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From YouTube: State of the County 2018 | Arlington, VA
Description
On June 28, 2018, at the Arlington Chamber of Commerce State of the County event, County Board Chair Katie Cristol gave keynote remarks highlighting the economic and development status of Arlington. In her remarks, Cristol discussed her main initiatives, which include affordable housing, child care accessibility, transportation, and planning the development of Lee Highway.
A
A
An
optimism,
in
other
words,
is
really
just
not
the
new
black,
but
I
would
like
to
take
a
moment
to
be
unfashionable
this
morning
and
to
be
optimistic
and
I
believe
that
I'm
in
the
right
company
to
do
that
here
with
our
public
safety
leaders,
who
represent
the
potential
of
one
individual,
to
improve
the
lives
of
others,
and
here
with
chamber
members
and
entrepreneurs.
Your
livelihoods
are
literally
premise
on
a
positive
outlook
about
the
future.
So
good
morning
to
you,
my
fellow
optimists,
the
state
of
our
county
is
strong.
A
A
We
have
reason
to
be
concerned
about
the
continuing
office
vacancy
rate
in
Arlington
County,
despite
the
incredibly
aggressive
efforts
of
our
talented
economic
development
team
who
have
helped
seal
deals
to
either
fill
or
retain
more
than
5.3
million
square
feet
of
office
in
since
2015.
Our
vacancy
rate
nevertheless
was
back
up
at
the
end
of
last
year
to
19.3%
at
times
all
of
our
efforts
to
diversify
our
economy.
It
can
feel
like
we
are
shoveling
the
driveway.
In
the
middle
of
a
snowstorm,
we
celebrate
the
arrival
of
Nestle
the
decision
to
relocate
Gerber
the
attraction.
A
The
retention
of
fast-growing
and
rapidly
expanding
startups,
and
yet
it
feels
like
we
can
barely
keep
up
as
federal
tenants
following
the
directives
of
the
General
Services
Administration
to
seek
the
lowest
possible
rent
move
out.
But
if
Richard
and
Freddie
are
willing
to
bet
on
the
future
of
office,
tenants
hungry
for
lunch
and
ready
for
office
and
ready
for
happy
hour
in
Columbia
Pike
and
in
Crystal
City
than
I
am
too
and
in
Rosslyn
and
Boston
and
beyond,
because
our
fundamentals
are
so
strong
in
Arlington
County.
A
Whatever
choice
Amazon
ultimately
makes
about
HQ
and
no
I'm
sorry,
but
I
am
NOT
here
to
break
any
news
this
morning.
Their
search
means
that
the
national
spotlight
has
found
Arlington
County.
It's
found
our
highly
educated
workforce,
our
excellent
transportation
infrastructure,
our
great
public
spaces.
We
have
the
right
team
in
place
and
the
right
private
sector
partners
to
turn
that
attention
into
new
office
tenants
without
selling
out
our
tax
base,
and
we
are
making
progress
on
our
goal
of
making
it
easier
to
do
business
in
Arlington
County.
A
But
the
road
and
the
load,
the
road
to
a
lower
vacancy
rate,
isn't
an
express
route,
and
so
this
community
must
be
in
it
for
the
long
haul,
we're
bracing
ourselves
potentially
for
further
service
cuts
for
tax
rate
increases
and
possibly
both
as
we
seek
to
restore
our
commercial
tax
race.
Nevertheless,
I
am
joining
entrepreneurs
like
Richard
Arnaz,
embedding
on
Arlington's
economic
future.
The
second
reason
that
I
am
optimistic
is
Jack
Hastings
and
Jack
Hastings
grandson.
First,
our
community
is
growing
in
population
and
density.
A
It's
no
secret
that
how
we
are
preparing
for
our
growth
or
managing
the
growth
that
we've
already
seen
engender
some
of
the
most
controversial
conversations
and
decisions
in
our
community.
We
have
growing
pains
finding
the
capital
dollars
to
support
an
incredibly
aggressive
school
building
program,
for
example,
or
making
siting
decisions
for
highly
needed,
yet
not
always
popular
infrastructure
uses.
These
have
characterized.
A
These
debates
have
characterized
much
of
our
2018,
but,
as
many
of
you
all
know,
and
some
of
you
attended,
my
colleagues
in
Allah
and
I,
along
with
our
citizen,
Commissioner
leaders,
hosted
a
series
of
Big
Idea
roundtables
this
past
month
past
month
to
encourage
residents
to
talk
to
one
another
about
the
big
picture
of
growth
in
Arlington
County
and
our
hopes
and
concerns.
When
it
comes
to
it.
There
was,
of
course,
plenty
of
concern
expressed,
but
there
was
a
lot
of
hope
articulated
too,
and
Jack
Hastings
was
one
individual.
A
He
lives
in
the
Woodmont
neighborhood
has
for
decades.
He
talked
about
the
experience
of
recently
seeing
his
neighborhood
through
the
eyes
of
his
grandson,
a
little
boy
visiting
from
New
York,
who
is
used
to
seeing
a
much
greater
mix
of
neighbors
from
across
economic
classes
from
all
all
within
a
block
or
two
of
his
house,
and
this
experience
had
prompted
Jack
to
reflect
and
to
share
with
us
on
our
big
idea,
Roundtable
on
his
much-loved
home
and
neighborhood,
and
how
it
could
actually
be
home
to
future
middle-class
owners
like
teachers
and
firefighters.
A
The
enthusiasm
for
this
idea
throughout
the
big
idea
conversations.
It
really
left
me
with
a
lot
of
optimism
about
this
community's
readiness
to
tackle
the
changes
to
our
ordinance
that
will
be
required
to
realize
Jack's
vision
and
to
enable
a
future
that
includes
families,
owners
and
residents
all
across
the
income
spectrum.
This
is
related
to
one
of
our
key
priorities
for
2018,
which
will
be
launching
in
just
the
next
month
or
two
or
a
couple
of
months,
rather
the
Lee
Highway
planning
initiative.
A
This
has
been
a
top
priority
for
me
and
for
the
entirety
of
the
county
board
and
in
fact
we
were
able
to
nearly
fully
fund
this
planning
process
during
this
calendar
to
begin
this
calendar
year.
Despite
proposed
budget
cuts,
the
study
is
going
to
focus
on
resolute
residential
opportunities
for
missing
middle
housing,
like
I've
just
described
as
well
is
the
major
commercial
opportunities
along
one
of
the
last
unplanned
major
corridors
in
Arlington.
We
know
that
this
analysis
is
overdue,
that
residents
and
property
owners
are
all
in
eager
to
re-envision
lee
highway.
A
Our
staff
are
currently
reviewing
reviewing
proposals
and
we
aim
to
kick
this
process
off
in
September
beyond
Lee
highway.
Of
course,
the
big
idea
roundtables
underscored
that
we
cannot
lose
sight
of
affordability
as
the
fundamental
challenge
in
Arlington's
future
and,
as
members
of
the
chamber
know,
housing
affordability
is
a
prerequisite
if
Arlington
County
can
continue
to
be
a
magnet
from
entrepreneurs,
talent
and
workers
from
around
the
u.s.
and
the
world.
A
Action
from
the
General
Assembly
in
April
brought
dedicated
Metro
funding,
a
commitment,
the
district
and
Maryland
soon
matched
and
a
commitment
that
will
put
this
system,
which
is
the
backbone
of
the
regional
economy,
on
steadier
footing
and
a
long-run
path
to
the
state
of
good
repair.
But
this
historic
milestone
has
come
at
an
incredibly
steep
cost.
The
state
funding
package
includes
a
significant
amount
of
regional
funding,
diverted
from
highway
and
transit
projects
throughout
local
throughout
Northern
Virginia,
and
it
comes
at
a
steep
demand
for
local
funding,
for
a
frame
of
reference.
A
Arlington
share
per
the
new
agreement
is
about
a
hundred
and
eight
million
dollars
in
new
contributions
and
lost
transportation
fundings
over
the
10-year
life
of
our
capital
improvement
plan.
That's
more
than
300
million
dollars
altogether
over
that
ten-year
CIP.
So
if
you
followed
that
CIP
and
your
issue
of
interest,
whether
it's
schools,
investment
parks,
neighborhood
conservation,
major
improvements
in
the
Crystal
City
area,
if
those
have
felt
squeezed,
that's
why
a
hundred
and
eight
million
dollars
because
of
the
General
Assembly
funding
package
and
I,
want
to
emphasize
that
because
we
need
the
Chamber's
continued
partnership.
A
The
chamber
was
an
amazing
player.
This
past
General
Assembly
session
in
realizing
dedicated
funding,
but
we
are
not
done.
The
governor
has
just
this
week
pledged
to
revisit
the
issue
of
funding
sources
and
Northern
Virginia
localities,
along
with
our
partners
of
the
chamber,
are
aligned
in
ensuring
that
we
that
we
have
a
package
that
sustains
Metro
without
cannibalizing.
A
The
rest
of
our
future
and
also
costly,
although
less
quantifiable
with
the
state
legislation,
sidelines
some
of
wadis,
most
effective
voices
and
arlington
Alexandria's
representation
on
the
board
by
reducing
the
role
of
alternates
in
an
otherwise
worthy
pursuit
of
a
more
effective
board.
So
why
be
optimistic
because
to
reach
even
this
milestone,
it
required
nearly
unprecedented
collaboration
from
across
the
Northern
Virginia
region
and
to
go
forward.
Has
the
potential
to
engender
even
greater
collaboration,
still
the
watershed.
A
It's
a
testament
to
his
effectiveness
and
his
reputation
across
the
Metro
compact
jurisdictions
and
all
together.
This
is
a
unifying
moment
for
a
region.
It's
also
a
moment
where
the
entirety
of
Northern
Virginia
has
recognized
the
importance
of
transit
and
the
face
of
that
change.
Of
that
recognition
looks
like
Michelle
Fernandes.
She
is
a
young
transplant
from
New
York
City,
who
came
to
this
area
to
work
as
a
librarian
and
chose
to
live
in
Arlington
because
of
our
transits
options.
A
It
was
to
feel,
of
course,
extraordinary
pride
in
Arlington
County,
but
it
was
also
to
see
in
one
upbeat
and
compelling
young
advocate
the
future
of
our
whole
region
with
respect
to
transportation
opportunities
and
the
fruition
of
our
hard-fought
and
collective
regional
efforts
to
shore
up
LaMotta,
which
will
continue
and
so
I
get
the
cynicism.
I
share
it
too.
When
it
comes
the
national
level
at
times
and
I
know
that
here
locally,
our
challenges
are
at
risk
of
dividing
us.