Some early utility work in anticipation of the second phase of Amazon’s HQ2 is scheduled to start next week.
The first phase of the massive office complex in Pentagon City opened last summer. The second phase, located across 12th Street S. from the first phase and known as “PenPlace,” is delayed indefinitely.
Despite work-from-home trends and the company cutting jobs, Amazon has said that it still plans to eventually move forward with PenPlace. The utility work is the first tangible sign of that commitment since the delay announcement.
“Planned construction at PenPlace consists of installing utilities around the site and within the street right-of-way to support the future development and in coordination with Arlington County’s Street Improvement projects,” said an email to the community from Clark Construction.
“Utility work will begin on March 18, 2024 along S. Fern Street, S. Eads Street, and 12th Street S. Traffic realignment on 12th Street S between S. Fern Street and S. Eads Street will be one of the first activities to occur in order to facilitate this work, at which time the sidewalk on the north side of 12th Street S will be closed,” noted the email, sent earlier this week.
Clark says work will take place “within the County’s permitted work hours of 7 AM to 9 PM (Mon-Fri) and 9 AM to 9 PM (Sat, Sun, and holidays).”
The Washington Business Journal first reported on the planned utility work. Amazon told the paper that it has “made ‘no changes’ to its hiring or construction plans.”
PenPlace is slated to include the distinctive, spiral “Helix” tower and a permanent location for Arlington Community High School.
Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey said last year that the Board was told the delay in starting the PenPlace project would likely be about a year.
Garvey told ARLnow last night that, at this point, remains the expectation.
“We are not hearing anything new from Amazon about Phase II,” she wrote. “The expectation still is that they will move forward with Phase II this year. I believe they are evaluating how office space is being used post-pandemic to inform what they ultimately build.”
“In other words, as far as we know, nothing has changed,” she said.
The old Harris Teeter in Ballston is set to close next month but shoppers won’t need to wait long to use the new location across the street.
Harris Teeter has posted signs around its old and new location announcing that its 600 N. Glebe Road location will close on Tuesday, April 2 at 2 p.m., with the new store at 624 N. Glebe Road opening at 9 a.m. the next day.
A Starbucks kiosk inside is also being built and will open on the same day as the grocery store, according to a spokesperson for Harris Teeter. The spokesperson noted there will be a free sampling event the day before the official grand opening.
Starbucks also confirmed the opening in a statement to ARLnow.
“Starbucks is always looking for great locations to better meet the needs of our customers, and we are happy to confirm that we will be opening a new location at 624 N. Glebe Road in Arlington, VA in the spring of 2024,” a Starbucks spokesperson write. “This new Starbucks location is licensed and operated by Harris Teeter licensee.”
That will put the coffee chain in more direct competition with homegrown Good Company Doughnuts & Cafe on the western side of Glebe Road. Starbucks will also compete with itself — its location at 4000 Wilson Blvd, which opened less than a year ago, is about 2-3 blocks away.
ARLnow reported last month that the Georgia-based developer, Southeastern Real Estate Group, LLC, started leasing the 310 apartment units above the new store last fall and was close to completing the first phase of its three-phase development. Construction on the apartments, dubbed URBA, began in 2020.
The first phase was initially slated to finish last fall, with the second phase expected to start in the summer of 2024. Southeastern and Harris Teeter have not given a timeline for the start of phase two.
After the new Harris Teeter opens and the old site is demolished, the remaining 733 planned apartments will be built.
The second phase includes 197 apartments and a 0.6-acre public park on the existing Harris Teeter site. The third phase will add another 226 apartments and more than 10,000 square feet of retail space, for a total of 77,575 square feet of retail across the development.
The development also includes underground parking with 942 spaces and the extension of N. Tazewell and N. Randolph streets.
Construction on the planned pickleball courts for the Walter Reed Community Center is expected to begin by the end of this year.
The Arlington County Dept. of Parks and Recreation announced the next steps for the hotly contested project and unveiled 90% complete designs last week. The project is set to go out for bid this spring and a contract is expected to go to the Arlington County Board for approval in the summer.
Work is on track to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, per the announcement.
“Thank you to all who provided feedback throughout the engagement process,” the county said.
The final project design differs only slightly from revised plans that the county announced in November. The county now plans to remove six trees and made minor revisions to its plans for the parking lot at Walter Reed.
The November proposal called for:
- increasing the distance between future courts near 16th Street S. and residential homes to a distance of about 170 feet
- adding acoustic fencing to both sets of courts and landscaping in between
- adding a deck to protect a large existing tree and provide respite space
- improving circulation for people with disabilities
- increasing parking spaces by four
- resurfacing the basketball courts
Pickleball proponents and neighbors irked by the infamous “pickleball pop” have been at loggerheads over plans for the Walter Reed Community Center since 2022.
That is when county officials announced plans to build dedicated pickleball courts at the community center, replacing part of the park’s wooded area along with an existing tennis court that has been co-opted for pickleball.
Residents living near the courts have sought relief from the thwack of pickleballs striking paddles and fiercely opposed plans to further encourage the sport at Walter Reed. They have threatened legal action and distributed fliers with allegations of players bullying children around “hijacked” tennis and basketball courts.
In addition to installing acoustic fencing to soften noise levels, the county had considered pausing the project, putting the question to community members last spring.
“Respondents were slightly more in favor of continuing the project, though it should be noted that respondents who identified as players are more in favor of continuing and those self-identifying as neighbors were more in favor of pausing,” Dept. of Parks and Recreation planning director Erik Beach said in November.
The survey drew skepticism from residents such as Columbia Heights Civic Association President Ron Haddox, who argued that it circulated in pro-pickleball online forums nationally and internationally. He argued that this “calls into question the genuineness of at least some portion of the feedback received.”
An additional round of feedback took place in November and December.
Of the 228 comments provided, the most common refrain, from 69 commenters, was that the final plan does not include enough pickleball courts, followed by 47 people who said the county should keep pickleball on the basketball court. The third most-popular comment type, with 42 mentions, was “looks good/like the compromise.”
Signs for the new Ballston Harris Teeter are up, signaling that the first phase of the three-part project is nearing completion.
Last month, the owner applied for an occupancy permit for the new grocery store, which tenants do before they can officially move in. Inspection is still pending, per the county website.
Leasing began last fall for the 310 units above the new grocery store at 624 N. Glebe Road, developed by the Georgia-based developer, Southeastern Real Estate Group, LLC, per a website for the apartment complex. Construction on the apartments, dubbed URBA, began in 2020.
Additionally, Southeastern and Harris Teeter commissioned a mural by Brooklyn-based artist Olalekan Jeyifous that pays tribute to the legacy of the Ballston miniature golf course, which was a fixture along Wilson Blvd for over 50 years until its closure in 1989.
The rest of the planned 733 apartments will be built after the new Harris Teeter opens and the old building at 600 N. Glebe Road is torn down.
The second phase will include 197 apartments and a 0.6-acre public park where the current Harris Teeter stands. The third phase will add the remaining 226 apartments and more than 10,000 square feet of retail space, culminating in a total of 77,575 square feet of ground-level retail.
There will also be below-grade parking garages, with 942 parking spaces total. Southeastern will also extend the existing N. Tazewell and N. Randolph streets into the site.
The first phase of the project was initially expected to wrap up this past fall, with the next phase slated to begin in summer 2024. Southeastern did not respond before ARLnow’s publication deadline.
A custom stone cross was lifted into place on the Cathedral of St. Thomas More along Arlington Blvd this week.
To celebrate the placement of this feature, the highest point of the structure, the Diocese of Arlington held a “capping ceremony.”
“Bishop [Michael] Burbidge blessed the cross and construction personnel, asking God to continue protecting them throughout their work, and invited them to a luncheon as a gesture of his gratitude for their devoted work,” said Billy Atwell, the chief communications officer for the diocese.
The new cross is one of many changes coming to the structure at 3901 Cathedral Lane, also home to a school. A suburban parish church retrofitted to serve as a cathedral, the house of worship is undergoing a year-long renovation project to better signal its status as the “mother church” for a half-million Northern Virginia Catholics and the seat of their bishop.
Atwell says the project started on time and will be completed before the altar is dedicated on Sept. 5.
Workers first repaired and replaced infrastructure systems such as heating and air conditioning. Since then, all interior walls have been repainted and a new marble floor for the sanctuary was installed.
“The exterior stonework is nearing completion, which already gives the cathedral a completely new appeal for those visiting or driving by the church,” Atwell said. “New stained-glass windows are being installed, and new liturgical furnishings, including an altar and a tabernacle, will be set into place.”
Meantime, craftsmen have been carving some dozen statues that will celebrate the multicultural communities within the diocese. The project, including the custom cross, was designed by Arlington-based sacred architecture firm O’Brien and Keane Architecture.
Atwell confirmed the project remains within budget, which includes the $15.3 million estimated for materials, construction, engineering and architectural costs.
“Bishop Burbidge has kept his commitments to ensure all donor gifts received were beyond their normal contributions to their parish, the diocese and Catholic Charities, that no debt would be incurred, and that no funds are being drawn from parish or diocesan accounts, including offertory and the Bishop’s Lenten Appeal.”
The cathedral renovations were timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Diocese of Arlington, established in 1974. The diocese will undertake charitable works, still being discussed, and host three events to honor the project’s completion and the milestone anniversary.
First up is a Diocesan Jubilee Fest on June 8 at the Warren County Fairgrounds, boasting a Marian procession, Mass, games, music, rides and a fireworks show. Next, the renovated cathedral will be dedicated during a Mass on Sept. 5 unveiling the changes and celebrating the Golden Jubilee. Lastly, there will be a pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in D.C. on Oct. 5, presided over by Pope Francis’ emissary to U.S. bishops.
About a year of construction remains for two apartment towers replacing a Crystal City office building.
The final beam was placed atop the two residential towers at 2000 and 2001 S. Bell Street, formerly Crystal Plaza One, this week. Developer JBG Smith and its project manager, Balfour Beatty, announced the “topping out” construction milestone on Monday.
“Congratulations to the team for accomplishing this major achievement,” said Dan Novack, Balfour Beatty’s president for the Mid-Atlantic region, in a press release. “We look forward to continued progress and ongoing collaboration with our owner, industry partners and the local community in providing a premier living development for future residents in the evolving National Landing area.”
Both the 25-story West and 19-story East towers are slated for completion in the spring of 2025 and will offer a combined 775 units with a variety of floor plan options, per the release. The towers will have more than 22,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space as well as rooftop decks and pools.
In terms of public benefits, JBG Smith will add a public park space next to the East tower. It will also build an extension of S. Bell Street, connecting to S. Clark Street, with bike lanes, as well as a new alley south of the East tower.
The development is a stone’s throw from the revamped Central District Retail shopping plaza, or “Crystal Square,” home to taqueria Tacombi, bakery Mah-Ze-Dahr and other shops. It will be near a forthcoming second entrance to the Crystal City Metro station, a planned Virginia Railway Express station, now expected to wrap up in 2026, and pedestrian bridge linking Crystal City to National Airport.
The county approved the project in May 2021 after holding a public hearing. Demolition work began shortly after and JBG Smith broke ground about a year later, in January 2022.
Under the revised site plan, JBG Smith said it would contribute $3.36 million towards the county’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund and $137,495 toward a utility undergrounding fund, as well as $75,000 for a public art installation, according to a 2021 presentation from the developer.
The facade of the new 36-story Hilton in Rosslyn is nearing completion but it could be nearly two years before the hotel welcomes its first guests.
Meanwhile, the project’s residential counterpart, Rosslyn Towers, is close to being done, with new tenants expected to move in within a few months, the developer tells ARLnow.
“We are excited to open Rosslyn Towers at The Key this spring,” said Greg Raines, a spokesperson for Dittmar Company, the developer of The Key.
While there is no firm data yet, Raines said the plan is to start leasing the 500+ apartments in the Rosslyn Towers building, at 1900 N. Fort Myer Drive, by April 1.
Dittmar’s goal for the 331-room hotel is to hold a grand opening sometime in the last three months of 2025, says Raines.
“We are excited to deliver both properties as we believe both are best in class and are exciting additions to Rosslyn, Arlington, and the surrounding [D.C.] area,” he said.
In September 2019, the Arlington County Board approved plans redevelop the 18-story, 50-year-old Rosslyn Holiday Inn with a residential tower of up to 25 stories and a hotel with up to 38 stories, with 37,000-foot conference center and 14,000 square feet of retail. The former hotel came down in a well-documented controlled implosion.
In 2021, the Arlington County Board approved a site plan amendment to adjust the hotel’s square footage to accommodate more parking and conference space, and increase the number of residential units from 523 to 536.
Dittmar said it would provide a cash contribution of $215,000 to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund to offset the requested additional density, per a 2021 county report.
One year later, Hilton announced it had signed an agreement to run the high-rise hotel.
While the residential tower looks finished, construction crews were still putting final touches on the exterior of the hotel when ARLnow visited the site yesterday (Tuesday). Last month, the company submitted applications for elevator and fire inspection permits, according to county records.
Dittmar also plans to share details regarding a new “destination restaurant” below the residential tower in the coming weeks, says Raines.
As restoration work continues at Sparrow Pond, one trail will close as another opens.
The Washington & Old Dominion Trail will be closed for six to seven weeks starting in mid-to-late February, per an Arlington County webpage.
“The work will allow the construction team to finish the new outfall that will connect Sparrow Pond to Four Mile Run,” the county says. ‘Thank you for your patience and understanding with the trail closures and weather-related delays.”
Restoration of the man-made pond along the W&OD Trail is still on track to be completed on time, with work expected to wrap up in August, according to the county.
A detour will direct cyclists and pedestrians to a newly reopened Four Mile Run Trail, set to open this week, says Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services. This trail had been closed for the construction of a new outfall connecting Sparrow Pond to Four Mile Run.
“The team has been excavating, placing the concrete outfall structures, and stabilizing the area to build a new outfall from Sparrow Pond to Four Mile Run,” the county webpage says.
Good news: Four Mile Run Trail near Sparrow Pond reopens this week. Don't-let-it-ruin-your-2024 news: The W&OD Trail near Sparrow Pond will detour for 6-7 weeks starting mid-late February for the same pond outfall work. https://t.co/OWUMFFtUuk @bikearlington @walkarlington pic.twitter.com/KdDtpfAYV7
— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) January 30, 2024
The trail closures are part of a multi-phase project to restore the pond — which had filled up with sediment — to its original depth.
The county is removing sediment and adding a collection bay, which it says will make maintenance and future sediment removal easier going forward, maximize water quality benefits and restore the pond’s habitat.
Through February, the contractor is working on excavating and installing pipe segments in the new outfall from Four Mile Run up to Sparrow Pond.
“Most habitat structures have been installed, including turtle basking logs, root wad habitat structures, and poles for wood duck boxes,” the county says. “Wood duck boxes will likely be installed in late February or March. Once the outfall is completed, work will resume on the remaining pools.”
Local officials, meanwhile, are asking that pedestrians and cyclists using the S. Park Drive trail spur to keep a wide distance from active equipment and follow flagger instructions during active construction hours.
Cyclists are cautioned to go slow and exercise caution due to large moving machinery, equipment, rocks, debris and wet or slippery conditions on the trail.
Typical work hours are weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., the county says.
A larger, more accessible bus loop may soon be coming to the East Falls Church Metro station.
The Arlington County Board on Saturday approved a $527,681 project-coordination agreement with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. This is part of a $12.7 million plan to provide the station with additional routes, expanded passenger capacity and improvements to parking and crosswalks.
The bus loop is set to get three more bus bays as the four current bays are at maximum capacity, per the report. Other proposed upgrades include improving the physical condition of the bus loop’s pavement and sidewalks and replacing the traffic signal at the N. Sycamore Street entrance.
On Saturday, County Board member Susan Cunningham said she is particularly excited about upgrades to the station’s bus shelters. She encouraged her colleagues to remain attentive to the bottom line of improvement projects, however.
“We all need to keep an eye on how those projects go,” she said. “They’re often quite complex, and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to control costs going forward.”
County staff publicly presented their plans for the Metro station at the intersection of N. Sycamore Street and Washington Blvd during a community meeting in March 2022.
“Overall, public response indicated support for the proposed concept design,” a county report says. “Respondents generally found the presented plans to be safer for all modes of transportation when compared to existing locations.”
Also included in the initiative, which is part of the county’s 2023-2032 Capital Improvement Plan, are plans to enhance landscaping and stormwater management; upgrade accessible parking, crosswalks and curb ramps; and improve pedestrian access from the Metro park-and-ride lot.
The last major upgrade to the East Falls Church Metro station was the addition of a $2 million bike parking facility. The 92-spot facility made its debut in the middle of the pandemic, though it was set to open in 2015. The structure was delivered five years late and $1.1 million over budget due to miscommunication and a lack of oversight, among other problems.
The county had hoped to add a second entrance to the station but put those plans on the backburner for at least a decade back in 2018.
Photo via Google Maps
(Updated at 5:35 p.m.) A yearslong attempt to convert a historic Arlington property into a home for adults with developmental disabilities may be nearing the finish line.
The Arlington County Board is expected to consider agreements to transfer the Reeves Farmhouse into the hands of local nonprofits and allocate community development block grant funds later this year, according to a county report. In advance of this, the Board on Saturday took steps toward streamlining the efforts of Habitat for Humanity DC-NOVA, HomeAid National Capital Region and L’Arche of Greater Washington.
Officials voted to approve a use-permit amendment and accept permit applications for building and land disturbance activity — decisions that will make it simpler for nonprofits to renovate the property if they assume possession of it.
The county report argues that the nonprofits’ plans, which have been refined over extensive conversations with local agencies, are in keeping with the county’s vision for the 124-year-old Boulevard Manor structure.
“As proposed, the historic building will be renovated and expanded in a historically sensitive manner, to provide for the needs of the applicant and the intended residents of the building,” the report says.
Six years of planning and increasingly firm agreement on what to do with the farmhouse led up to this point.
The structure, which was built in 1900, sits on a property that was home to the last remaining dairy farm in Arlington County before it closed in 1955.
The county once considered transforming the farmhouse into a museum or learning center, but ultimately concluded these changes would be too expensive. The county entered talks about transferring possession of the property back in June 2018.
It took three years, but the county and nonprofits finally reached a non-binding letter of intent in February 2020 — just before the pandemic hit.
Talks about what to do with the building stalled for another three years. But they revived in April 2023 when Habitat for Humanity, HomeAid and L’Arche met with the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board to discuss the home’s future.
The review board gave its official stamp of approval to proposed renovation plans at a July meeting.
The nonprofit coalition hopes to build a two-story addition on the south side of the farmhouse and a one-story addition on the west side, giving the home a total of seven bedrooms. Housing fewer than eight people, per the county report, means the building would be legally classified as a dwelling and not a group home.
The prospective owners also intend to outfit the existing structure with the following features:
- New exterior guardrails and handrails
- A new front door
- New gutters and rain spouts
- New asphalt shingles
- Two windows in the new shed-roof dormer
The farmhouse would receive a new driveway allowing for “adequate emergency vehicle access,” along with four parking spaces, two of which would be handicap accessible. Plans additionally include stormwater management facilities and landscaping enhancements.
Other parts of the historic property, including a popular sledding hill — heavily utilized after the recent snowfall — will remain open to the public.
“The sledding hill has been a constant. Everybody wants to make sure we kept that sledding hill,” County Board Chair Libby Garvey said on Saturday.
The Board’s vote makes it possible for Habitat for Humanity, HomeAid and L’Arche to continue pursuing their plans. County staff argued that this decision is in keeping with the goals for the Reeves Farmhouse that the county adopted in 2015.
“Staff believes that the proposed renovations and site improvements to accommodate the applicant’s intention to own, renovate, and operate the Reeves Farmhouse as a residential dwelling providing care for adults with developmental disabilities [continue] to meet these criteria,” the report says.
(Updated at 3:55 p.m.) One of Rosslyn’s few remaining skywalks is set to come down as part of an effort to realize a walkable corridor from one end of the neighborhood to the other.
Arlington County will be demolishing a skywalk over N. Nash Street, near the Arlington Temple United Methodist Church building and Sunoco gas station dubbed “Our Lady of Exxon.” The county applied for a demolition permit for this project last month, permit records show.
“This is part of the Rosslyn Sector Plan’s 18th Street Corridor,” says Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Katie O’Brien. “The removal of the skywalk will help refocus pedestrian activity at the street level by replacing the remainder of the skywalk system with the envisioned 18th Street Corridor over time.”
Envisioned in the 2015 Rosslyn Sector Plan, the 18th Street Corridor is envisioned as a walkable thoroughfare extending from Rosslyn’s western edge, N. Quinn Street, to its eastern edge, Arlington Ridge Road. The corridor is intended to make Rosslyn more pedestrian-friendly by removing the skywalks, breaking up long north-south blocks and improving access to the Rosslyn Metro station, per the sector plan.
Some skywalks have already been removed as part of redevelopment projects changing Rosslyn’s skyline. Most recently, one that connected the now-demolished RCA building to the Rosslyn Gateway building was removed as part of plans to replace the building with apartments. Another over N. Lynn Street was removed in 2014 for the Central Place redevelopment that replaced a McDonalds.
The county is still working on the plans and obtaining necessary easements, O’Brien said. Demolition is expected to start this summer and take upwards of two months.
The demolition permit does not apply to the redevelopment project from Arlington-based Snell Properties, approved in 2021, to replace the Ames Center office building, formerly occupied by the Art Institute of Washington with two residential towers on the same block.
One tower would abut the Hyatt Centric hotel and another would surround the church and gas station, which will be completely rebuilt, according to a 2021 press release.
In advance of this project, Arlington Temple United Methodist Church has relocated to 1701 N. Bryan Street, just north of Courthouse, according to Rev. Martha “Marti” Ringenbach.
As for progress on this development, Snell did demolish 1820 Fort Myer Drive in October but a construction start date has not been determined, a spokeswoman for the developer tells ARLnow. She noted Snell was not aware of this demolition permit.
Once underway, the redevelopment will also advance the 18th Street Corridor by building up a segment from Fort Myer Drive to N. Nash Street, the 2021 release said.
In proposing a corridor that is partially inaccessible to cars, the sector plan admits that the 1960s-era skywalks were a bit of a failed experiment.
These skywalks were “designed to connect blocks, buildings and uses efficiently while keeping pedestrians separated from vehicular traffic,” the plan says. “The execution of the skywalk concept fell short of expectations in some cases, which combined with a renewed focus on directing pedestrian activity to the street level, has led to an incremental deconstruction of the system over the past 15 years.”
Rosslyn’s skywalks were declassé even before the new millenium, according to a scathing write-up in a 1999 study of Rosslyn.
“To the planners of the early 50’s and 60’s, presumably it seemed orderly and logical to separate the pedestrian flow with its erratic, unpredictable movements, from the fast-moving steel machines of the road,” a consulting firm wrote in the report. “Buried in the back of the planners’ minds perhaps lingered images of the piazza at San Marco in Venice or those of Rome. If so, in the instance of Rosslyn, something was lost in translation.”