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Developer transforms vacant buildings into art in Crystal City

Community members in Crystal City may have noticed some additional color, as they walk downtown. And all they have to do to see it, is look up. Four buildings have been transformed into pieces of art, while they sit vacant.

CRYSTAL CITY, Va. (WUSA9) — Community members in Crystal City may have noticed some additional color, as they walk downtown. And all they have to do to see it, is look up. Four buildings have been transformed into pieces of art, while they sit vacant.

The buildings are currently being developed by JBG Smith, but this process can take months, if not years. Rather than let the buildings sit vacant, the company decided to turn them into art pieces. They hired artists to design covers for the buildings, with colorful images.

"We're really excited about some of the things we're able to do in Crystal City," said Brian Coulter, the Chief Development Officer for the company.

Coulter met with WUSA9 outside of one especially colorful building, by the corner of 20th Street South and Crystal Drive. It looked like a canvas, splattered with colors, from green and pink to yellow and orange.

"This one is sort of a very camouflaged look..." said Coulter. "'Color Camo' maybe."

The designers also built many amenities on the ground level of the buildings. There is a gigantic mural at the bottom of the 'Color Camo' building, as well as ping pong tables, a basketball court, corn hole, and an enlarged chess board.

"Its meant to just promote conversation and promote reaction," said Coulter. "And when that is happening we're really excited about it... We haven't had anybody walk by and go 'oh my gosh. Why did they do this? It was so much better before.'"

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