To the editor: I give you a resounding “NO” to the GazetteLeader’s editorial query: “Was observation platform’s closure good for community?”
Since 2017, the public has contributed – in grants, tax incentives, etc. – at least $21 million in cash and benefits to attract a Central Place Tower tenant (CEB/Corporate Executive Board) and now new-owner CoStar.
Public access to Central Place’s observation deck (located at 1201 Wilson Blvd.) was intended to be a “perpetual” community benefit to replace the loss of the sorely-needed Rosslyn parkland originally planned for this site.
Accepting just under $14 million for an irreplaceable public benefit makes no sense. All the expensive, tarted-up “amenities” added to Gateway Park won’t change the fact that there will now be even LESS public open space in Rosslyn.
This permanent, site-plan-mandated community benefit also was proffered in exchange for the County Board’s granting the parcel’s developer a huge density increase, thereby increasing the building’s height to make it the then-tallest tower in Rosslyn. So tall that it narrowed the airspace available to airplanes forced to divert from National to Dulles Airport for emergency landings due to mechanical failure.
As the Arlington County Board’s largess to developers is legendary, continually lining corporate pockets at the public’s expense is unnecessary. Tellingly, County Board members worry that developers aren’t receiving sufficient handouts, while they show little concern about liquidating scarce public benefits.
It’s not the first time important site-plan community benefits have been lost. In 2017, the County Board allowed Forest City (which launched Ballston Common Mall’s ill-advised makeover) to demolish Ballston’s Festival Bridge (a community benefit complete with public art), only to spend over $4 million to replace it.
So why jettison observation-deck access? Especially when the county hasn’t collected a penny in real-estate taxes on Central Place’s office tower since its completion in 2018?
The answer likely lies in a Washington Business Journal article, published the week after the property changed hands, where CoStar’s CEO hints at plans to flip Central Place for profit. “Perpetual” public access to the observation deck is unlikely to be a strong selling point to a future buyer. Eliminating that impediment, topped with an extra $7 million in public “tax and economic incentives”gravy, keeps CoStar happy.
It pays to remember that density increases last forever, but community benefits not so much.
Suzanne Smith Sundburg, Arlington
