"Found Object" Fence near TR Island

[dbb]

It seems that the assessed value (about $500K for a half acre) reflects the undevelopable nature of the property. My 1/6 acre piece of heaven is assessed at considerably more (per acre) because of its potential. My neighbor has about 50% more land but his land assessment is only marginally higher because like me, only one house can be built on each lot. He just has a bigger one house lot.

Maybe they have been lobbying for the Key Bridge boathouse option that would make their investment good.

[rcannon100]

It’s assessed at $619,600 . That is almost as much as my house up in Lee Heights! And just about the same amount of land – undeveloped. And you are right, Mark. They have been paying taxes on this every year!!! In the Rosslyn BID even! Are they nuts? Is some accountant just paying the bill, not realizing what they are paying? Or I guess someone thinks its an investment. It has increased in value $100,000 in 10 years. That is a pretty good investment.

Yes, Dana – it would be interesting to do some cross referencing to see who is behind the “Boathouse in Arlington movement cause our kids who jog 2.5 miles from Washington and Lee HS cant cross the Key Bridge”

And yes, that is exactly where our friend has his camp. I say we help him harden his camp so that it can last 15 years!

[dbb]

Rode by today. The gent living there appears to be a fellow cyclist as I saw a fellow with a loaded mountain bike riding down the driveway.

The constructed wall seems to have expanded. The area on the trail side of the constructed wall was cleaner than any other part of the trail.

[Vicegrip]

I hope his construction does not grow to the point that someone feels the need to take action.

Reminds me of a bower bird nest in a way.

[rcannon100]

He’s a latino and he doesnt ride a bike. There is a homeless guy who sleeps under the elevated walkway, near the Marriott, that has a mountain bike. Maybe it was him.

[KLizotte]

I saw him yesterday afternoon at TR Island scouring the area around the parking lot looking for long straight pieces of wood that had fallen and useful bits of trash. He was very intent in his searching.

[fuzzy]

Looks like a scene where a 19 year old girl would get snatched by some guy who wants it to put the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again…… Or a set extra of that M. Night Shyamalan movie… The Village?

[JorgeGortex]

All,

I am pretty familiar with this little spit of land and its surroundings. It is indeed a mixture of private, state, and NPS. NPS had a service depot there, which is now gone. The private piece of land was once larger. When I-66 came into being, VA State took it as part of imminent domain to build the off ramps from 66 to Lynn St. They never used all the land. The land owner successfully sued for the return of the land they did not use. He then wanted to develop the parcel as a luxury apartment building. That was quickly shot down by the county. He then started negotiating on something smaller like condos or town homes. He did approach the Arlington Boathouse Foundation about working with them to build a structure that would accommodate their goals to build a community boathouse. The hurdles were still with the county who did not want anything private and large built on such a public site. Eventually the land owner gave up on developing the site and would now like to sell the property to the county and recoup a good portion of its value, which he has every right to. The owner and the county are still discussing. The boathouse foundation still would like to work with the county and the NPS to build a facility, using in part, that privately owned area. Hopefully someone will come to some sort of agreement so the project can move forward. Till then, its the little art project and home that could.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@JorgeGortex 45358 wrote:

All,

I am pretty familiar with this little spit of land and its surroundings. It is indeed a mixture of private, state, and NPS. NPS had a service depot there, which is now gone. The private piece of land was once larger. When I-66 came into being, VA State took it as part of imminent domain to build the off ramps from 66 to Lynn St. They never used all the land. The land owner successfully sued for the return of the land they did not use. He then wanted to develop the parcel as a luxury apartment building. That was quickly shot down by the county. He then started negotiating on something smaller like condos or town homes. He did approach the Arlington Boathouse Foundation about working with them to build a structure that would accommodate their goals to build a community boathouse. The hurdles were still with the county who did not want anything private and large built on such a public site. Eventually the land owner gave up on developing the site and would now like to sell the property to the county and recoup a good portion of its value, which he has every right to. The owner and the county are still discussing. The boathouse foundation still would like to work with the county and the NPS to build a facility, using in part, that privately owned area. Hopefully someone will come to some sort of agreement so the project can move forward. Till then, its the little art project and home that could.

Screw the boathouse…build the Velodrome!!

[consularrider]

@TwoWheelsDC 45359 wrote:

Screw the boathouse…build the Velodrome!!

You’ve already got the banking for one side.

[KWL]

@JorgeGortex 45358 wrote:

The boathouse foundation still would like to work with the county and the NPS to build a facility, using in part, that privately owned area.

I don’t understand the boathouse part of this. Isn’t this parcel of land land-locked with access to the Potomac blocked by the GW Parkway?

[dbb]

Here are a couple of links to the earlier discussions and the scoping for the NPS Environmental Impact Statement for the boathouse. Remember the NPS was considering a number of alternatives and no location or specific design had been proposed. I’d characterize the NPS question that was asked as “If we were going to put a rowing facility on this side of the Potomac, what locations should be considered?”

They had considered the issue a long time ago and wanted to update the study. As I recall, the landlocked area would support a building so the shoreline construction requirements would be minimized.

Here are some forum links that explain the issue and a link to the NPS site (there is more on the forum if you search “boathouse”)

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?2571-Arlington-Boathouse-EIS-Request-for-Comments&highlight=boathouse

http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=13418

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?2797-Potomac-River-Rowing-Boathouse-National-Park-Service-Study&highlight=boathouse

[JorgeGortex]

Lovely. How thoughtful.

[JorgeGortex]

It is indeed landlocked. However, the preferred option for the project would have one part, say locker rooms, classrooms, etc. on the slice we’ve been discussing, and equipment storage and docks below at water level. Users would access the lower area via the current bridge or a new, additional bridge. Details TBD.

[JorgeGortex]

@TwoWheelsDC 45359 wrote:

Screw the boathouse…build the Velodrome!!

Lovely. Very thoughtful post. Thanks.

[Author]

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