2700 South Nelson Project

Location

2700 South Nelson Street/2701 South Oakland Street, Arlington, VA 22206  View Map

Status

Board Approval: The Arlington County Board approved the County’s purchase of two parcels at 2700 South Nelson Street and 2701 South Oakland Street in April 2021. At that time, staff were directed to plan scenarios for potential future uses for the site.

Demolition: March - Summer 2023

Community Engagement: In collaboration with public art and placemaking firm Graham Projects, the County worked with community stakeholders to conduct a series of engagement conversations to help build a framework for potential site uses and ideas.

• Project Kickoff Meeting: Tuesday, May 10, 7-8:30pm, via Zoom
• Pop-Up Engagement Event: Thursday, May 19, 3-5pm, Pedestrian Bridge @ Arlington Mill Drive
• Pop-Up Engagement Event: Thursday, May 29, 6-8pm, New District Brewing (2709 S Oakland St)

Residents were also encouraged to submit their ideas and feedback online. The feedback form closed May 31, 2022. The 2700 S Nelson St Placemaking Plan: Community Engagement Data Analysis(PDF, 4MB) report examines the results of these community engagement strategies.

Based on the needs and ideas shared by community stakeholders, the artists and designers at Graham Projects created two design concepts. The feedback form closed November 21, 2022. 

About the Project

The 2700 South Nelson Project is planned to replace the two buildings recently acquired by Arlington County at 2700 South Nelson Street and 2701 South Oakland Street with a temporary flexible outdoor arts and maker space. The County purchased two parcels of land (2700 South Nelson/2701 South Oakland) in April 2021. The acquisition of the property aligns with multiple goals of several adopted plans and policies, including the 2018 Four Mile Run Valley Area Plan that proposed a vision of a larger Arts & Industry District for the area. The area offers a mix of arts, creative activities, industrial, service and production uses. A vision for an arts and industry district was outlined by a County Board appointed group of citizens and can be found in The SNAIQ: Report from the Arts District Committee.

Additionally, the purchase aligns with the County’s Public Spaces Master Plan and the Arlington Arts and Culture Strategy, all of which look for temporary or “pop-up” uses of space for the availability of public art or other cultural opportunities.

The County has partnered with public art and placemaking consultants Graham Projects, who is joining community conversations to help develop a vision for the site.

About the Process

Cultural Affairs would like to thank everyone who participated in the Public Engagement process of the project. In total, the Graham Projects design team and Arlington County officials engaged nearly 400 participants through several outreach strategies; including targeted meetings with key stakeholder groups, a public virtual Kick Off Presentation, two in-person Pop-Ups reaching residents at popular gathering spots, and an online Engagement Web Page where folks could respond to different examples of public art and placemaking; and share their ideas for colors, thematic inspiration, local history, and on-site programming.

The 2700 S Nelson St Placemaking Plan: Community Engagement Data Analysis(PDF, 4MB) report examines the results of these community engagement strategies. The prevailing public preferences represented in the Image Voting, Color options, Open-Ended Survey Questions, and Community Inspiration all served to inform the designs that Graham Projects and team developed and shared back with Arlington County and the public for further feedback. This process will lead to a final design to transform the site into an inclusive outdoor public space for arts programming and performances driven by and serving the community.

Updates

April 2021 Arlington County Board approves acquisition of the land parcels at 2700 S. Nelson/2701 S. Oakland (View Report(PDF, 1MB))

November 2021 Graham Projects awarded bid through competitive selection as a creative placemaking firm on the project

May 2022 Graham Projects and Arlington County Cultural Affairs sought community input for developing design proposals

September 2022 Graham Projects analyzed the data collected from several community engagement strategies (View Report(PDF, 4MB))

October/November 2022 Graham Projects and Arlington County Cultural Affairs sought community input on potential design concepts

February 2023 Arlington County shared the site demolition plans during the monthly Green Valley Civic Association meeting (View Slides(PDF, 581KB))

Project Timeline

Spring 2022: Public Engagement
Summer 2022: Creative Placemaking Plan
Spring - Summer 2023: Demolition of Existing Buildings
Fall 2023 - Spring 2024: Installation
Spring/Summer 2024: Opening

Past Meetings

Project Kick Off Meeting (Virtual)
Tuesday, May 10
7:00 to 8:30pm
Project Kick Off Meeting Recording

Pop-Up Engagement Event
Pedestrian Bridge @ Arlington Mill Drive
Thursday, May 19
3:00 to 5:00pm

Pop-Up Engagement Event
New District Brewing
2709 S Oakland St
Thursday, May 26
6:00 to 8:00pm