Members of the Arlington Planning Commission’s Site Plan Review Committee (SPRC) will be holding a meeting on Monday, September 30, to discuss proposed redevelopments in Arlington. The second part of that meeting, from 8:30 to 10 pm, will cover the Blue Goose, the building owned by Marymount University at 1000 N. Glebe Road. The building, which was included on Preservation Arlington’s 2013 list of Endangered Historic Places, is now threatened with demolition as part of plans to redevelop the site.

At a meeting of the SPRC in June, County staff, representatives of the Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board, and the applicant discussed historic preservation of the building, along with rezoning and other considerations.

According to the subsequent summary report of the meeting, “The applicant indicated that rehab/restoration of the existing 1960s building did not make sense here. Historical context is the building’s use, not its design.” The participants seemed to agree on reusing building materials from the old building, and one SPRC member stated that “historic preservation is not always about preservation only. Find a creative way to do this.”

The staff agenda for the September 30 meeting indicates that historic preservation will be one of many items of discussion at this meeting. The applicant has revised their proposal in response to input at previous meetings and from staff to include the following: “In addition, the applicant has revised the plans to show a retail space at the ground floor where the façade materials at grade and on the interior would incorporate blue panels to address comments regarding the historic preservation of the existing Blue Goose building.”

DATE: Monday, September 30, 2013
TIME: 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.
PLACE: 2100 Clarendon Boulevard
Courthouse Plaza, Room 109/110
Arlington, VA 22201