Arlington shovel-ready projects eyeing marketWashington Business Journal - by Sarah Krouse Staff Reporter Fenced-in squares of rubble are common sights these days along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Before the residential real estate market took a nose dive in 2007 many developers with plans for luxury condominiums and apartments secured county approval and called in the wrecking ball only to put their projects on hold when the financial crisis hit. Now with the housing market and economy showing signs of improvement developers are beginning to weigh their options for those vacant sites. Many are trying to defy the still-tight credit markets by actively pursue financing. Although the condo market inside the Beltway is coming back slowly the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor is in a different situation because of the high number of residential projects where demolition has already occurred. Arlington’s inventory-to-sales ratio was the lowest in the region during the first half of 2009 at 1.7 years and condo prices are on the rise according to Delta Associates’ mid-year condominium report. The Washington-area average inventory-to-sales ratio was 5.1 years. “Developers want to know what their projects will deliver into ” said William Rich director of the condo practice at Alexandria research firm Delta Associates. “Some are waiting to see the absorption of units currently on the market and in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor a lot of projects planned as apartments could switch over because the new-condo market in that area is very slim.”