Arlington County leaders are exploring a concept called "missing middle" that could increase the number of available homes in the market, but opponents say it won't solve the problem of skyrocketing costs.
Realtor Blake Davenport says the average sales price this year for a single-family home in Arlington is just shy of $1.2 million.
“You can get a fixer-upper in the 700s to 800s, so you're gonna need a decent amount of money," he said.
Part of the problem is Arlington housing is at capacity.
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"There aren't enough homes for people here, and that's a problem, because when supply isn't anywhere near demand, only the wealthiest can thrive," Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol said.
Cristol and the board are working on a contentious solution. Arlington is weighing the idea of a concept called “missing middle,” where the county might rezone neighborhoods exclusively reserved for single-family homes and allow developers to build low-rise, multi-unit structures – a duplex upwards of eight-plex.
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"Anything that we can do to introduce other price points within these single-family neighbors will expand housing choice to a wider range of people," said Michael Spotts of Neighborhood Fundamentals.
On Saturday, as the county board heard public comment on the plan to build more of this housing, opposing views claimed their respective real estate outside on Courthouse Plaza.
“We constantly see the rising price of housing and know, if we wanted to live here, we could never do so on our salaries," Bryan Coleman, a supporter of the plan, said.
But opponents doubt that a developer flipping a $1 million lot into multiple units will make home ownership noticeably more attainable. They say it misses the mark: There’s less than 4,000 acres of vacant developable property according to county numbers, and new construction would be required to create that middle.
“It’s the lowest-cost housing that’s going to be torn to make these $1.1, $1.5 million townhouses. So you’re clearing the lower-cost housing out of the market for more expensive,” John Ware, of Arlingtonians for a Sustainable Future, said.
"Really isn't gonna be affordable except to higher income people, so it isn't gonna solve the problem," said Peter Rousselot of Arlingtonians for Our Sustainable Future.
Some of the properties could become condos, creating ownership opportunities. Still, the plan’s zoning changes could shape the character of Arlington for decades to come.
“Character continues to change in our neighborhoods. We need to take a methodical approach, and that’s what missing middle will attempt to do,” Julius Spain, a proponent of the plan and president of the Arlington NAACP, said.
It’s still a plan in progress, and neither side says it’s a panacea. The county board is expected to vote on the plan later this fall.
