last minute for the carryover (Tuesday) County Board meeting.
Democrat Peter Fallon attended and spoke out against a hasty sale of Reeves Farm.
Where was the Green Party?
There are always mega-millions available for new non-educational sports and recreation infrastructure.
Inside Nova and ArlNow were alerted yesterday that this would be on the CB Regular Hearing Agenda last night.
Parks and Rec has a 'slush fund' amounting to several millions from bond funds that's available for sports and recreation infrastructure.
What can you expect from urban village idiots? Remember the Planetarium?
You all have it backward. The Board voted to sell the house and enough property to make it a legal lot, and will keep the rest of the land for parkland.
Read at the Staff Report (Item 34).
Parcel A will be the farmhouse. To be purchased by a corporate crony PlutoCrat.
Parcel B will be a few existing public amenities near the farmhouse.
Parcel C will be open space subdivided into lots for McMansions.
Staff report was written to be deliberately confusing.
Sale of Reeves Farm is another secret giveaway deal made behind closed doors in the County Board offices, like the deal for Wilson School.
Subdivision and re-subdivision into building lots for McMansions will be tucked away in a consent agenda item at a future County Board meeting.
Agree. They will stick the giveaway of open space to a developer for McMansions in a future consent agenda item.
County spent how much on planning the streetcar - $26 million - before the project was cancelled?
All that has to be done to stabilize the interior floor of Reeves farmhouse is to punch a small hole in the foundation wall and drag a steel beam into the basement and install the the steel beam to support the floor.
Something that's done all the time to stabilize and restore old wooden buildings.
So the farmhouse will be privately owned and off limits? There will be some public "community space"? And the the rest of what's now open space will be McMansions?
Most likely, yes.
Last week they announced they are paying $30 million for 6 acres with a couple of old office buildings across Quincy Street from the APS offices. Then a week later, they announce they are selling public open space? Duh.
County Board meeting - what a charade. Everyone is distracted by Nada Tejada's anti-Redskins resolution so Reeves Farm gets sold, except for a parcel that will be preserved for public use.
Anyone know the crony capitalist who will get to buy the farmhouse (Parcel A) and also get to develop the open space that's not used for public amenities (Parcel C)?
County will keep SOME of the rest of the land that doesn't surround the farmhouse as parkland.
Yes the 2 1/2 acres will be divided into 3 parcels.
Appears to me the farmhouse will be awarded to a big Democratic fat cat campaign contributor and the present site will be configured into two parcels, one large parcel with enough land for 'bonus density' McMansion sites to be awarded to whomever buys the farmhouse as a reward for restoring the farmhouse, and the other, much smaller, parcel will be configured to be a public community garden.
Keep an eye for this buried in the County Board's Consent Agenda.
Relatively easy to drag a steel floor beam into a basement and use it and permanent steel support columns to support sagging wooden floor beams.
The farmhouse sale is another give-away to another fat cat Democrat.
You people are wrong and just a little bit paranoid. The County is selling ONE parcel, containing the Reeves farmhouse, configured to be consistent with current zoning regulations and to allow access to the site. The ENTIRE remaining area will remain parkland. The house parcel will be on the open market, just like the historic Fraber house. And it's not that easy to save an historic house -- I've done it.
If it were up to APS and the School Board five years ago the Planetarium would have been demolished.
Ask Jay, Mary and Walter at the next County Board meeting: Which fat cat Democrat gets to buy the farmhouse?
Whatever they say about preserving all the open space around the farmhouse the deal has been made to give the farmhouse's future owner a large amount of open space to be developed in return for "preserving" the farmhouse. Of course, the farmhouse will be an upscale historic residence and no longer able to be used for environmental education. It gets worse. The profit the future owner will realize from developing the land around the farmhouse will far exceed his or her cost of restoring the farmhouse. Whatever committee is formed to oversee the repurposing of Reeves Farm will be packed with Democratic ward heelers. Yes, you can expect that this giveaway deal will be on the County Board's consent agenda at a July or December meeting.
Anything is possible in a county as corrupt as Arlington where the news media are also corrupt.
Yeah, well nothing could ever be done to save Wilson School because a secret deal was made with a developer that required the school to be demolished.
The wasted tax dollars from boutique Parks and Rec infrastructure projects over one year could fully fund the farmhouse renovation.
Historic homes (for example arts and crafts bungalows) are saved all the time inside the Beltway.
Even Mega Smart Growth Facilitator Peter Fallon spoke out against the give-away deal.
...will be configured like the parcel being developed at Washington Blvd. and George Mason Dr.
The fact that this was put on the CB agenda with less than 24 hours public notice says it all.
Notice the Chamber of Commerce's local media shills either don't mention this give-away deal or blow it off as business as usual.
Yeah...remember Potomac Yards redevelopment and all the promises of affordable housing?
Where is the philanthropy? Why is there always enough money in the County's and APS's budgets for more sports, recreation, and entertainment and nothing for planetariums and environmental education centers?
So, according to the Wash Post report today, the farmhouse and at least one 6,000 square foot lot will be sold to some person, group, or corporation.
Where was / is the Arlington Green Party?
How much has the Artisphere cost taxpayers over the past decade? $30 million?
Good point. County Board has never been able to say no to any performing arts group. Next performing arts bail out will occur next month when the Artisphere is again bailed out.
Farmhouse will be surrounded by McMansions...never mind what they say now.
So look at what the County's wasted money on since 2001 with $65 million still to be spent on an aquatic and $12 million still to be spent on Pike bus shelters, etc.
County Board 3-2 vote was based on a promise, made to a Democratic fat cat years ago who will develop the open space, that had to be honored.
What is truly pathetic is that Vihstadt and Garvey will take the heat for a development deal put together years ago, when CZ was on the CB. How many give-away deals to Democratic fat cats are still in the pipeline.
County Board / Jay Fisette caters to the dozens of LGBT-dominated groups and any money that goes to a planetarium and a environmental education center is money that won't go to building a LGBT majority of adults in Arlington.
Another manufactured 3-2 vote.
Yes, County Government can't say no to any LGBT group - especially the performing arts.
Pathetic? County Government can't do anything about the wealthy and heavily-subsidized performing arts groups so they sell the Reeves farmhouse and land land around the farmhouse for development.
Arlington's performing arts groups are de facto clubs.
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