From the Director: Our Shifting Workplace & Post-Pandemic Recovery (2)

October 5, 2022 | By Shannon Flanagan-Watson

Part Two: Fostering Commercial Market Resiliency

Last month in this column, we discussed Arlington’s shifting office market and the challenges we face with high vacancies and the trend of remote work and shrinking office footprints. We need to adapt to these challenges with flexibility and ensure our business community is well connected to the resources and assets that make Arlington a great place to do business.

Fostering Commercial Market Resiliency

These unprecedented times require a different approach — a proactive one to embrace emerging uses in the marketplace and streamline processes. To be competitive and more resilient, we must be more nimble with rapidly changing market conditions.

As part of our commercial market resiliency efforts, we are enhancing regulatory flexibility to expand the number of allowable uses within commercial buildings to adapt to market demands and shifts quickly. As part of an initial pilot, micro-fulfillment uses (last-mile delivery) within internal commercial spaces are currently being proposed for County Board consideration during its meeting in October.

Also in October, we are requesting to advertise for County Board consideration in January other uses that are not in the Zoning Ordinance today or require more streamlined approval processes, including colleges and universities, urban agriculture, maker spaces, animal boarding, and breweries/distilleries. As we consider other proposed zoning changes in the coming months, we welcome your ideas and input on existing and new uses for consideration within commercial spaces.

What we do know is that we need to keep the lines of communication open within our commercial real estate market and look for new opportunities for partnership within our business community. We know that the office market and how companies utilize office space has changed, and we expect to see those changes continue — perhaps permanently.

At a recent meeting with some of Arlington’s largest property owners, we heard that larger tenants are still uncertain about their return-to-work plans, and those who have returned are specifically seeking more of a mixed-use environment for their employees. This kind of dialogue helps us all as we move forward. We look forward to continuing this dialogue while taking action on some of these potential creative uses for space.

Future of Outdoor Dining

We are also taking action regarding the future of our dining establishments – particularly options for outdoor dining. The County recently initiated a Future of Outdoor Dining (FOOD) Study to look at lessons learned from the Temporary Outdoor Seating Areas (TOSA) experience and identify recommended amendments to the Zoning Ordinance and Outdoor Café Guidelines to strike an appropriate balance between commercial resiliency and public interest. We understand restaurants require outdoor dining options to compensate for lost indoor dining seats due to post-pandemic consumer preferences and that many customers’ outlook on outdoor dining remains positive.

We need to find common ground to meet that demand while also ensuring the mobility needs of the public and recreation needs of those enjoying public spaces. This six-month study will engage businesses, residents and other stakeholders to inform the future rules and guidelines for permanent outdoor cafes. As one way to share your feedback, we invite you to complete this online survey.

These efforts are laying the necessary groundwork to ensure that Arlington’s business community, from offices to restaurants and more, not only grows and succeeds, but also offers new resources and opportunities for companies considering Arlington as their new home.