TV studio for home improvement network no longer coming to Rosslyn condo basement | ARLnow

TV studio for home improvement network no longer coming to Rosslyn condo basement | ARLnow
The would-be WBITN studios in 2019 (photo via WBITN/Facebook)

A television studio for a new home improvement TV network will not, in fact, open in the basement of an aging condominium building in Rosslyn.

Plans for an elaborate 4,000+ square foot studio space for WBITN — which stands for We Build It New — were first reported by ARLnow in March 2020. It was supposed to open in a lower level of the River Place South complex at 1011 Arlington Blvd, complete with 15 assigned parking spaces.

Despite receiving a use permit for the studio from the Arlington County Board, however, the studio was never built and has cancelled its plans.

The County Board voted to discontinue the use permit at its meeting this past Saturday.

In a report to the Board, county staff did not reveal a reason why the plans fell through, but noted that the business was cited for construction performed without a permit last year.

From the report:

During the first one-year review in March 2021, Code Enforcement inspected the property and cited the applicant for unpermitted work. The applicant worked with the Inspection Services Division to submit applications for the required permits, which required inspection upon completion of the work prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for the audiovisual studio. At the time, staff recommended an Administrative Review in six (6) months to monitor the applicant’s progress towards compliance with the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code as well as a County Board review in one year (March 2022). The applicant has not yet acquired the required permits to operate the audio-visual studio, and no longer plans to pursue the audio-visual studio use. Therefore, staff recommends discontinuance since the applicant does not plan to pursue the audio-visual activity.