Brownfields Success Story:
Clarendon Triangle / Jefferson at Clarendon Centre

Since the early 1920's, the 1.4 acre Clarendon Triangle site located in Arlington, Virginia had hosted a mix of residential and commercial use. The property had previously been occupied by several gasoline distribution stations, a car wash, an automobile dealership, and an office building. By the late 1980's, however, the site had become dilapidated and largely vacant.

Starting in the late 1990's, the surrounding Arlington area had begun to experience significant revitalization due to market forces and "smart growth" initiatives. The Virginia DEQ Northern Virginia Regional Office (NVRO) was notified of redevelopment plans for the Clarendon Triangle property. The proposed Jefferson at Clarendon Centre planned community included urban residential apartments combined with street level retail space. As with most urban redevelopment, environmental issues due to past property uses were a major obstacle to the realization of the proposed community.

To resolve these issues, the property owner (JPI Apartment Development, LP), their consultants (Environmental Consultants and Contractors), and their lending institution (First Union) worked extensively with DEQ NVRO on a variety of environmental, regulatory, and financial issues prior to the start of redevelopment. Before construction was initiated, a Corrective Action Plan to address documented petroleum contamination and worker safety was formulated and approved, discharge permits were issued to handle treated excavation water, and reimbursement from the Virginia Petroleum Storage Tank Fund was approved for certain remedial activities. During redevelopment activities, additional site areas of petroleum contamination were discovered. By working closely with DEQ NVRO, the unexpected contamination was successfully incorporated into the existing workplan. As a result, the impacted materials were properly addressed; the environment benefited from the additional cleanup, and no additional construction time was lost due to environmental conditions.

By late April 2002, the foundation and subsurface structure of the residential and commercial building had been completed, and the environmental issues were successfully resolved. Construction continues on the above ground portion, with opening of the community planned for April 2003.

JPI Apartment Development, LP (JPI), the property owner, specializes in the acquisition, development, construction and management of luxury residential communities throughout the United States. The redevelopment of the Clarendon Triangle site will positively reinvigorate a formerly blighted area into a functional community combining the best of urban residential and functional retail uses. This $47,000,000 investment in the Arlington community will also provide full time employment for 50 individuals, 2600 temporary jobs and provide for a long term, improved tax base for the community.

Environmental Consultants and Contractors (ECC), the environmental consultant, is a consulting firm located in Northern Virginia. ECC has provided environmental consulting, management, remediation design and installation, and field services to a wide variety of national and local clients since inception in 1986. During this time, ECC has and continues to work with VDEQ NVRO on a wide variety of regulated and hazardous waste sites.