Riverfront Land Deal Collapses

In recent days, Arlington Republicans made the failed land deal an issue in the county board race, and other citizen activists have argued that it could mean further delays and added cost to a project already estimated at $135 million -- and climbing.

"By the time we get through full design and construction inflation, I will be surprised if it's not more than that," Carlee said.

In 2004, the county officially launched plans to build the sports complex on 28 acres of reclaimed industrial land north of Crystal City. When complete, the complex will have a 200,000-square-foot aquatic center with a diving tower and three pools, four lighted soccer fields, basketball courts and a fitness center, where the county's large number of young professional residents can sweat before banks of glass windows and a calming, watery view.

County voters approved a $50 million bond for the first phase of construction. That estimate has risen to $90 million in the last two years, officials said, largely because of higher costs of steel, concrete and petroleum.

When the county engineered the land swap with Monument Realty, it redrew the plans to move the main building north to the land the county still hopes to buy. The new drawings show a graceful concrete-and-glass structure reminiscent of a clamshell with a swooping metal roof.

"They told the design team to give them world-class architecture, and that costs," said Wayne Kubicki, a Republican and a member of the North Tract Design Advisory Committee.

That redesign delayed the project by six months and cost an estimated $225,000 in design fees, according to Erik Beach, the North Tract project manager for the county.

Kubicki said, "I find it very curious that the county spent appreciable funds on a design for land they never owned and now seemingly can't buy."

But Carlee said the county will buy the land and may be able to offset its cost by selling other land it owns to another developer.

The hoped-for world-class sports complex would be the first thing people see when they drive south from the District into Arlington, so the county should not miss its chance at this "gateway," Carlee argued.

"We're making a decision that defines what Arlington looks like for the next 50 years," Carlee said.