Arlington Considers Paying $500,000 To PBS To Stay Put: Report

ARLINGTON, VA — The Arlington County Board reportedly may offer up to $500,000 to keep the Public Broadcasting Service here in Arlington.

The Washington Business Journal report that the Board will consider the Economic Development Incentive grant at their Saturday meeting.

In order to receive the grant, PBS must retain an employment base of at least 500 and lease 120,328 square feet at 1225 S. Clark Street in Crystal City through August 2022, according to the report.

The Crystal City area is undergoing some major upheaval with the arrival of Amazon. The online retail behemoth chosen the neighborhood as the home of its new second headquarters after a nationwide search last year. Amazon has already started moving employees into buildings in Crystal City.

However, Crystal City certainly doesn't want to lose PBS in the process. PBS provides educational television programming nationwide, producing such shows as Downton Abbey, Masterpiece, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Sesame Street, Teletubbies, Antiques Roadshow, and Barney & Friends, to name just a few shows.

PBS signed a deal to keep its headquarters in Arlington back in January, moving from 2100 Crystal Drive to 1225 S. Clark Street. PBS agreed to a 15-year lease, but apparently the move was contingent on the grant. The move is slated to happen mid-2020.

Another nonprofit, the March of Dimes, announced last year that they would move their headquarters to Crystal City. They reportedly got $150,000 from Arlington County in incentives.

PBS member station WETA, also a resident of south Arlington, has been contemplating a move themselves. The county has been working with WETA on a potential studio relocation to Shirlington.

“We’ve had a longstanding relationship with WETA, one of our most valuable community partners,” Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz said in a county statement. “This agreement allows WETA to move forward with envisioning their ideal television studio and headquarters as we move forward with planning for Jennie Dean Park’s future.”