Evening star., 1941-11-22
Smith F|dys
j. ). Road Plan
In Arlington
House Member Hits
Refusal to Shift Ii
OFF Site for Hotel ;

VII JIG III IIVlSI
A decision by the Public Roads
Administration to adhere to a road
program which ap-
dooms a proposed $7,n0O,-
900 apartment-hotel in Arlington
County. Va, was branded as "arbi-
trary" and "a fragrant waste Of pub
lie funds" by Representative Smith,
of Virginia.
The Virginia Representative COM
mented after the P. r. A. yester-
day told Arlington County engi-
neers that a dual roadway would
pass through the apartment-hotel
site at Arlington-Ridge road and
Columbia pike.
Two conferences were held yeSter-
day. In the morning County En-
gineer C. l.. Kinnier and County
Planning Engineer Frank L. Dieter
made a final appeal to P. r. A. en-
gineers to shift the two proposed
one-way traffic arteries to the south
so as to leave untouched the pro-
posed hotel site.
Plans Held Too Far Advanced.
r. E. Toms. chief of the P. r. A.
division Of design. H. j. Spelman,
P. r. A. district engineer. and Jo-
seph Barnett. P. r. A. design en-
gineer, told the county officials that
plans now are too far advanced to
alter the development and that the
county's proposals would interfere
with the treatment Of highways at
the War Department Building and
an adjacent automobile parking
area.
The fact is that the P. r. A. was
arbitrary in selecting the route it has
decided upon Mr.. Smith said. 1T
constitutes fragrant waste of pub
lie funds and fragrant disregard Of
the rights and wishes of the author.
tiles Of local community"
Mr.. Smith said the 2-acre hotel
site. through which the P r. A. in
tends to run the dual roadway, cost
the owners 100000.
He said that the Government will
have to pay very much more" to
acquire highway rights of wav
across the hotel site than if it fol-
lowed the suggestion of Arlington
County officials and moved the
roads to the south.
Gen. Somervell Favored Project.
Mr.. Smith attended a conference
yesterday afternoon at the Office of
Brig. Gen. B. B. Somervell, chief of
the Construction Division of the Of
fee of the Quartermaster General, in
the War Department. Mr.. Kinnier
and Mr.. Dieter attended this meet
ing also. along with F. j. Ward, pres
ident of the corporation which seeks
to promote the hotel.
Mr.. Smith said Gen. Somervell eX.
pressed the opinion that he was
very anxious to have this project
or a similar project developed be-
cause of the housing facilities that
would be furnished War Department
workers. The construction chief
added, however, that the P. r. A.
has the decision as to where the
roadways will be placed and that
the matter was out of the hands of
the War Department.. Mr.. Smith
said.
Mr.. Kinnier said Arlington is satis-
fed with the plan as a whole but
expressed regret that the Federal
officials could not see their way
clear to alter their plan to make
possible the construction Of the
apartment hotel.
History Hotel
A corporation headed by Mr..
Ward recently announced plans
for building the apartment hotel
of about l,100 living units which
would be IA stories high. The
structure would have been situ-
ated at the intersection of CO.
lumbia pike and Arlington Ridge
road across from the new Federal
Office Building, No. 2, now occupied
by branches of the Navy Depart
ment, and within walking distance
Of the new War Department Build
ing.
The traffic arteries involved would
connect a proposed alternate Route
which would bypass Alexandria
and rejoin the present Route at
Woodbridge.
No Other Hotel Site.
Mr. Ward said today he knows Of
no other site that would be suitable
for project of the type planned.
I'VE selected that site after an
extensive survey of land contours
and availability to the Navy Offices"
he said. 1T appears to us that this
project is being fought by the Ma
tional Capital Park and Planning
Commission because we feel that en-
gineers as prominent and as we'll
qualified as those of the P. r. A.
could realign the roads without in
terfering with their plan as
whole"
1t was recalled that shortly after
plans for the hotel were announced,
Frederick A. Delano, chairman of
the Park and Planning Commission.
appealed to the Arlington County
Board to revise its zoning ordinance
in such a way that county officials
believed would block the hotel con-
struction. When the county au-
thorities declined to change the
zoning regulations, Mr.. Delano told
The Star there was still the question
of priorities to be met.
Mr.. Ward said "the priorities Off
cials have been very kind to us"
and added that the hotel promoters
had been assured of obtaining mate
rials once the road question had
been settled.