Plan Langston  Boulevard

How is Langston Boulevard Area Plan Reshaping the Corridor?

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As of September 2026, the County had approved 3 major buildouts with new site plans (and land use and zoning changes) in three separate neighborhoods along Langston Blvd.  All were shaped by the 2023 Langston Blvd Area Plan, which is a provisional framework for redevelopment of the old low-denstiy commercial corridor from Rosslyn up to but not including East Falls Church.  A fourth project is now under review.  ASF has weighed in on three of these projects to express some of the concerns that shaped our initial reactions to the plan while it was in discussion from 2021-2023 (see below for more info).  Major concerns with projects thus far include:

• poor transportation planning;

• improper award to developers of more intense land use;

• loss of affordable housing opportunities;

• lost preservation opportunity for public lands

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1501 Langston Blvd. (old Air and Space Force Association) - County Board approved (p. 1926) in September 2026 changing the land use designation from "Low" Office-Apartment-Hotel, "Medium" Residential, and "Public" to "Low" Office-Apartment-Hotel; a Major Site Plan Amendment (SP #361) for a mixed-use building with 88 condominium units, and a use permit for a new Air and Space Force Association Museum on 1.3 acres in North Highlands Civic Association.

• ASF Oral Testimony to Arlington County Board, Sep 19, 2026

• ASF Slides for Arlington County Board, Sep 19, 2026

• ASF Request for Deferral by Arlington County Board, Sep 15, 2026

• ASF Memo to Arlington Planning Commission, Sep 8, 2026

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2031 Woodrow St. (old Leckey Gardens affordable garden apartments) - County Board approved in February 2026 changing land use from “Low-Medium” Residential to “Low” Office-Apartment-Hotel, rezoning from “RA8-18” Multiple Family Dwelling District to “C-O-1.5” Mixed Use Zoning and new Site Plan (SP #482) to construct an 11-story residential building with 249 units, with 100% Committed Affordable (CAF) housing units on 1.36 acres in Waverly Hills Civic Association.

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3130 Langston Blvd. (old Walgreens) - County Board approved (p. 1186) in April 2026 changing the land use from Public/Service Commercial to “Medium” Office-Apartment-Hotel, rezoning from “C-2” Service Commercial – Community Business District to “C-O-2.5” Mixed Use Zoning, and Site Plan (SP #481) to construct a 12-story mixed-use building with 296 residential units and 8,602 square feet of ground floor retail.  The site is 1.6 acres and is in Lyon Village Civic Association.

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4500 Langston Blvd. (old Weichert Realtors) - Arlington's Site Plan Review Committee is considering a request for owners to change land use from Service Commercial” to “Low Office-Apartment-Hotel”; rezoning from “C-O” to “C-O-1.5”; and a Major Site Plan Amendment for a 7-story elder care facility and ground floor commercial use.  Most recent meeting was September 17, 2026.  The site is 32,000 ft2 and is in Waverly Hills Civic Association.

• ASF Memo to SPRC Sep 16, 2026

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What Is Plan Langston Boulevard (Or Langston Blvd Area Plan)?

In December 2023, the County Board approved a conceptual plan to significantly densify Highway 29 (Langston Blvd) with 7-15-story buildings (and very likely taller heights derived from site plan negotiations).  The LBAP is a complete overhaul of this important Arlington connector to key points west; the highway itself is controlled by Virginia and serves as an evacuation route for the nation's capital.  The overhaul provides a framework for more density and new construction on a scale rivaling early Rosslyn, except this version of "transit-oriented development" offers only bus and not Metrorail for transit. 

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The home image shows the County's early depiction of new buildout at Langston & Glebe (Lee Heights shops).  LBAP counts on developers to consolidate parcels for more density and to pursue -- in most cases -- complex amendments that will intensify land use (under the General Land Use Plan) for their parcel, adding layers to the usual site plan process.  The plan envisions adding 15,000 new residents while also slowing or "calming" traffic with no real studies of impacts on transit, traffic, and emergency evacuation.  Most sites along Langston are more than 1 mile from Metrorail, and bus transit has low uptake now.  See graphic below on 2023-transportation data; the county has not demonstrated why they believe residents will shift to bus transit as part of the new plan.  LBAP envisions much taller structures along the corridor, with major "bursts" at 7 mixed use "hubs."  One of the "hubs" (Cherrydale's "five corners" at Quincy) and two in East Falls Church are left out of the Plan. 

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