Carmen Romero, Director of Acquisition at the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing has provided the following project brief for the Queen's Court project.

Ms. Romero welcomes answering questions from North Rosslyn residents regarding the plans for Queen's Court. If you have any questions or comments for Ms. Romero you can post them using your NRCA Forum sign on. Ms Romero will be able to read all postings and we will post her responses.


APAH has applied for approval of a site plan, General Land Use Plan amendment, and rezoning to permit a new affordable apartment building and publicly-accessible 9,000 square foot open space at the Queen’s Court site The request is consistent with the recommendations of the West Rosslyn Area Plan Study (WRAPS), which took place over the course of several years and was ultimately adopted by the County Board in July 2015. There was significant community involvement in this process, with approximately one dozen working group meetings, a workshop, and hearings before the LRPC, Planning Commission, and County Board. The proposal is to demolish the existing low-rise garden apartments and replace them with a new 12-story, 249-unit affordable housing building (100% affordable). In addition, the proposal will provide a new, publicly-accessible 9,000 square foot open space at the site. The WRAPS group discussed and generally agreed on the public benefits that would accrue from the proposed development, including: - Maximizing affordable units in a Metro area where few units exist currently - Providing for a publicly accessible open space - Developing an iconic site that will cap the western end of the 18th Street corridor The proposed development has just entered the Site Plan Review Committee (SPRC) process, and we anticipate approval by the County in the first quarter of 2017. Construction of any approved building will need to be coordinated with APAH’s request for funding from the Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF), and likely will not be completed until 2021.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Paul Derby,

This project was presented at the last BID Urban Design Cttee meeting for information only (no discussion or votes). It has many attractive features including a significant number of affordable units, the multiuse public space, and attractive design elements on the Quinn St and 18th St facades. However, as presently conceived, there is a 12-story brick wall (with windows but almost no architectural differentiation or interest) along the entire Key Blvd side of the property. The developer should be encouraged to think more creatively about this facade to avoid creating a rather forbidding eyesore facing Key - a major thoroughfare - and the neighborhood on that side.