Planned Demolition Of Arlington Mansion Revives Missing Middle Debate

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington County has granted a demolition permit to the new owners of a mansion in the Donaldson Run community that was once considered as the possible official residence for the U.S. vice president.

The 70-year-old mansion, at the corner of North Vermont Street and 26th Street North, has the demolition and land disturbance permits posted on a large sign near the main driveway to the home. Arlington County issued the demolition permit on March 23.

With 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, the mansion was previously the residence of prominent home builder M.T. Broyhill. In January, the home sold for $2.5 million to an entity called Family Home LLC, the Falls Church News-Press reported Thursday.

Neighbors are upset about the new owners’ planned demolition of the home and speculation that the mansion will be replaced with townhouses, according to the Falls Church News-Press.

Last November, when the house was placed on the market, historian and reporter Charlie Clark spoke with the daughter of the previous owner of the home, who told him that the house and grounds were a candidate to become the designated home for the U.S. vice president. Later in 1974, though, the government ended up choosing a home on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., as the vice president’s official residence.

In his latest article, Clark reported that the new owners of the home said they planned to tear down the mansion and replace it with their own “forever house.”

But the new owners are reconsidering their plans of living in Donaldson Run after neighbors reacted negatively to the demolition plans. Mustaq Hamza, one of the owners, said he believes the negative reaction to the teardown plans are related to his Sri Lankan origins.

Hamza and his wife Amanda Maldonado, who is Puerto Rican-American, told Clark they have encountered “vitriol” and “hostility” from neighbors.

“I’m not sure I want to be in a place that doesn’t want me or people who sound like me,” Hamza told Clark.

Neighbors said they were disappointed there was no notification or public hearing about the demolition of the prominent home.

Mary Rhoads, who grew up in the house before her mother died in February 2022, told Clark that “many of the neighbors feel it’s disappointing to learn that a house that has so much history would even be considered to be replaced.”

The home, built in 1950, was part of what was characterized as the Broyhill “enclave.” M.T. Broyhill’s son Joel, the former Republican congressman, lived in a home next door, and son Marvin on the other side of Joel, according to Clark.

The new owners told Clark that they noticed the Arlington County Board adopted the Missing Middle Housing plan after the NAACP emphasized how single-family zoning contributed to segregation in the county and how the Broyhill family name was associated with resistance to integration.

If the mansion and surrounding land were to be converted to townhouses, Maldonado, a daughter of a teacher, told Clark that she is “offended that some people would be appalled at living next to townhouses for teachers.”

Read Charlie Clark's latest report on the home at the Falls Church News-Press.