Arlington gives go-ahead to retail development at site intended for mosque, abandoned in 2015

The site of an abandoned project to build a mosque in south Arlington will have a new purpose after the city council voted unanimously to rezone the property for a small shopping center.

The site at 805 Mansfield Webb Road, currently nothing but a concrete slab, has been an eyesore on the community since the mosque project was ditched by developers in 2015. The new shopping center, a small building backing up to a neighborhood, would include shopping with a planned brunch spot at one end.

Rendering shown to the city council Tuesday showed a small park, possibly a playground, and paths connecting the shopping center to a 150-acre trail that already runs through the property.

The odd triangular shaped property would have a single rectangular building with multiple store fronts and parking surrounding it.

Karam Khalil said his company wants the shopping center to be a place that physically connects multiple nearby neighborhoods and gives residents in the area a place to hang out.

“Most of the people who live here jump in the car and go to Mansfield at Debbie and Matlock and put their money in those retail centers,” Khalil told the council. “This would be in Arlington, which is a huge benefit to Arlington as well.”

Raul Gonzalez, the council member for district 2, said he’s glad to see the shopping center built after the lot in his district has been nothing but a few concrete slabs since the original project to build a mosque was abandoned in 2015.

Gonzalez said Khalil approached him about the project almost immediately after he was elected and spent time talking with residents in the area, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That lot’s been empty since 2015 with that concrete and a lot of people are just tired of seeing it,” Gonzalez said. “You’re really the only person I know that’s come up with a solution.”

Khalil told the council he has heard positive feedback from people living in the area, including that they would like to be able to walk there from their homes and are happy that the empty lot will get some use. He said a nearby HOA sent him a letter saying they approve of the project.

The planned development is also aligned with Arlington’s priorities of infilling development. As the city runs out of space to develop its 99 square miles, leaders are looking for opportunities to “infill” unused property, getting new businesses and housing in spaces that are empty, sometimes with awkward shapes or sizes.

The city has also encouraged redevelopment, taking property that has been abandoned or is for sale and building something new there, in response to impending build-out in Arlington.

The city originally approved zoning for the mosque in 2011.

James Hartley is KERA’s Arlington accountability reporter. Email him at jhartley@kera.org.