Power Outage in N. Arlington
Update at 10:20 a.m. — Power has been restored to the traffic signals along Lee Highway, according to scanner traffic.
More than 1,500 Dominion customers are reported to be without power this morning in Arlington.
The outage appears to be centered around the northwest corner of Arlington, near the border with the City of Falls Church. A number of readers have been reporting power outages and dark traffic lights along Lee Highway.
Among the traffic signals without power are those at the intersections of Lee Highway and N. Harrison Street and Lee Higway and N. Sycamore Street. The Overlee pool is closed due to the power outage, according to the pool’s Twitter account.
Dominion trucks are reported to be in the area, working to restore power.
Electrical Accident Sends One to the Hospital
(Updated at 2:15 p.m.) Police and firefighters responded to the intersection of Lee Highway and N. Monroe Street this morning for an electrical accident.
Initial reports indicate that a worker who was digging with a small front loader struck a high-voltage line. The contact sent sparks flying through the air. The worker reportedly suffered burn injuries from the sparks and was transported to a local hospital.
The accident happened in front of a Dominion power substation.
More than a half dozen Dominion workers are now on scene, assessing the situation. State occupational safety investigators were also said to be en route.
The front loader belongs to D.A. Foster, a Northern Virginia company that “specializes in relocation and new business services of underground utilities, including gas, electric, water, sewer and telecommunications.” Earlier this week county officials told ARLnow.com that work was underway along Lee Highway for the Cherrydale Utility Undergrounding project. However, Arlington County spokeswoman Laura G. Smith says the company was contracting for Dominion at the time.
Chipotle Plans October Opening For Lee Heights Franchise
The Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant slated for the former Cafe Parisien space at 4520 Lee Highway in the Lee Heights shopping center is scheduled to open on Oct. 16, according to a company spokesperson.
The franchise owner and a team of contractors were on site today (Monday) to tour the still-empty interior. But a sign on the boarded-up front of the store promised the “Burritofication” of the former French restaurant and long-time Lee Heights fixture, which closed suddenly last summer.
This will be Chipotle’s fifth Arlington location after one opened in June in the Pentagon City Mall food court.
Video: Historic Calloway Cemetery on Lee Highway
Earlier this year, the county held a public hearing about designating the tiny 7,100 square foot Calloway Cemetery at 5000 Lee Highway a historic district. The cemetery, which dates back to the 19th century, is part of Calloway United Methodist Church, in the Hall’s Hill area.
A new county-produced video (above) explores the history of the cemetery plot and the process of documenting and preserving its historic features.
County Board Approves $6.5 Million In Water Infrastructure Improvements
Updated at 1:55 p.m. The Arlington County Board on Saturday approved $6.5 million in contracts for a new water main project on Williamsburg Boulevard and a sewer pipe upgrade at the intersection of Lee Highway and John Marshall Drive.
The Williamsburg Boulevard Water Supply Main project is the second phase of the county’s effort to connect the Ethan Allen pump station to the Minor Hill Reservoir. Part of the water main, from the pump station to north Glebe Road, was completed in 2003. The segment from North Glebe Road to 34th Road North is under construction.
The $5.6 million project was awarded to Alexandria-based contractor Martin & Gass Inc., which will lay the 36-inch water main in Williamsburg Boulevard beginning at 35th Street North and ending at the reservoir. The new water main will provide water supply to Minor Hill, which will allow for maintenance on existing water mains without service disruption, according to an Arlington County press release.
The entire water main should be completed by September 2013, according to Shannon Whalen McDaniel, spokeswoman for the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services. The new phase of the project will begin in December.
About $900,000 of the approved funds will go toward sewer improvements at John Marshall Drive and Lee Highway, an area the county deemed as prone to flooding in a 2011 analysis. Flooding during a June 2006 storm damaged area homes, which prompted the stormwater study. The project is scheduled to begin in September, McDaniel said.
“As our County continues to grow and age, it is critical that we make ongoing, prudent investments in our infrastructure,” said County Board Chair Mary Hynes. “The upgrades that the Board approved today will help improve the operations of our essential water and sewage systems, protect against flooding and allow us to continue delivering first-class services to our residents.”
‘Burger 7′ Coming Soon to Lee Highway
A new burger restaurant is coming to Arlington.
“Burger 7″ is coming to the 2500 block of Lee Highway, next to a 7-Eleven store in the old Chickpeas Restaurant space. Burger 7 has an existing location at 7505 Leesburg Pike, in Falls Church and, in addition to the Arlington location, will be opening an Alexandria location later this year.
Burger 7 bills itself as a restaurant that’s “committed to bringing you a juicy gourmet burger that will take you to burger heaven.” According to the company’s website, Burger 7 uses certified Angus beef, which is ground fresh daily. The beef is said to be sourced from humanely-raised cattle that has been fed an all-vegetarian diet and which has never been given hormones or antibiotics.
Other menu items at Burger 7 include french fries cooked in olive oil, sweet fries, onion rings handspun shakes made with organic milk and grass-fed all-beef hotdogs.
No word yet on when the Lee Highway location is expected to open. Calls to the phone number listed for the company were not answered.
Lights Blinking at Intersection After Fire in Walk Signal
The traffic lights at the intersection of westbound Lee Highway and Lynn Street, in Rosslyn, are blinking due to an earlier fire.
A pedestrian walk signal at the intersection somehow caught on fire around 11:30 this morning. The fire was minor and eventually burned itself out, but not before passersby caught sight of smoke coming from the signal. As a result of the fire, power was temporarily cut to all traffic signals at the intersection.
As of 12:10 p.m., the lights were operating on battery power and blinking red. Police were on scene assisting with traffic control.
New Froyo Store Coming to Lee Harrison Shops
A new frozen yogurt store may be coming to the Lee Harrison Shopping Center.
According to a Facebook page, a Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt store is coming to the shopping center. Building permits were issued late last month (May) for the store, located at 2439 N. Harrison Street. Tutti Frutti will replace the former Serendipity store, which sold home furnishings, decorations and gifts.
No word yet on when Tutti Frutti will open, but the Facebook page lists the store’s hours (once it does open) as 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
With 580 locations in 23 countries, Tutti Frutti says it’s ”the largest self-serve frozen yogurt brand in the world.” The franchise has a roster of more than 50 flavors of frozen yogurt, along with numerous fruit, candy and other toppings.
Recently the company introduced soy frozen yogurt, a fat-free, dairy-free and vegan-friendly alternative to traditional frozen yogurt.
Hat tip to Along the Pike
Then and Now: The Hicks Store on Lee Highway
The photo on the left is of the Hicks Store on Lee Highway at N. Culpeper Street, taken in 1960. The store was in an area known as Hall’s Hill — now often called High View Park — which became a predominantly black community when freed slaves settled there shortly after the Civil War. Many family run stores owned by black residents opened in the area during the early 1900s. Hicks store was one of several businesses owned by the Hicks family.
Near the store, the Hicks cemetery is where family members were buried, until the land was condemned in 1959, to accommodate for the widening of Lee Highway west of Glebe Road. The remains were moved to a cemetery in Herndon.
The photo on the right is how the corner of Lee Highway at N. Culpeper Street looks today. A Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant now sits on the site.
Historic photo courtesy Arlington Public Library’s Virginia Room
MOM’s Organic Market Coming to Bergmann’s Development?
The forthcoming development on the Bergmann’s Cleaning site on Lee Highway — still in the planning stages — may include a MOM’s Organic Market, according to an email obtained by ARLnow.com.
The project has been evolving as developer McCaffrey Interests responds to neighborhood input and objections to the project. Whereas just a couple of months ago the project was to include a specialty grocery and 13,500 square feet of other retail, it now includes just the grocery store, with the retail replaced by 15 row houses along N. Veitch and N. Uhle Streets. The change is expected to reduce traffic around the development.
The project still includes a 10-story, 166-unit, LEED Gold-certified, glass-covered apartment building, complete with a fitness center and swimming pool on the penthouse level. The current plan, which will be discussed at a Site Plan Review Committee meeting at 7:00 tonight, also includes 222 spaces of surface and underground parking for residents and grocery store customers.
In an email to its members, the local North Highlands Civic Association said McCaffrey expects that a MOM’s Organic Market will move into the grocery store space once the project is completed. The store may also have some sort of cafe component, to make up for the lack of other retail within the development. County staff have previously expressed skepticism about a specialty grocery store at the site, saying the area is already well-served by Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.
MOM’s currently has a location in Alexandria and is expected to open a location in Falls Church, but the local chain does not have an Arlington presence yet.
As part of the development, McCaffrey has agreed to several community amenities, including improvements to nearby McCoy Park, a modification to the adjacent Custis Trail, and 8 on-site affordable apartments. McCaffrey Interests is responsible for a number of notable local developments, including Georgetown Centre in D.C. and Market Common Clarendon in Arlington.
Chipotle Coming to Former Cafe Parisien Space
A Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant is coming to the former Cafe Parisien space at 4520 Lee Highway in the Lee Heights shopping center.
Building permits were issued for the restaurant about two weeks ago. A tipster tells us a contractor was out measuring the storefront’s awning today.
This will be Chipotle’s fourth Arlington location and the first here that isn’t within easy walking distance of a Metro. The company’s existing eateries are located in Ballston, Crystal City and Rosslyn. The Lee Highway location could put restaurant in more direct competition with Arlington’s popular, homegrown Mexican eatery, District Taco (5723 Lee Highway).
No word yet on when Chipotle hopes to open. Cafe Parisien, a long-time fixture of the shopping strip, closed late last summer.
Apartments, Grocer Proposed for Bergmann’s Site
A development proposal being examined by Arlington’s Site Plan Review Committee tonight would build a new apartment tower and a new grocery store on the Bergmann’s Cleaning site on Lee Highway.
The proposed buildings would replace the former Bergmann’s dry cleaning plant, at the corner of Lee Highway and N. Veitch Street, and five early 20th century houses across the street from the plant. The homes are also owned by Bergmann’s.
In place of the plant, Chicago-based McCaffery Interests proposes to build a 26,000 square foot, single-story “specialty grocery store.”
In place of the houses, which are located between N. Uhle Street and I-66, the developer is proposing a 10-story, 166-unit, LEED Gold-certified apartment building, complete with a fitness center and swimming pool on the penthouse level. The apartment building would have a mostly-glass façade, with white vertical concrete columns.
Planners have expressed reservations about several aspects of the development plan. County staff oppose the grocery store plan, which would require a partial exemption of the allowed retail density for the site. Arlington County has a policy of making exceptions for grocery stores, which are seen as a net positive for the community, but staff notes that density exemptions have only been granted for full-size grocery stories.
“While [Arlington Economic Development] considers the area around Bergmann’s underserved by full-service full size grocers for everyday shopping (stores like Safeway or Giant), they consider this area well-served by specialty grocers (Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s),” a planning document says.
Concerns about the height of the apartment building, and the stark transition between the single-story grocery store and the ten-story apartment, have also been raised. Another likely topic of discussion: the fact that all parking for the combined project (226 spaces) will be located in a garage below and on the roof above the grocery store. Apartment tenants will have to walk across N. Uhle Street after parking.
The developer, McCaffrey Interests, is responsible for a number of notable local developments, including Georgetown Centre in D.C. and Market Common Clarendon in Arlington. The company’s Washington office is located in Courthouse.
Following tonight’s Site Plan Review Committee meeting, the project is expected to be considered by the Arlington Planning Commission and County Board no earlier than June 2012.
Vehicle Slams into Walgreens on Lee Highway
Police responded to an accident involving a vehicle crashing into the Walgreens at 3130 Lee Highway.
The vehicle jumped the curb and slammed into one of the building’s pillars. Nobody was hurt and there is no damage to the vehicle.
Police requested that a building inspector check out the damage to Walgreens, however the pillar is decorative and should not affect the building’s structural integrity. Police say the damage “looks worse than it really is.”
A tow truck arrived at the scene as a precaution, but with no damage to the car, it appears the driver can leave without assistance.
Man in Wheelchair Struck by Car on Lee Highway
A man in a wheelchair was struck by a car on Lee Highway in Cherrydale last night.
The accident happened around 9:40 p.m., as a political debate was letting out at the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department. The man’s injuries were not reported to be serious or life-threatening.
The following was sent to members of the Cherrydale neighborhood listserv early this morning.
Right after the debate, around 9:40 PM a disabled neighbor from the Cherrydale Rehabilitation Center was struck while wheeling across Lee hwy. He was conscious and not bleeding when we arrived.
Of note, it was dark, raining, 2 street lights were out (on either corner between the hardware store and Safeway), the victim was wearing dark clothes, in a dark red wheelchair, and he was crossing where there was no cross walk, i.e. from the NW backside of Safeway crossing to Oakland, which works out a little diagonal. He was struck by a car heading west. It does not appear she was speeding.
I believe [REDACTED] and others have complained to the County that this is not a safe crossing area.
It is simply human to take the shortest distance whenever possible. The victim was heading home from 7/11. He could have crossed at the official cross walk by the firestation but that’s a long light. So it seems to me we need to recognize the human need to travel the shortest distance. Put in another crosswalk. Keep it well lighted. Probably other good ideas are out there as well.
I put in a call to Shannon Flanagan Watson at the County Manager’s office. I’m sure she’ll get back to us shortly and I’ll keep you posted.
Our own Cherrydale Vol Fire Dept volunteers were first on the scene. Cherrydale Rehab employees were very supportive. I’ll keep you all posted on how he is doing.
Accident at Lee Highway and Lynn Street
(Updated at 1:40 p.m.) A two-car accident has occurred at the busy intersection of Lee Highway and N. Lynn Street, in Rosslyn.
One car ran into a pole, while the other car ran into a guardrail. One minor injury was reported.
The accident happened at the southern Lee/Lynn intersection, away from pedestrians on the Custis Trail.
