Windfall City? Last week, we discussed a report from an Arlington County task force recommending that Crystal City undertake some significant improvements after the Defense Department moves thousands of its office workers out of the complex. Officials advocated a shift toward residential development and the destruction and replacement of some of the office buildings. Now it appears that such a strategy could yield a windfall for Arlington County.

According to Economics Research Associates, which was commissioned by the County to study the tax effects of Crystal City redevelopment, going ahead with the task force’s plan could triple annual tax revenues from the property, giving Arlington an additional $161 million to work with over the next 14 years. Arlington officials are downplaying those numbers somewhat, but the results obviously won’t hurt the push to remake the office complex. It’s not clear, however, whether the increased revenues would require removal of the old buildings or if repurposing would generate similar results.