Residents near Arlington鈥檚 entertainment district have become accustomed to 鈥� if not irritated by 鈥� the changes the area has brought to their neighborhood.
Development at AT&T Stadium took away some residents鈥� beloved shops and restaurants. Traffic for events like games and concerts can make leaving or returning home a hassle when barricades go up and temporary no-parking signs go down.
After living in the area for 25 years on Roosevelt Street, Margaret Stamp would love to leave behind the game-day rituals of picking up beer bottles, dealing with traffic and contending with rowdy visitors.
鈥淵ou know what? It鈥檚 getting to the point where, peace, I鈥檓 out. Buy me up. Let me go. You know, I鈥檇 like to spend the rest of the time I鈥檝e got somewhere else, not across the street from AT&T Stadium,鈥� Stamp said outside her home.
Across the street, Traci Hemminger owns six homes that she leases on a month-to-month basis. For over a decade, Hemminger has renovated, maintained and rented out homes on the street. However, over the years, she鈥檚 developed a greater plan for her property: develop it into upscale housing or an event venue that offers mixed-use and complements the entertainment district.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to change the face of this neighborhood again,鈥� Hemminger said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to bring the concrete jungle this way. And, you know, as attached as I am to it, taking care of these houses, I鈥檓 ready to see progress.鈥�
Hemminger completed a commercial real estate development program at Cornell University with the C as her main focus. Through the program, she can take her development to entitlements with the city for the development process of the property, she said.
Ideally, Hemminger would like to partner with somebody with equity interest in the deal and help guide the process.
鈥淚 really would like to still have a bit of ownership in it, but if it doesn鈥檛 work out that way, that鈥檚 fine,鈥� Hemminger said. 鈥淵ou know, I just want to have a successful sale and bring something that caters to tourism here or something that caters to the Entertainment District Overlay.鈥�
Hemminger said she鈥檚 received general support from her neighbors, some of whom she expects would move for the right price.
Margaret Stamp said she applauds Hemminger鈥檚 vision. She鈥檚 skeptical, however, about the plan because of the limited amount of acreage.
鈥淗ere we sit,鈥� Stamp said. 鈥淚 wish her vision would take all of this, take all of us with her, you know? But I don鈥檛 see that happening.鈥�
Hemminger said she would be able to facilitate buyouts if she were able to find a partner.
鈥淚 would love to facilitate that deal. If I get a developer in here that partners with me and their vision is bigger and they want to buy more of these properties out, I think, number one, most of the residents are willing, and I plan on being the facilitator there,鈥� she said.
The plan
Hemminger envisions a 5-to-10-storey set of townhomes, condominiums, high rises or an entertainment complex. Developers she鈥檚 spoken to over the years have recommended that her project contain mixed-use amenities such as restaurants, retail and offices. The project is taller than she originally envisioned after developers said 1.3 acres would not be enough for them to build their desired project.
Hemminger said city officials are in favor of putting in something 鈥済randiose.鈥�
鈥淚f we鈥檙e knocking down these 1940 homes and this is the last area to be developed around the stadium and the entertainment district, they want something nice, you know, something to make a statement,鈥� she said.
Though Hemminger is in talks with two potential developers, she remains open to other proposals.
The proposed height of her project, paired with the residential medium-density zoning on Hemminger鈥檚 lots, means she鈥檇 have to clear her project with Arlington Planning and Zoning Commission as well as city council members.
Mayor Jim Ross said he is 鈥渋ntrigued鈥� by Hemminger鈥檚 proposal 鈥� and that the area鈥檚 development certainly calls for taller, more dense buildings.
鈥淚t fits with putting in One Rangers Way in the entertainment district and some of the condos that are going up just west of there,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淚t fits with what鈥檚 happening in the immediate area there.鈥�
Helen Moise, District 1 city council member, said she hopes the project works out for Hemminger.
鈥淪he was one of the first to recognize and understand the economics of being close enough to the stadiums to walk,鈥� Moise said. 鈥淪he has had the dream to do something bigger for a long time.鈥�
At least a couple neighbors are not quite on board with Hemminger鈥檚 plans.
Rich Blanchard said he had less of a problem with a two-or-three-floor development on the other side of the street from his house.
Blanchard lives in his mother鈥檚 old house along Roosevelt Street. He said he wishes a previous deal that would have bought out residents and businesses on the block would have gone through.
鈥淚 kind of feel like we鈥檙e stuck here,鈥� Blanchard said. 鈥淣ow, there鈥檚 going to be a high-rise building built here, which, you know, I gotta tell you, I鈥檓 not really happy. And I don鈥檛 really agree with all this stuff.鈥�
Buyout waiting game
Blanchard, like some of his neighbors, have grown tired of entertainment district regulations. Perhaps one of the biggest grievances is street parking.
Roosevelt Street is subject to the city鈥檚 . Enacted in 2018, the city deploys no-parking signs during certain events to curb parking from stadium-goers and allow emergency vehicles to pass through neighborhoods.
Though the measure was meant to help neighborhoods, Blanchard said the policy places a burden on residents with homes that have minimal driveway space 鈥� especially since the number of cars per household has increased since the homes were built.
鈥淲e鈥檝e gotten their cars off the street. We鈥檝e made arrangements. We鈥檝e done things to make our driveway where we can get more vehicles off the street,鈥� Blanchard said. 鈥淪o now they show up on game day wanting to know why all these vehicles are parked in our yard.鈥�
Margaret Stamp said she wonders why the city does not offer permits to residents 鈥� an accommodation that residents near Dickies Arena have. Instead, she said, residents who do not hear the police knock on their doors have their cars towed 鈥� and are stuck with a $250 bill.
鈥淚t just doesn鈥檛 serve us as people that live here,鈥� Stamp said. 鈥淵ou know, it鈥檚 all for the people they鈥檙e bringing in.鈥�
A city spokesperson said the parking ordinance does not allow for resident permits or tags, which leaves it up to city officials to change the ordinance.
The spokesperson also wrote that residents are responsible for finding places to stash their vehicles during major events. Arlington police will 鈥渕ake every effort to identify the owner of the vehicle and get in contact with them before they tow.鈥�
Both Stamp and Blanchard said they will eventually move away from the entertainment district.
Mike Hotelling had the same deliberations with his late wife, Laura. The couple maintained the house by themselves, but doing so has gotten harder since the deadly freeze in 2021 that decimated the house鈥檚 water heater.
The property taxes on Hotelling鈥檚 house have climbed 108% since 2019 鈥� a jump due to both rising property taxes in the region and their location near the entertainment district, Hotelling said.
As a retired military veteran, Hotelling said he has tax deductions that make it relatively cheap for him to live on Roosevelt Street. However, that鈥檚 not the reality for all of his neighbors 鈥� especially as the entertainment district explodes. He describes Arlington鈥檚 future as 鈥淥range County without an ocean.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 other things that they鈥檝e developed around here that it鈥檚 going to make this area just explode over time. I saw that in California, and I鈥檓 seeing it here. Like I say, the only thing they don鈥檛 have is the ocean. I wouldn鈥檛 be surprised if they made one,鈥� he said.
'You can't stop progress'
Hotelling said he鈥檚 impressed by Hemminger鈥檚 vision, from applying herself in school to her work with developers 鈥� and usually being the only woman in the room.
鈥淵ou know, it鈥檚 not going to bother me any,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 look at that stadium anyhow, you know? I mean, it鈥檚 there. It鈥檚 not going to make a big difference to me.鈥�
Hemminger said she feels she鈥檚 won over the neighbors through the years by being a consistent presence, whether through chatting with them or working on the houses herself.
鈥淏eing that we were over here working all the time, the neighbors would come out and we鈥檇 talk to them, do things for them, get to know each other. I鈥檝e had a pretty good welcoming, I think,鈥� she said.
If her plan goes well, Hemminger plans to effectively retire as the culmination of her second career draws to a close. That doesn鈥檛 come without conflicting feelings about closing the chapter on the homes.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of history here 鈥� I almost hate to see them torn down. I want to, you know, maintain some of the old school things that come with them, but you can鈥檛 stop progress,鈥� she said.
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