This past weekend was spring forward for time. This week as been spring open for cherry blossoms.
Thanks to warm and sunny weather, tree blossoms have been opening at a rapid clip, and that includes those on Arlington’s cherry blossom trees.
Blossom seekers can enjoy the bloom by visiting some of the local sites with cherry tree clusters, including:
- Cherrydale Baptist Church (3910 Lorcom Lane)
- Arlington National Cemetery (1 Memorial Ave)
- Long Bridge Park in Crystal City (475 Long Bridge Drive)
- Quincy Park in Virginia Square (1021 N. Quincy Street)
- Welburn Square in Ballston (901 N. Taylor Street)
Arlington has a few events and activities planned coinciding with blossom season, including a pop-up market with local vendors at Metropolitan Park in Pentagon City and live music at the Crystal City Water Park.
The more famous Tidal Basin cherry blossoms in D.C., meanwhile, have reached the final stage before peak bloom. The National Park Service made the announcement this morning.
Here are some more pictures of the blossoms in stage 5: puffy white. Learn more about the blossom cycle & plan your visit at https://t.co/h04Gu0ksc1
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸/🌸#Cherryblossom #BloomWatch #WashingtonDC pic.twitter.com/phjKOaZXYF— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) March 15, 2024
A planned apartment complex is set to have even more affordable housing.
Speakers at an Arlington County Board meeting on Tuesday were divided in their thoughts about the Board’s unanimous vote to approve 88 units of additional affordable housing at 1900 S. Eads Street, in the Crystal City area.
Most spoke in favor of the change, which will make 743 of 844 planned units at Crystal House Apartments affordable.
Area resident Ben D’Avanzo said many of his neighbors are seeing high rent increases and struggling to make ends meet. While he said the neighborhood “wasn’t thrilled” with the original approval process for the apartment complex, D’Avanzo has since come on board with the project.
“This is something that is incredibly important to approve and I urge you to do so,” he said.
But Stacy Meyer, vice president of the Aurora Highlands Civic Association, has had no such change of heart.
She pointed out that the complex’s planned affordable units lack previously proposed amenities such as full balconies and a rooftop pool — a shift that she sees as “unfair to its future residents.”
Meyer argued the county’s approach to updating the Crystal House site plan, initially approved in 2019, circumvented additional opportunities for input. By pursuing changes to each building as separate minor site plan amendments, she said, the plans did not receive additional oversight from bodies such as the Site Plan Review Committee.
“The county appears to be working without regard to the future residents, fiscal transparency, the neighborhood income impacts or equitability in schools,” she said. “It’s a heavy-handed approach that we believe needs tempering.”
A letter from the AHCA to the county argues this approach “leads to the slippery slope that produced the failed inequitable public housing of the last century.”
It also took shots at the design, saying it “looks like an economy hotel.”
“When it comes to publicly financed buildings, low-income housing residents deserve the same building quality as the market, just as low-income students deserve the same education and low-income patients deserve the same medical treatment,” the letter says.
To make this development possible, the Board approved a $12.2 million low-interest loan from the Affordable Housing Investment Fund to the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH).
Board member Maureen Coffey noted that most of the planned units are for families and very low-income people, which she believes is key to meeting community needs.
“This is a really impressive and really important thing to do, to get that deep affordability, not just in a one-bedroom or a studio,” she said.
Amazon, which has its HQ2 near the Crystal House Apartments, has played a prominent role in this development project.
The company put up $381.9 million so that the nonprofit Washington Housing Conservancy could purchase the 16-acre site in late 2020, stabilize rent for the 828 existing units and build more than 500 new units.
The purchase was part of its commitment to create and preserve affordable housing as rents rise amid its growing presence. Amazon later donated the land and development rights to the county.
Last January, the county selected APAH and Bethesda-based developer EYA to oversee construction of Crystal House Apartments’ new buildings. Construction is slated to begin in spring 2025 and finish by the end of 2027, per the county presentation this week.
Trader Joe’s is seeking an alcohol license at a Crystal City location but is keeping mum about its plans.
The grocery store chain applied for the right to sell beer and wine at 2450 Crystal Drive on March 1 and is still awaiting approval, according to Virginia ABC.
A statement from Trader Joe’s declined to confirm the store opening and provided little clarity on the company’s intentions.
“We are actively looking at hundreds of neighborhoods across the country as we hope to open more new neighborhood stores each year,” Public Relations Manager Nakia Rohde told ARLnow. “At this time, we do not have a location confirmed in Arlington.”
The company noted that 2450 Crystal Drive is not on a published list of imminent store openings. The grocer had a similar response around this time last year after ARLnow asked about a construction permit application filed on the company’s behalf.
There is an existing Trader Joe’s location in Clarendon, which opened in 2011.
Both 2450 Crystal Drive and 2461 S. Clark Street — which are part of the same complex — have recently undergone substantial renovations. Rebranded as Crystal & Clark, the buildings have received upgrades to their appearance and, according to their website, offer “a street-front retail and restaurant opportunity.”
The website lists a “food market” in the works — along with a daycare facility, more eateries and a fitness center — while a rendering depicts an unnamed grocery store.
Portions of the office building still appear to be under construction. Debris and construction equipment are visible in portions of the building next to the Crystal Drive entrance.
Mezeh restaurant at 2450 Crystal Drive has temporarily closed, meanwhile, and is moving elsewhere within the development.
JBG Smith may be bowing out of a deal with the county to build a public library in Crystal City within one of its existing office buildings.
Instead of building the facility, JBG Smith now proposes paying a total of $5.8 million across seven years of annual payments, per a minor site plan amendment filed late last month.
The proposed change comes after a few years of stymied negotiations with county government.
“Since the approval of the Library Conditions, the Applicant has engaged in lease negotiations with the County diligently and in good faith,” writes land use attorney Kedrick Whitmore in a letter to the county, filed late last month. “In lieu of providing the Community Facility, the County has agreed to a monetary contribution.”
Such minor site plan amendments require an Arlington County Board hearing, according to the county.
JBG Smith agreed to financially support a new 7,200-square-foot library branch located in an existing building at 1901 S. Bell Street as a condition of redeveloping an old office building called Crystal Plaza One (2050 and 2051 S. Bell Street).
The developer is replacing the office building with two multifamily towers, an “East” and “West” tower, and shift S. Clark Street to the east to create a new S. Clark-Bell Street. About a year of construction remains for the project, which had its final steel beam put in place at the start of this year.
As part of the agreement, JBG Smith agreed to provide a rent-free space for a public library for up to 20 years, parking spaces for county staff and library patrons and $250,000 per year for five years for operational support, per the February filing.
Another condition required the lease for the library to be executed when a specific building permit was issued as construction progressed at the Crystal Plaza One site. Negotiations were already starting to stall when that deadline loomed in October 2022, however.
At the time, JBG Smith and the county had been “diligently working to complete the lease agreement” but would not finalize negotiations before construction reached the milestone, per a county report. The developer has since filed periodic requests to extend negotiations through 2023, permit records show.
An Arlington man is in jail after police say he threatened another man with a gun along Langston Blvd.
The incident happened just before noon this past Friday, near the intersection of Langston Blvd and N. Kirkwood Road. It started, police said, as a dispute inside a business.
More, below, from an Arlington County Police Department crime report.
BRANDISHING, 2024-03010111, 3100 block of Langston Boulevard. At approximately 11:52 a.m. on March 1, police were dispatched to the report of an assault in progress. The preliminary investigation indicates the suspect and male victim were inside a business when they became involved in a verbal dispute. Following the dispute, both parties exited the business and entered their respective vehicles. The suspect then allegedly circled the victim’s vehicle while brandishing what appeared to be a firearm before parking the vehicle and fleeing the area on foot. Responding officers established a perimeter, located the suspect and took him into custody without incident. [The suspect], 36, of Arlington, VA was arrested and charged with Brandishing and Driving while DUI Suspended. He was held without bond.
In another gun-related incident, police say a 24-year-old driver who got out of their car and shouted at a police officer in Crystal City had a concealed, loaded gun.
The incident happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
From ACPD:
WEAPONS VIOLATION, 2024-03020218, 23rd Street S. at S. Clark Street. At approximately 11:28 p.m. on March 2, a patrol officer observed a vehicle improperly stop in the roadway before the suspect, who was the driver, exited the vehicle, approached the cruiser and began to shout at the officer. The officer then activated his emergency equipment and made contact with the suspect. During the course of the investigation, it was determined the suspect was operating the vehicle without a valid driver’s license. During an inventory search of the vehicle prior to towing, a loaded firearm was recovered. [The suspect], 24, of Washington D.C. was charged with Carrying a Concealed Weapon and released on a summons.
Also on Saturday, several cars — all Hondas — had their airbags stolen in the Waverly Hills neighborhood.
More from the crime report:
LARCENY FROM AUTO (Series), 2024-03020079, 4400 block of 16th Street N. At approximately 11:08 a.m. on March 2, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny. Upon arrival, it was determined the unknown suspect(s) forced entry into the victim’s vehicle and stole the air bag. Responding officers canvassed the area and located two additional vehicles, in the 1500 block of N. Wakefield Street and the 4300 block of 15th Street N., with stolen air bags. The involved vehicles are Honda models. There is no suspect(s) description. The investigation is ongoing.
Tomorrow (Friday) is the last day to submit feedback on a proposed 370-unit apartment building in Crystal City.
The design is less than half the height recommended in the Crystal City Sector Plan, but developer JBG Smith argues that it would function on a more “human scale.”
The potential building site is located on “Block W” at 2451 Crystal Drive, near Reagan National Airport.
The lot currently contains a small, JBG Smith-owned workout park, playground and seating area, as well as an off-ramp to an access road. A 7-story building overlooking 35-38,000 square feet of open space would replace the off-ramp and part of the existing park, according to a presentation by the developer.
JBG Smith plans to keep the volleyball courts and might relocate other current park features.
The new development would prioritize 2-bedroom units. The project would come with a green roof as well as a courtyard that residents could access. An area adjacent to the park would be dedicated to retail space.
“While not a high-rise or tower composition, the 7-story design works well within the overall framework of providing human scale in a comfortable, pedestrian environment,” JBG Smith development analyst Karolina Pazdrazdis said.
County staff noted concerns about how the new development proposes to reroute an existing service road in a way that would limit access to the adjacent park. The building is also much shorter than the sector plan recommends.
“The applicant has chosen to envision a building that is 85 feet in height, which is well under the 200-foot building height envisioned by the sector plan,”county planner Krissy Walentisch said.
This proposed building deviates from county guidance in other ways. Walentisch said there is a significant overhang — exceeding sector plan recommendations — between the building’s “tower,” composed of floors 3-7, and the building’s “podium,” or ground floor and first floor.
The county feedback form asks residents to provide feedback on the building placement and design, as well as its impact on the current park.
Following community feedback, a Site Plan Review Committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting on the development proposal next month. After this committee meets twice, the development will go to the Planning Commission and Arlington County Board, though dates for this have yet to be set.
Meantime, other JBG Smith projects in Crystal City are also moving forward.
This week, the developer announced that the final beam had been placed atop two residential towers at 2000 and 2001 S. Bell Street, formerly Crystal Plaza. Both the 25-story West and 19-story East towers are slated for completion in the spring of 2025.
Late last month, JBG Smith also filed a new conceptual site plan proposing to redevelop a Crystal City office building. Application materials depict a 15-story office building divided into three sections, slightly off-centered from each other, at 1800 S. Bell Street.
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.
After more than 45 years of business, Ship’s Hatch is lifting anchor from its place in Crystal City’s underground mall.
The eye-catching store founded in the 1970s will still sell merchandise and take personalized engraving orders online at shipshatch.com. But at the end of this month, its whimsical porthole windows and array of military gifts and souvenirs will set sail from the subterranean shopping plaza at 1677 Crystal Drive.
“We’re leaving because we’re moving online. Online seems like a good fit for us now,” said owner Becky Shagdarsuren.
Shagdarsuren said the store’s lease is ending but she did not elaborate on details. JBG Smith, the owner of Crystal City Shops, declined to comment on this story.
Ship’s Hatch joins several other businesses in departing Crystal City’s underground alleys.
JBG Smith notified San Antonio Bar & Grill last year that, after three decades, the Tex-Mex restaurant’s lease would be expiring in December, according to co-owner Amparo Magne. The real estate company did not provide a reason for the closure.
Signage at D.C. Men’s Wear, another Crystal City Shops business, indicated on Tuesday that it, too, is leaving. The jewelry and clothing store Coqui Boutique likewise announced last year that it was clearing house after nearly four decades in business.
“Seems like everybody is leaving,” Shagdarsuren said.
Although the subterranean mall is increasingly vacant, it does not appear on JBG Smith’s “development pipeline” for the next two years, per an investors report for the third quarter of 2023, the most recent posted on the developer’s website.
Located less than a mile and a half from the Pentagon, Ship’s Hatch found its niche selling hats, pins, mugs, decanters and other memorabilia emblazoned with military and patriotic symbols.
It charted a course through major changes in Crystal City over the decades, including the impacts of Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC), which closed numerous Dept. of Defense offices in the neighborhood, starting in the late 2000s. That’s not to mention the financial hit wrought by pandemic.
Shagdarsuren bought the soon to be online-only business when its former owner and founder, Mary Beth Cox, retired in 2018.
A 40-year-old Arlington man has been charged with raping a woman in Crystal City early Thursday morning.
Police say the man started talking to a woman who was walking in the neighborhood around 2:15 a.m., before sexually and physically assaulting her in an outdoor area along 12th Street S., near Long Bridge Park.
Following an investigation, he was arrested that night during a traffic stop.
More, below, from Arlington police.
The Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is announcing the arrest of an Arlington man following a sexual assault investigation in Crystal City. Vernon Koning, 40, was arrested and charged with Rape and Strangulation. He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.
At approximately 2:15 a.m. on February 8, police were dispatched to the report of a rape. The preliminary investigation indicates the female victim was walking in the area when she became engaged in conversation with the suspect. The suspect led the victim to an outdoor area in the 200 block of 12th Street S. where he sexually and physically assaulted her. Following the assault, the victim ran from the scene and sought assistance in the 900 block of Long Bridge Drive.
Police immediately initiated a comprehensive criminal investigation. A review of evidence and witness interviews led detectives to the identity of the suspect. He was taken into custody following a traffic stop on the evening of February 8.
This remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Detective Maldonado at 703-228-4194 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). For additional community resources and contact information, visit our website.
Love is in the air and in National Landing.
This week and next, several events in Pentagon City and Crystal City will celebrate the day of love with specials and experiences for attendees spending the day solo or with a loved one.
Kick off Valentine’s Day this evening by saying goodbye to old loves — whether it is an ex-partner, a job or that bag of clothes you’ve been meaning to donate — at the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington Innovation Studio + Store, which opened last month in Amazon’s second headquarters in Pentagon City.
The pre-Valentine’s Day event today from 5-7 p.m. at 525 14th Street S. features drop-in activities include writing goodbye letters on burning paper and making sage bundles to burn, plus snacks and tea.
Then, on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), wine and dine a loved one, or yourself, at local restaurants in the area.
Say “I love you” with old-school Italian dishes such as salmon piccata, veal saltimbocca and clams casino, paired with wine, at La Bettola Italiano (558 23rd S.). The cozy, not overly formal restaurant is only offering its special Valentine’s Day menu with wine pairings on Feb. 14. Be sure to make reservations, which can be done on the website.
Next up on the food tour is Surreal, with its oasis-like outdoor dining experience suitable for both singles and couples.
The gourmet diner, which opened late last year in Crystal City (2117 Crystal Drive) is offering a three-course menu for single diners starting at 7 p.m. in the private dining room.
For couples, Surreal is open for both lunch (12-2 p.m.) and dinner (4-10 p.m.) with classic chocolate lava cake service and inventive options, such as a crispy tuna poke pillow. Reservations can be made on Surreal’s website.
Those seeking a more intimate atmosphere can head to Beauty Champagne & Sugar Boutique (576 23rd Street S.) where, on Valentine’s Day, just two couples will get to have the wine room to themselves. For $250 per pair, the wine bar will serve cocktails, wine, champagne, small bites, a main course and dessert. Couples can nab either the 5:30-7:30 p.m. slot or the 8-10 p.m. slot.
Outside these slots, the wine bar will be open regular hours for a more low-key Valentine’s or Galentine’s Day, with sparkling wine, light bites and treats. RSVP by Saturday, Feb. 10.
National Landing has a few kid-friendly Valentine’s Day activities, too.
On Monday, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. families can bowl and play arcade games  at Bowlero while raising money for the Leadership Center for Excellence. The organization helps local leaders “expand their network and access quality leadership development,” the website says.
Tickets, sold on the center’s website, include two hours of bowling, shoe rental, a $5 arcade card plus food and drinks.
On Wednesday — Valentine’s Day — children and adults can get crafty at a card-making pop-up co-hosted by MoCA Arlington and Amazon in Met Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
In the mood for a tragedy? Head to Synetic Theater (1800 S. Bell Street) for its rendition of “Romeo and Juliet,” a tale of star-crossed lovers, a bitter family feud and a romantic yet ill-fated destiny. Its wordless production from Feb. 9 to March 14 is a “unique and stunningly visual interpretation of a classic story, capturing emotion with every movement,” the website says.
Developer JBG Smith filed a new conceptual site plan late last month proposing to redevelop a Crystal City office building.
The building, located at 1800 S. Bell Street, was leased by Amazon until its lease expired in 2023.
Ahead of Amazon’s planned departure, JBG Smith signaled its plans to “take off-line and entitle [the property] for alternate uses,” per a quarterly investor package from last summer. Amazon has another lease at 2100 Crystal Drive set to expire this year.
Now, the developer is in the early stages of advancing plans for what to do with 1800 S. Bell Street, which is directly north of the Crystal City Marriott hotel and across the street from the Crystal City Metro station.
The tower could get the redevelopment treatment as early as 2026, per JBG Smith’s report.
Application materials depict a 15-story office building divided into three sections, slightly off-centered from each other, with an “architectural feature corner” recommended in the Crystal City Sector Plan.
The sector plan identifies the west border for street improvements and the northeast corner for intersection improvements. It recommends a maximum height of 300 feet.
A floor plan map shows the ground floor will have a bike room, lockers, an “amenity/service” space and two retail spaces along S. Bell Street.
The plans also show “interim conditions” near Route 1. The Virginia Dept. of Transportation proposes to lower elevated portions of the road through Crystal City to grade, turning it into a lower-speed “urban boulevard.”
The transportation agency is also mulling at least one pedestrian bridge or tunnel at 18th Street S., near the Metro station, to improve safety. VDOT’s study of Route 1 is still in its second phase, which is set to wrap up by this summer.
JBG Smith filed the conceptual site plan to get county feedback on right-of-way design, “including interim and permanent conditions relative to Route 1 street improvements,” and project timing, “relative to ongoing right-of-way improvements and coordination with VDOT,” as well as site layout, according to its application.
The county offers the conceptual site plan option to “provide guidance to prospective applicants in the preparation of land use development applications through the preliminary identification of major policy, Zoning Ordinance, County Code, and/or process related issues.”