Pentagon City Planning Study: Scope
Arlington County is initiating a new study to help guide future development for Pentagon City, with coordinated planning and transportation components. The study will help define Pentagon City’s capacity for future growth by evaluating alternative redevelopment scenarios and their resulting impacts on the capacity of the existing, committed, and planned transportation system, infrastructure, public spaces and community facilities. This will result in a Plan Document, which conveys new land use policies, redevelopment principles, and supporting urban design guidelines for future growth within Pentagon City.
Pentagon City Transportation Study Area(JPG, 891KB)
Study Approach: Planning
An inter-departmental staff team will work with a consultant team over the course of this 12-month study, which will have four phases of work:
- Phase One: Informed by site visits and stakeholder interviews, establish and evaluate preliminary planning principles that will, once finalized, guide future redevelopment within the study area and inform subsequent phases of the planning study.
- Phase Two: Develop and evaluate preliminary land use scenarios depicting how future growth could occur relying on the transportation analysis to assess impacts of these scenarios on the transportation network.
- Phase Three: Preliminary land use scenarios will be refined to identify a preferred scenario with a proposed use and density program, including urban design and streetscape elements, building heights, transportation infrastructure, and public realm recommendations.
- Phase Four: Preparation of a draft Pentagon City PDSP Update Planning Study Plan will involve finalization of guiding principles, the preferred land use scenario and accompanying recommendations. Once the draft plan has been reviewed, the County’s formal public review process will begin, leading up to public hearings of the Planning Commission and County Board.
Study Approach: Transportation Analysis
The study will be closely coordinated with an ongoing transportation analysis that began in 2019 and will continue through 2020. The analysis focuses on a broader geographic area capturing the Pentagon City, Crystal City, and Potomac Yard neighborhoods.
- The analysis will serve as a foundational tool to help evaluate how future growth can be occur within the planning study area(JPG, 676KB).
- The analysis, largely based on comprehensive computer modeling, will also help identify opportunities to improve the surrounding multi-modal transportation system (e.g. transit, bicycle, pedestrian, shared mobility devices, etc.) to effectively mitigate additional trips generated by future development.
- Once established, the model would assist staff beyond just the purpose of this study but also with reviewing future redevelopment applications and assessing capital projects planned in the 22202 area.
Existing Conditions
Staff has already prepared a summary of existing conditions, including:
Livability Considerations
The 22202 zip code, in which the Planning Study area is located, is comprised of three active Civic Associations (Arlington Ridge, Aurora Highlands, and Crystal City), which have recently collaborated to develop a vision for a holistic approach to achieving a highly livable community. Their series of strategies, captured within a “Livability Framework” and “Livability Action Plan,” articulate a set of themes and specific elements representing the community’s collective priorities that will inform County planning efforts and the review of active and future redevelopment proposals. Additional stakeholders that will participate in this planning study include the Crystal City Citizen’s Review Council (CCCRC), Crystal City Business Improvement District (CC BID), and property owners located within the Planning Study area boundary.
Related Plans, Studies & Sites
Learn more with the documents below, and visit the Crystal City-Pentagon City Planning at a Glance page for more information.