DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY PLANNING, HOUSING & DEVELOPMENT

Historic Preservation Program, Neighborhood Services Division

2100 Clarendon Boulevard Suite 700 Arlington, VA 22201 TEL 703.228.3830 www.arlingtonva.us

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Background: HALRB Process to Date On June 23, 2016, the HALRB received a request to study the Westover neighborhood for consideration as a local historic district (Figure 1: Westover National Register Historic District Boundary). Three community meetings have been held to date:

1. Arlington County hosted an informational meeting for property owners on July 21, 2016; 2. The Westover Civic Association hosted its own community meeting on September 7, 2016; and 3. The HALRB held its first public hearing on November 30, 2016.

At the November 2016 HALRB hearing, the board found that the proposed Westover Study Area met at least two criteria for local historic district designation, namely Criteria A and B, listed in Section 11.3.4.A.6 of the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO). The HALRB, however, directed the Historic Preservation Program (HPP) staff to study the historic significance of only the garden apartment buildings in Westover and to do so concurrently with the County’s Housing and Planning staff who are creating zoning tools and proposals for the preservation of market rate affordable housing throughout the County (including in Westover). As established in the Affordable Housing Master Plan (adopted by the County Board in 2015), it is the County’s policy to “make every reasonable effort to prevent the loss of market-rate affordable housing” and to “encourage the construction and preservation of affordable rental housing through land use/zoning policy, financial, and technical assistance.” As a result, in December 2017 the County Board adopted the first phase of the Housing Conservation District (HCD) study, including the associated HCD Policy Framework, text and map amendments to the General Land Use Plan (GLUP), and a Zoning Ordinance amendment to reclassify townhouse development as a special exception use requiring site plan approval within the HCD. The purpose of the HCD is to encourage the retention of housing affordability (and in some cases the physical preservation of historic buildings) by allowing a context-appropriate spectrum of development options, ranging from renovation and additions to infill and redevelopment in exchange for dedicated affordable housing units. The second phase of the HCD study continues through 2018 and will pursue a Zoning Ordinance amendment that would allow minor additions to apartment buildings/complexes, as well as options for additional density through infill, partial development, and full redevelopment with defined affordability requirements. The HALRB has been monitoring progress by participating in regular meetings of the HCD Advisory Group and providing feedback regarding historic preservation.

To: Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) From: Historic Preservation Program Staff Subject: Westover Local Historic District Designation Request Date: May 8, 2018

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Since the last HALRB hearing, the HPP staff has: 1) performed a reconnaissance level architectural survey update of the garden apartments in Westover; 2) prepared background information and analysis on the development of the garden apartments in Westover; and 3) assisted and continues to provide support to the Housing and Planning staff on the development and implementation of the HCD study Countywide. Please note that the creation of a full local historic district designation report with draft design guidelines has been tabled until further guidance is provided by the HALRB. Background: Westover Study Area Westover is primarily a residential neighborhood with a prominent commercial corridor. While the topography consists of rolling hills and clusters of woodland, the residential streets are lined with Colonial Revival-styled single-family dwellings, duplexes, and garden apartments. Commercial and public buildings such as the Westover Shopping Center, Claude A. Swanson Junior High School1, and Westover Baptist Church are sited along Washington Boulevard and Patrick Henry Drive. Westover Park is located in the southern section of the neighborhood. While the initial Westover Study Area reflected the boundaries accepted by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the National Park Service with the 2006 approval of the Westover National Register Historic District (Figure 1), the amended study area recommended by the HALRB for local designation consideration includes only the multi-family dwellings or garden apartments within this boundary (Figure 2: HALRB Recommended Study Area).2 The garden apartments in Westover also are eligible for listing under the National Register Multiple Resource Listing for Garden Apartments, Apartment Houses, and Apartment Complexes in Arlington County, VA: 1934-1954, which was approved by the National Park Service in 2003 and amended in 2012. In addition, the garden apartments in Westover have been identified in Phase 1 of Arlington County’s Historic Resources Inventory (HRI). The HRI is a planning tool to help balance historic preservation goals with new development and other community benefits. The first phase of the HRI identified and ranked nearly 400 historic garden apartments, shopping centers, and commercial buildings built between 1909 and 1962. Each property was classified into one of six categories (Essential, Important, Notable, Minor, Altered/Not Historic, and Demolished) based on their historical and architectural significance. The Westover Apartments, Westover Courts, and E.R. Keene Apartments are each listed in the Important category, while Westover Park and Westover Hills are listed as Notable. Westover Apartments is ranked within the top one-third of the Important category. The “HRI Goals and Policy Objectives” adopted by the County Board in October 2011, support the following policies for Important and Notable HRI properties:

1. Promote the preservation of the Important historic buildings in the HRI. a. The County will strive to protect and promote the reuse of those properties listed as

Important. b. The County will collaborate with owners of Important properties to preserve the buildings’

historical and material integrity to the maximum extent possible. c. The County will require that new development proposals affecting Important properties be

reviewed by the HALRB. d. The County will encourage owners of Important properties to take advantage of available

financial incentives (e.g., Federal and state rehabilitation tax credits, preservation easements, County real estate tax exemption for rehabilitation); and

1 The Arlington County Board designated the Claude A. Swanson Junior High School as an Arlington County Local Historic District on May 17, 2008. 2 Since the HALRB made this recommendation, two additional garden apartment buildings, located at 5709 and 5715 10th Road North, are planned for demolition.

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e. The County will encourage owners of Important properties to take advantage of available zoning tools (e.g., site plans and use permits, TDR, local historic district designation).

2. Promote the preservation of the Notable historic buildings in the HRI. a. The County will strive to protect and promote the reuse of those properties listed as Notable. b. The County will encourage owners of Notable properties to take advantage of available

financial incentives (e.g., Federal and state rehabilitation tax credits, preservation easements, County real estate tax exemption for rehabilitation).

c. The County will encourage owners of Notable properties to take advantage of available zoning tools (e.g., site plans and use permits, TDR, local historic district designation).

Historic Context: Development of Garden Apartments President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs sought to stimulate the economy and reverse the decline of both the housing construction industry and home ownership that occurred during the Great Depression. The existing housing stock for individuals of low to moderate income failed to meet demand and often was of poor design and materials. In 1934, Congress passed and President Roosevelt signed the National Housing Act, which established the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), to stimulate the building industry and help the recovery of the national economy. The National Housing Act included a provision, known as Section 207, for insuring mortgages on rental apartment projects developed for moderate-income tenants by limited divided corporations.3 FHA mortgage insurance minimized the risk of investing for lenders. As a result, FHA-insured projects dominated the rental housing market and the design standards set by the FHA determined the features of the apartment buildings. The FHA standards and planning guides built upon the ideas of housing reformers and proponents of the Garden City Movement, and sought to create attractive, planned residential communities. In approving applications, the FHA looked for the following elements in apartment construction: 1) two-to-three story buildings with efficient floor plans with minimum wasted space; 2) elimination of apartment corridors; 3) natural light and cross ventilation; 4) modern appliances; 5) durable, easy-to-maintain but quality building materials; and 6) low lot coverage to provide an attractive, open setting that respected the existing topography. The planned communities often featured commercial, religious, and institutional buildings and were located in proximity to arterial transportation networks. The Westover neighborhood is a planned community spurred by the sudden increase of the federal workforce in Washington, D.C., in the mid-20th century and the need for affordable, quality housing. Arlington County’s population increased by 70,000 residents between 1940 and 1950. Merwin A. Mace of Mace Properties, Inc., and other developers constructed Westover in five phases: Westover Apartments (1939), Westover Hills (1940-1941), Keene’s Addition to Westover (1941), Westover Park (1942, 1943, 1947, and 1948), and Mason’s Addition to Westover (1955-1957). See Figures 3 and 4 for the evolution of the development of the Westover neighborhood and the location of the garden apartments.4 Architectural Context and Description: Garden Apartments in Westover While the FHA did not set standards for architectural styles, there is a clear preference for conservative and traditional design. The FHA stated:

Simple, direct designs which rely for their effect upon mass, scale, and proportion are more attractive, and the resultant structures are sounder investments than those which strive for

3 In 1938, Congress amended and expanded the scope of Section 207 and added Section 210 (intended to assist with insuring smaller projects at an expedited pace). 4 The garden apartments, however, are part of an overall neighborhood context that included parks, single-family housing, schools, religious buildings, and a commercial core. However, these other architectural and community design aspects of the Westover neighborhood are outside of the scope of the HALRB’s proposed study area.

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picturesque or unusual effects through elaboration of motif and ornament or a startling use of materials [and that a] property should be able to retain permanent acceptance and not be so faddish that it is soon outdated.5

In Virginia, the Colonial Revival style retained an enduring popularity that recalled the commonwealth’s early history. Colonial Village, the first FHA-financed garden apartment complex in the nation, capitalized on the style’s popularity in both the name of the complex and its design. The use of restrained Colonial Revival-inspired design elements also permeated throughout Westover. Less ornamented buildings were common after World War II when inflation of building materials and labor forced developers to seek ways to reduce construction costs and provide low rents. The developers continued to hone innovative building techniques and assembly line construction of buildings to minimize costs, but also reduced unnecessary design elements. This led to less architectural differentiation between the buildings, often limited to different Colonial Revival-styled entry surrounds, and the construction of flat roofs with corbeled brick suggesting cornices. Generally, the garden apartment buildings in Westover featured:

• Concrete block construction veneered in brick; • Shallow pitched gabled, hipped, or flat roofs; • Main entrances with various Colonial Revival-inspired door surrounds (pediment, segmental

pediment, broken pediment, and swan’s neck pediment); • Double-hung or casement windows that united the interior spaces with the landscaped courtyard; and • A series of pathways that separated automobile and pedestrian traffic.

Historic Significance: Westover Neighborhood The Westover garden apartments represent the involvement, support, and encouragement of the federal government in national housing reform following the Great Depression. The buildings, designed under the design principles and guidelines of the FHA, reflect the government effort to create attractive, planned communities for individuals of moderate means. Cheaper suburban land in Arlington County permitted low-density, economic development opportunities when compared to the District of Columbia. In addition, the garden apartment principles opposed the negative connotations associated with high-rise or tenement housing. The Westover garden apartments reflect the need for worker housing due to the County’s burgeoning population growth associated with the New Deal and World War II. Between 1940 and 1950, the population of Arlington County expanded from 57,00 to 135,000. In 1938, the FHA amended Section 207 of the National Housing Act to allow for-profit developers to utilize the program, which further stimulated apartment construction in Arlington County. This benefited developers such as Merwin Mace, who built Westover Apartments that same year. Developers constructed 122 garden apartments, apartment houses, and/or apartment complexes Countywide between 1938 and 1950. The Westover garden apartments are Colonial Revival-inspired buildings with minimal stylistic ornamentation. The buildings utilize popular and innovative building techniques such as concrete block construction veneered in brick, a variety of roof types (pitched gable, hipped, and flat), main entrances to public stairs as well as individual doors to private units, and double-hung windows that unite the interior space with the courtyards. The buildings often are set within a landscaped courtyard or setting, with parking areas and walkways.

5 U.S. Federal Housing Administration, Architectural Planning and Procedure for Rental Housing (Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1939), 7.

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Staff Recommendation & Proposed Options for HALRB Consideration The HPP staff determined four potential options for the HALRB’s consideration. Staff recommends that the HALRB move to accept Option 3: Deferral of the Designation Request until the completion of Phase 2 of the HCD study. This option would allow the HALRB to review any preservation tools and/or incentives derived from the HCD study. In addition, this option is consistent with the HALRB’s motion from November 2016. Staff anticipates that the County Board will consider Phase 2 of the HCD study before the end of the 2018 calendar year. Option 1: Recommend Designation of Only the Westover Apartments Complex (Figures 5 and 5A) The HALRB finds that the Westover Study Area meets two of the eleven designation criteria, but recommends the HPP staff complete a local designation report and coordinate with the property owner on design guidelines for only the Westover Apartments complex. Westover Apartments is an individual garden apartment complex that reflects FHA standards for planned residential communities and that helped alleviate the need for affordable multi-family housing projects in Arlington County. Local developer Merwin Mace and architect Adolph Thelander of Mace Properties, Inc., started development of the Westover neighborhood with the construction of Westover Apartments in 1939. The FHA insured a $410,000 mortgage held by Security Mutual Life Insurance Company to construct the project. Upon completion, the complex featured 153 units, 588 rooms, and had an average rent of $10.51 per room, per month. The site layout consists of seven groups of buildings of an undulating form (see Figure 5A). Their arrangement provides multiple open spaces/courtyards all connected with concrete pathways and there is clear separation between pedestrians and automobiles. Uncommon for garden apartments in Arlington County, the two-story units are directly accessed from distinct individual exterior entrances. See also Figure 5B for an historic photograph of the complex dating to May 1940 that shows the overall building configuration and layout of the complex. Merwin Mace, a prolific developer in Northern Virginia, built some of Arlington County’s most recognizable communities from the 1930s through the 1960s. He founded Mace Properties, Inc., in 1937, and developed Glebewood Village (1937-1948), Westmont (1949), and Dominion Hills (1945-1948) in addition to Westover. This designation option would recognize Mace’s most cohesive garden apartment complex within Westover. Option 2: Recommend Designation of All Garden Apartments within the Westover Study Area (Figure 6) The HALRB finds that the Westover Study Area meets two of the eleven designation criteria and recommends the HPP staff complete a local designation report and coordinate with property owners on design guidelines for all of the garden apartments within the Study Area. Option 2 would include all of the extant garden apartments within the Westover National Register Historic District. These include the garden apartments built by: 1) Mace Properties and designed by architect Adolph Thelander; and 2) Elwood Ray Keene, owner of Redfern Company, Inc., and designed by the architecture firm of Mims, Speake & Company. Keene’s buildings are similar in style and form to those constructed by Mace Properties. In general, the garden apartments line the curving streets of the neighborhood that create open space or parking areas with the buildings on the adjacent block. The design of these garden apartments, however, is less cohesive with respect to site plan and building layout, internal circulation networks, and courtyards, in comparison to campus-designed complexes such as Westover Apartments, Colonial Village, or Buckingham Village. Option 2 captures all of the historically significant garden apartments within the Westover National Register Historic District, but it excludes the surrounding residential community of single-family dwellings, commercial, civic, and religious buildings that comprise the planned neighborhood. Garden apartments, however, are critical to the understanding of Arlington County’s built environment in the mid-twentieth

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century, are individually eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under the Multiple Property Documentation Garden Apartments, Apartment Houses and Apartment Complexes in Arlington County, Virginia: 1934-1954, and remain threatened by development pressures (particularly in Westover). Option 3: Recommend Deferral of the Designation Request (HPP Staff Recommended Option) The HALRB finds that any further recommendation regarding the local historic district designation request for garden apartments in the Westover Study Area should be deferred until the conclusion of Phase 2 of the HCD study. Option 3 follows the HALRB’s November 2016 guidance that the consideration of any local historic district designation of Westover would be explored in conjunction with the ongoing County-wide HCD study. Both the HALRB and HPP staff are participating in Phase 2 of the HCD process, which may create zoning tools and other incentives that could benefit the preservation of historic garden apartments in the Westover Study Area (separate from or in conjunction with a local historic district zoning overlay). Option 4: Recommend Denial of the Designation Request to the County Board 6 The HALRB finds that the Westover Study Area meets two of the eleven designation criteria, but does not recommend further study of the local designation request. The HALRB reached a similar conclusion with the local designation request for the Arlington Presbyterian Church (3507 Columbia Pike) in 2014. The HALRB found that the church met four of the eleven designation criteria outlined in the ACZO, but did not recommend local historic district designation to the County Board due to a lack of owner support. Local Historic District Designation Criteria The HPP staff finds that the following designation criteria as provided in Section 11.3.4.A.6 of the ACZO could be applicable: A) The property is listed or is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

1. All of the subject properties are noted in the National Register Multiple Property

Documentation Form Garden Apartments, Apartment Houses and Apartment Complexes in Arlington County, Virginia: 1934-1954 accepted by the NPS in 2003 and updated in 2012, and thereby are considered individually eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

2. All of the subject properties are listed as contributing resources to the Westover National Register Historic District accepted by the NPS in 2006.

B) The property has character, interest, or value as part of the development, heritage, or cultural

characteristics of the county, state, or nation.

The garden apartments in Westover have local, state, and national significance as they represent the design and development of mid-twentieth century garden apartment construction. The buildings also reflect the FHA design and construction standards adopted for the benefits of efficient interior floor plans and attractive residential communities for individuals of moderate means.

6 As in prior review of other local historic district designation requests, the HALRB has considered the support or objection of property owners during the public review process. Such considerations are not required per the ACZO or Virginia State Code.

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D) The property is associated with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the development of the county, state, or nation.

Most of the garden apartments in Westover are associated with Merwin A. Mace. A prolific developer in Northern Virginia, Mace built some of Arlington County’s most recognizable communities from the 1930s to the 1960s. He founded Mace Properties, Inc., in 1937, and to developed Glebewood Village (1937-1948), Westmont (1949), and Dominion Hills (1945-1948) in Arlington County, in addition to Westover.

E) The property embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style valuable for the

study of a period, type, or method of construction. The garden apartments in Westover represent the elements of Colonial Revival-style architecture typical of their period of construction.

G) The property embodies elements of design, detailing, materials, and craftsmanship that render it

structurally or architecturally significant. The garden apartments of Westover embody the character-defining elements of garden apartment construction including: 1) traditional Colonial Revival design; 2) two-to-three story buildings; 3) a sense of permanence with concrete block construction veneered in brick; and 4) buildings placed within a planned landscaped setting consisting of courtyards and green space, a circulation network of walkway and paths, and an internal street/drive and parking. The degree of the success of each of these elements is dependent upon the individual elements and their respective date of construction.

K) The property is suitable for preservation or restoration. The garden apartments of Westover retain sufficient historic integrity to convey their period of significance. In addition to already being listed as contributing resources to the Westover National Register Historic District, all of the buildings are eligible for listing under the Multiple Property Documentation Garden Apartments, Apartment Houses and Apartment Complexes in Arlington County, Virginia: 1934-1954. The subject garden apartments meet the property type registration requirements outlined in the report.