Mixed-use redevelopment in commercial districts is leading to the continued decline in the amount of available commercial space in Arlington.
For example, take the Toraya block, at 882-892 Massachusetts Avenue. Before the single-story commercial building was redeveloped as mixed-use, it provided five store fronts with 5000 square feet of commercial space. The new four-story building offers only 1300 square feet of commercial space. This is a loss of 74% of the original building’s business space.
882-892 Massachusetts Avenue, formerly known as “the Toraya block”
What is “mixed-use” development?
Mixed-use development simply means that a building has multiple uses, such as office space and retail space. Sometimes it is used to describe a multi-story building with commercial use on the ground floor and residential use on the upper floors.