Arlington Board OKs Extended-Stay Hilton at Former Colony House Site

The former home of the Colony House Furniture store will be demolished to make way for an extended-stay hotel.

Colony House closed in late 2011 after serving the greater Washington area for more than 75 years. It occupied a commercial building constructed in 1957. 

The property at 1700 Lee Highway will become the new home of an eight-story Hilton Homewood Suites following the Arlington County Board's actions Saturday.

The new Art Deco building will be 129,182 square feet and host 102 parking spaces on two levels, according to a county news release. The hotel will feature 168 rooms and planned amenities include a dining area, fitness room, meeting rooms and private terraces.

“This is a great development for this site,” Arlington County Board Chairman Walter Tejada said in a statement. “The project will provide more hotel options in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and will bring new life and attractive architecture to this intersection.”

The board voted unanimously to amend its land-use plan for the area, rezone the property and approve the site plan, the release states.

Through the county's approval process, the developer agreed to a number of terms, including:

• a $510,000 contribution to the county's Affordable Housing Investment Fund;
• a $62,546 contribution to pay for burying utility cables;
• LEED Gold certification;
• a $75,000 contribution toward public art;
• and several off-site transportation improvements, including moving a bus stop to the Lee Highway-North Quinn Street intersection and a $70,000 contribution to widen the sidewalk on North Quinn.

The site is a 10-minute walk to Metro stations in Courthouse and Rosslyn.