Members of the Arlington Planning Commission’s Site Plan Review Committee (SPRC) will be holding a meeting on Thursday, October 17, to discuss proposed redevelopments in Arlington. The first part of that meeting, from 7:00 to 8:30 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.

The staff agenda for the October 17 meeting indicates that historic preservation will be one of several items for discussion. This is an important meeting and the FINAL SPRC meeting on this project. If you support preservation of the Blue Goose, please plan to attend.

The Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) has sent a letter to the Planning Commission that offers a very good discussion of why this building and its materials are important. The letter states, in part:

The Blue Goose is one-of-a-kind in that it is a rare example of Arlington’s Modernist commercial history and also presents a touch of whimsy in a vibrant urban place….The HALRB feels strongly that there is opportunity to express creativity in the new proposal as an alternative to complete demolition, which could better preserve key aspects of the Blue Goose while still enabling Marymount to meet its needs for a Ballston campus.

County staff, representatives of the HALRB, and the applicant have discussed historic preservation of the building, along with rezoning and other considerations, at previous meetings as well; notes from those meetings are available on the County website.

DATE: Thursday, October 17, 2013
TIME: 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.
PLACE: 2100 Clarendon Boulevard
Courthouse Plaza, Room 109/110
Arlington, VA 22201