The Arlington City Council has approved a long-term public-private agreement that will convert the largest remaining surface parking area in central Downtown into a mixed-use development anchored by new civic and private uses. The action sets the stage for a redevelopment program that will replace a predominantly parking-focused site with residential, office, retail and structured parking, while also delivering new public facilities and infrastructure for the city.
Under the terms described, Trammell Crow Company will assemble and acquire the privately owned parcels required for the project and then convey those properties to the City of Arlington. The city will retain ownership of the underlying land and will ground lease the development site back to Trammell Crow Company for a 99-year term, allowing the municipality to maintain long-term control of the real estate while enabling private development activity on the site.
The planned project is located around the City Office Tower near Abram and Mesquite streets in central Downtown. The program calls for at least 390 market-rate residential units, creating a significant new housing component in the city center. In addition, the development will include 31,250 square feet of office space, as well as at least 8,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, bringing a mix of daytime and evening uses to an area that is currently dominated by surface parking.
Structured parking is a major part of the plan, with a 600-space garage anticipated to serve both the development and the broader Downtown area. This shift from surface parking fields to structured parking is intended to support higher-intensity land use while maintaining public access to parking in the core area. Trammell Crow Company is required to invest at least $123 million in the overall development, underscoring the scale of the transformation envisioned for this central site.
As part of the partnership, Arlington will gain multiple new city-owned assets. The city will acquire the land underlying the development as a permanent public asset. The agreement also delivers a new 31,250-square-foot office facility for the city’s Water Utilities Department within the project, consolidating municipal space needs into the broader mixed-use program. In addition, the city will receive significant new public infrastructure associated with the development, though specific infrastructure components were not detailed in the available information.
By combining new residential, office, retail and public uses on land that currently functions largely as surface parking, the agreement between Arlington and Trammell Crow Company represents a substantial reallocation of a key Downtown site. The structure of the 99-year ground lease keeps the city in a long-term ownership position while enabling private capital to fund vertical development and new public facilities.
