Arlington, like many local jurisdictions, depend on commercial development to fund the county’s needs. The increase in commercial vacancies has been problematic in Arlington and the article indicates that high vacancies may continue until 2023.
- If this is occurring in a neighboring jurisdiction that is very similar to FCC, what might we learn from this issue?
- The Arlington Economic Development Chief indicates that converting commercial property to residential brings in less revenue than commercial properties: “he cautioned that the conversions trigger more government services for residents and bring in less revenue than commercial properties.”
The community is looking at ways to incorporate more commercial properties to help pay for a new GMHS. This article is timely as the community meets to determine how FCC is going to pay for the infrastructure. If Arlington, which is much larger than FCC, has so many vacancies, it makes me wonder how we could similarly be effected. Additionally, has anyone noticed that all of Tinner Hill commercial space is still vacant? I think we need to re-think how we are going to get revenues or better yet, come up with ways to cut back our expenses.
Fauquier county (Middleburg) has a lot of vacant spaces also. Reasons cited were
rents are too high,
vendors can’t generate enough revenue to pay themselves and all their expenses and
lack of parking and too much traffic.
Here’s the link to the article: http://www.fauquier.com/news/perfect-storm-leaves-middleburg-grappling-with-empty-storefronts/article_14392334-e830-11e6-bbce-77540f1baf6f.html