In July 2016, a total of twenty (20) demolition permits were applied for in Arlington County. Sixteen were for single-family homes. Five of the properties are in South Arlington. At least seven of the projects are speculative developments. One of the demolition permits is for one of Arlington’s quickly disappearing Lustron homes at 2915 7th Street South. One of the homes, 6600 North 18th Street, was purchased by Arlington County for expansion of an existing park. Six of the demolitions are located in a National Register Historic Districts:

• 830 22nd Street South, Aurora Highlands National Register Historic District
• 2723 South June Street, Aurora Highlands National Register Historic District
• 716 North Cleveland Street, Lyon Park National Register Historic District
• 2816 1st Road North, Lyon Park National Register Historic District
• 1711 North Nelson Street, Cherrydale National Register Historic District

The four remaining demolitions were for two garden apartments buildings, 1411 Key Boulevard and 1541 North Colonial Terrace, which are being redeveloped by a County Board approved siteplan, the buildings that comprised the ABC Distributors at 2645 Shirlington Road and a garage demo on an existing home.

Totals for 2016
Homes: 100
– 21 are located in National Register Historic Districts
– 48 are speculative developments (owned by developers)
Garden Apartments: 7
Commercial Buildings: 3

The looming demolition of these houses and buildings represents an incredible loss of history, architecture, time, energy, and materials. Many had the potential for renovation and additions or, at a bare minimum, reclamation/reuse of building materials. These buildings are often replaced with new construction that is out of scale and proportion to the community. Preservation Arlington urges citizens to adopt Local Historic District designations for their communities, with standards for design, height, and placement that could be customized to reflect community needs while still allowing reinvestment to occur.

Similarly, if you are a property owner and are contemplating a change to your property, Preservation Arlington encourages you to work with your architect or builder to consider how some or all of your house or building could be incorporated into a renovation, or the materials reused.