Office Use Conversions in Arlington County got a step closer as the county released draft amendments to its zoning ordinance to implement the next phase of the county's Commercial Market Resiliency Initiative (CMRI). This amendment allows for conversions of use within existing structures to occur without the need for a major site plan amendment, creating a new process for an "adaptive reuse amendment."
The adaptive reuse amendment process may be used for most buildings (1) that have been occupied for at least 5 years following initial construction, (2) in which the principal use of the building is at least 50% office, and (3) that propose that at least 50% of existing office GFA will be converted to an alternative, permitted use. Certain increases in density are permitted for adaptive reuse amendments, through both the conversion of existing space within the building and limited building additions. Limited increases in height up to two stories are also permitted.
This change will remove a significant barrier to use conversions in the county. The existing zoning ordinance requires that any change in principal use greater than 5% of the total floor area must go through a major site plan amendment. The major site plan amendment process typically involves the creation of a significant number of architectural, civil, and landscape drawings, filing fees well in excess of $100,000, and a public process of up to 12 months. In contrast, the adaptive reuse amendment allows an applicant to avoid the majority of these monetary costs and will likely reduce the time of the process to 2-6 months.
We will continue to provide updates as more information on this process becomes available. For more information, please click here.
