168-Unit Apartment Building Planned At Silver Diner Site In Clarendon

• 12:34 PM EDT

by UrbanTurf Staff

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A hotel that was supposed to rise on a prominent triangular block in the heart of Clarendon is being swapped out for apartments. 

A major site plan amendment has been filed with Arlington County to redesign the approved but never-built North Building at the Bingham Center/Silver Diner site — a 10-story, 229-room hotel — as an 11-story, 168-unit multifamily residential building. The property, bordered by Washington Boulevard, Wilson Boulevard, 10th Street North, and North Irving Street, is already under a broader redevelopment plan that includes a 290-unit South Building currently working its way through permitting.

Developer Mill Creek Residential was candid about the reason for the pivot: after months of searching, they simply couldn't find a hotel operator interested in the site. The filing notes that hospitality developers have largely gravitated toward submarkets closer to National Airport and major employment centers like Ballston, Rosslyn, and Crystal City.

The redesigned North Building would contain 168 apartments, along with 6,261 square feet of ground-floor retail. Parking would be reduced from the original 78 hotel spaces to 72 residential spaces plus 20 flexible spots for retail customers and visitors. The building's facade would feature brick and vertical panels, with large transparent windows at street level and a penthouse pool and terrace at the top.

The Bingham Center site has been a fixture of Clarendon's evolving identity for decades. The Silver Diner operated at the location for 26 years before closing as redevelopment plans took shape, along with The Lot beer garden, two brick structures known as "The Doctors Building," an auto repair facility, and surface parking. The County Board originally approved the two-building Bingham Center plan in September 2023 under original developers TCS Realty Associates and Donohoe Companies. Mill Creek purchased the property from those original developers in 2024. The Arlington Beer Garden and Clarendon 54 lounge closed earlier this year, ahead of the construction activity now underway on the site. The South Building — an 11-story, 290-unit apartment tower with ground-floor retail — remains on track and is expected to deliver before the redesigned North Building.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/168-unit_apartment_building_planned_at_silver_diner_site_in_clarendon/24679.