April continues the the start of Spring construction in Arlington. This April there were a total of 12 applications for demolition permits. Eleven were for single family homes and one was for a commercial building on a property being redeveloped for residential townhouses. April tends to be a bit hit and miss with April 2018 being 9 permits; April 2017 was 17; April 2016 was 11; April 2015 was 18; and, April 2014 was 22;

Single Family: Of the 11 permits for single family homes, two were in South Arlington with the remainder in North Arlington. Only two are clearly for speculative developments and one is actually a repeat permit. Only one of the homes is located in a National Register Historic Districts:

• 2510 16th Street North is in the Lyon Village National Register Historic District

Totals for 2019
Homes: 56
– 14 are located in National Register Historic Districts
– 29 are speculative developments (owned by developers)
Garden Apartments: 3
Commercial Buildings: 6
Other Structures: 1
Civic Buildings: 0

The pending demolition of these homes and buildings represents a 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.