The Bluemont Civic Association Mazda and Exxon Block Redevelopment Task Force Will Host a Meeting Tonight

[BCA Webmaster]

Agenda

The Bluemont Civic Association Mazda and Exxon block redevelopment task force will host a meeting tonight at Arlington Traditional School, 855 N. Edison St., Arlington, VA 22205. 

The BF Saul Company has requested an opportunity to share with the community an updated version of the development plans for the Mazda block.

Highlights

This is an informational update meeting.

The attendees will not be asked to vote on any aspect of the project.

For guidance, we have a Mazda block "Options" resolution that was unanimously approved by BCA this past June.  (See below)

 

The BF Saul Company has been asked to explain how their updated version addressed the many items in the "Options" resolution. That feedback can then be taken back to your respective HOAs and discussed along with any changes to the standing "Options" resolution.

Feel free to call Terry Serie if you have any questions or suggestions prior to the meeting.

Terry Serie

657 N Tazewell St.

Cell: 703.307.1503

​Bluemont Civic Association (BCA) "OPTIONS" on the Mazda Block Redevelopment

The following resolution was sent on July 7, 2015, to the BF Saul Company with a copy to Arlington County staff.

"Mazda Block OPTIONS resolution adopted unanimously at the 6/24/2015 Bluemont Civic Association General Membership meeting

Background

The following resolution was adopted by a unanimous vote at the Bluemont Civic Association (BCA) general membership meeting on June 24, 2015. The resolution had previously been approved for advertising at the May 27 BCA general membership meeting and published in the June BCA membership newsletter.

Resolution Goals:

1. To preserve and enhance the single-family townhouse character of the residential neighborhoods (consistent with Bluemont’s NC Plan); pedestrian and vehicular safety; property values; and the quality of life in the 600–700 blocks of N. Tazewell and N. Vermont Streets and the 4300–4400 blocks of 7th Street North.

2. To preserve and improve our transit-oriented, safe, walkable neighborhood that was planned by Arlington County to be built with lower heights, density, and intensity of uses compared to the Ballston Metrorail sector and the Ballston Mall area east of Glebe Road.

3. To collaborate with the developer and Arlington County on the Mazda block’s redevelopment with uses, density, building height, tapering and other land use, transportation, and appropriate planning elements that is consistent with past planning for the area and existing residential development.

Be it resolved that the Bluemont Civic Association:

I. Supports the Mazda block’s redevelopment with appropriate height, tapering, density, and uses dedicated to residential units and the balance to retail that includes personal and office services and retail equivalents;

II. Respectfully requests, and strongly urges, that the B.F. Saul Company and Arlington County staff prepare options for the redevelopment of the Mazda block that will be added to the developer plans (as shown at the May 27,2015 BCA meeting) when submitted to the Site Plan Review Committee (SPRC) that include, but are not limited to:

1. Place the parking garage entrance (for the grocery store and apartments) and all the site loading – trash – recycling docks on the interior, or underground, of the superblock site:
1. Update/use the existing curb cut & service road with access to Glebe Road for vehicles to enter/exit the Mazda block,
2. Use the existing curb cut & service road for an entrance/exit to underground loading docks and parking garage,
3. c. Relocate the existing curb cut & service road if necessary to improve the loading dock/parking garage access,
4. Use the current, or a new, connection of the service road to the existing midblock alley to provide internal site circulation/access from Glebe Road to 7th Street North,
5. Widen the existing alley, placing all loading dock and parking garage entrances/exits on the alley in the block’s interior,
6. Use the existing alley for an entrance/exit to the above-ground or underground loading dock and parking garage for the grocery store and apartment buildings,
7. Use the above options, or others, to locate the loading docks and parking garage within the site’s interior or underground instead of 7th Street North (a neighborhood street), and
8. Place the apartment building adjacent to or over the service road and widen the existing alley;
2. Show options for improved pedestrian/vehicular safety and improved traffic management at the intersection of N. Tazewell and N. Vermont Streets at Wilson Blvd.;
3. Cap the maximum building height at 95 feet (119 feet inclusive of the penthouse) if R-C zoning is applied to the block;
4. Cap the maximum building height: to main building roof: 132.07’; to mechanical penthouse roof: 152.07’; to peak of the architectural embellishment above the penthouse roof (called out as Top of Crown): 156.82’ if RA4.8 zoning is applied to the block;
5. With the maximum building height only on Glebe road; taper height down from Glebe Road (across the entire site, east to west), to a maximum of 60 feet (inclusive of any rooftop structures) at N. Tazewell Street;
6. Provide traffic-management options to:
1. Retain parking on both sides of N. Tazewell Street in the 600 & 700 blocks,
2. Retain on-street parking on the South side of 7th Street North in the 4300 block,
3. Add on-street parking to the north side of 7th Street North in the 4300 block, and
4. Retain the locations and quantity of existing residential permit parking;
7. Place residential units at the ground floor along the length of the 700 block of N. Tazewell St. and the entire west half of N. 7th St. instead of commercial space, loading, trash, recycling docks, and the parking garage."