CHANGE MY LOCATION
Local
California News
Multimedia News
Kaine pledges financial help to deal with Arlington base closings
SEE THE LATEST ON THIS STORY
Related Topics: Arlington
)
Tim Kaine, center, governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, comments about proposed Metrorail modifications to Orange Line riders Christine Monett, far left; Jim Bryant, center left; and Diane Shum, right.
Arlington (Map, News) - Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine pledged Monday to provide financial assistance to Arlington to help the county deal with the loss of thousands of jobs and leased office space due to military base realignment.
County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman told Kaine $10 million was needed to keep the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Crystal City, the area most impacted by the decision. The funds would be used to help DARPA meet federal security requirements. Zimmerman said DARPA was one of the few agencies that was saved from being closed by the Base Realignment and Closing Commission.
Kaine pledged to provide assistance through a grant program set up by the Legislature to help communities affected by the closings. Crystal City is losing about 17,000 jobs and more than 3 million square feet of office space, while Fort Belvoir is gaining thousands of workers.
“There’s every expectation that Arlington will be a recipient” of the grant, Kaine’s spokesman Kevin Hall said.
Arlington has started to plan for the base realignment losses, which are expected to take place over the next decade. The county has formed a Crystal City planning task force, is providing workf orce and small-business assistance and is considering a massive redevelopment of the area. This could include tearing down the older buildings at the site and replacing them with newer, more marketable structures.
Zimmerman also said the county would need state assistance to pay for a light rail needed to facilitate the redevelopment.
Kaine and members of his Cabinet met with Zimmerman and other members of the Arlington County board Monday as part of a tour of Northern Virginia. Earlier in the day, Kaine met with leaders in Reston before riding the Metro to the meeting with Arlington officials.
Kaine said his two priorities during the meetings were to advance his health care agenda and discuss transportation. He singled out Arlington for its work in developing the areas around Metro stations but said the state as a whole is doing a poor job of integrating transportation and development.
“The transportation network should serve people, not cars,” he said. “Transportation solutions are not possible unless you [combine] them with land use.”
