Plans to expand WETA's Shirlington offices are moving forward.
Rendering of the planned expansion to WETA's building in Shirlington(via Arlington County)
The public broadcaster has been seeking to construct a four-story addition between its current headquarter office building, at 3939 Campbell Avenue, and its above-ground parking garage. According to county documents, the 17,000 square foot addition would then house the WETA studios and around 130 employees that produce the national PBS NewsHour broadcast.
The current studios, on 27th Street S. near the Weenie Beanie, are set to be bought by Arlington County and later torn down to expand the soon-to-be-renovated Jennie Dean Park.
A report by the Washington Business Journal in December said that Arlington County will pay WETA $8 million for the property and offer some economic development incentives for the broadcaster to stay in Arlington and expand its offices.
“The goal is to bring the Purchase and Sale Agreement for the WETA Studio property, and the Economic Development Incentives agreement between WETA and the County, to the Board concurrently,” a county spokeswoman told ARLnow this afternoon. “We anticipate these items will go to the County Board this spring — April or shortly after.”
She continued to say that the site plan amendment for the WETA expansion is set to be discussed by Arlington’s Site Plan Review Committee on Monday and that public hearings and County Board consideration is expected later this spring, “shortly after the two aforementioned agreements are approved.”
Charity W. is a professional and skilled writer with a diploma in Mass Communication. When she is not glued to her computer screen, Charity spends her time reading, traveling, and watching movies. She is an expert on Arlington Virginia and keeps current with local events and occurrences.
