County, Builder Agree on Swap -- Minus $25 Million

Rec Area Plans Might Be Altered

Arlington County's on-again, off-again plan to acquire a swath of land for the North Tract recreational complex is on again -- but without the $25 million that a developer had promised to pump into county coffers.

Under the unusual land swap, the county would receive the seven-acre parcel, which officials say will enhance the $135 million North Tract complex. In return, developer Monument Realty LLC would acquire five acres from the county, where it plans to build residential and office units. County officials said the project will boost the redevelopment of Crystal City. Monument had initially agreed to pay the county $25 million as part of the agreement.

The swap was announced in 2005, but Monument backed out of the deal in September because of the downturn in the condominium market. Negotiations continued, and County Manager Ron Carlee recently signed a letter of intent for the land swap. The agreement is expected to be finalized within several months, said Erik Beach, the county's North Tract project manager.

The catch: Monument will no longer hand over the $25 million, which would have been used to defray public costs for North Tract, a park and swimming complex planned for about 30 acres of industrial land just south of the 14th Street Bridge in Crystal City. County officials have hailed the project, the most expensive recreational venture in Arlington's history, as a rare chance to build a large-scale recreation complex in a county where open space is at a premium.

But North Tract is as much as two years behind schedule, and rising construction and other costs have added millions to its price tag. The loss of the $25 million, county officials said, is likely to cause changes to the first phase of the project, which was to include two soccer fields and a 50-meter pool.

Voters approved a $50 million bond for the first phase in 2004. Officials had been counting on the $25 million to push the budget for that phase to $75 million. It is likely, they added, that they will have to go back to voters to fund future phases.

"Phase 1 will have to be scaled back from what we could have spent for $75 million," said Tobin Smith, chairman of the North Tract Citizen Advisory Committee. County officials are reviewing how to proceed, and the advisory committee will meet soon to consider the issue.

The county expects to recoup some of the $25 million by selling building rights for at least 150,000 square feet of the seven-acre parcel it is acquiring. Those rights, which would allow a developer to build on that portion of the parcel, were not retained by the county under the initial agreement with Monument.

"The sale of those rights will help offset the loss of the $25 million," said Mary Curtius, a county spokeswoman, who added that the building rights "are worth millions."

The county defended the new agreement with Monument as the best deal it could obtain, and officials vowed to proceed full steam with the North Tract project. "The vision for the site remains the same," Smith said. "The voters have already committed $50 million to this project, and we can do a lot with that money. Exactly what pieces of the original vision we can keep and how we put it together are being discussed."

Russell Hines, Monument's executive vice president, said that the company is happy with the revised agreement and that it benefits both sides. As for the $25 million, Hines said: "Unfortunately, time passed, the market moved and the $25 million essentially evaporated."

Wayne Kubicki, a member of the citizens commission who has been skeptical about the project's price tag, said the revised land-swap deal "still makes sense for the county and for Monument." But he said the loss of the $25 million is an unanticipated "curveball."

"It's hard to say what will happen now," Kubicki said. "Something may have to give, at least in the short term."

The seven-acre parcel that Monument would give the county is just south of Interstate 395 near Old Jefferson Davis Highway and overlooks the Potomac River. The property is known as the Twin Bridges site because the Twin Bridges Marriott was there.

The five-acre parcel that Monument would acquire abuts the Twin Bridges property to the south.

The North Tract project was launched in 2004. When finished, the complex is expected to include a 200,000-square-foot aquatic center with a diving tower and three pools, four lighted soccer fields, basketball courts and a fitness center.