2201 Pershing Apartments Now Leasing
The large new apartment complex on the corner of Arlington Boulevard and N. Pershing Drive in Lyon Park has now started leasing.
2201 Pershing, as the complex is known, is billed as a luxury apartment community with 188 residences and 31,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. Rent starts at $1,810. New residents are expected to start moving into their apartments in July, according to developer Equity Residential.
A press release claims “easy access” to the Courthouse and Clarendon Metro stations, though in reality both are about three quarters of a mile away.
2201 Pershing is located adjacent to Arlington Blvd., one of the major arteries of the Washington, DC area, with easy access to Courthouse and Clarendon Metro stations. The buildings feature 34 different floor plans designed with modern and upscale interiors, ranging in size from 629 – 1,440 square feet, with the option of a balcony or patio. Each apartment home boasts 9 foot ceilings, unique interior finishes of ceramic tile and hardwood floors, stone countertops, extra-wide cabinetry and wood flooring, as well as spacious walk-in closets.
Designed to deliver a lifestyle of convenience, 2201 Pershing is a smoke-free, pet-friendly community with expansive amenities including a 24-hour concierge, clubroom, fitness center, and media/theater room. The highlight of the property is a two-level elevated courtyard with extensive landscaping, fire pit, outdoor kitchen and grill area, cabanas, and outdoor movie theatre wall. Residents will also enjoy a newly renovated outdoor pool deck redesigned to offer a resort-style experience with new lounge furniture, umbrellas and custom built pergolas.
Pershing Drive Shut Down Due to Gas Leak
(Updated at 1:35 p.m.) Pershing Drive has been closed at N. Cleveland Street, between N. Barton Street and N. Danville Street in the Lyon Park neighborhood, due to a reported gas leak.
So far crews aren’t sure how big the ruptured gas line is, but there are concerns that it may be a larger distribution line.
Police are redirecting traffic around the leak until the gas company can patch up the line. The leak is three blocks from Fort Myer and one block from an apartment construction site.
Update at 12:50 p.m. — We hear that Pershing Drive will remain closed for “a couple of hours” while gas company crews dig up the street to reach the leak.
Morning Notes
Lyon Park Community House Plan Approved — A permit to expand and renovate the historic Lyon Park Community Center was approved on Saturday by the Arlington County Board. The planned changes to the house, owned by the private Lyon Park Citizens Association, includes an updated kitchen and a new sunroom. [Arlington County]
Pike Affordable Housing Project Approved — Also on Saturday, the County Board approved up to $6 million worth of lending to local nonprofit developer AHC Inc. to build a new 83-unit affordable housing complex. The building will replace a Shell gas station along Arlington’s western end of Columbia Pike. [Arlington County]
Hall’s Hill Cemetery Wins Historic Status — The County Board has voted to grant historic status to an African American cemetery in the Hall’s Hill and High View Park areas of Arlington. The small cemetery plot was the final resting place for about 100 residents, who were buried between 1891 and 1959. [Sun Gazette]
Last Day for Special Election Registration — Today is the last day to register to vote or update your address for the March 27 County Board Special Election. Contenders in the race to replace former County Board member (and current state Senator) Barbara Favola include Libby Garvey (D), Mark Kelly (R) and Audrey Clement (G).
Flickr pool photo by Allee574
Board to Consider Permit to Expand Lyon Park Community House
After more than a decade of working to make it a reality, the Lyon Park Citizens Association may finally get its community house renovated. The Arlington County Board is scheduled to take up the issue at Saturday morning’s meeting.
The association has requested a permit to expand and renovate the community house, which was built in 1925 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. If approved, the permit would allow for the addition of more than 1,000 square feet. Among the changes would be an update to the kitchen and the addition of a sunroom. The plan also includes various updates to make the house handicap accessible.
Typically, an expansion of this kind would also require the addition of parking spaces; In this particular case, 13 extra. However, the building was constructed before a zoning ordinance regarding parking was put in place. Therefore, county staff has recommended that the expansion be allowed without the addition of parking spaces. The permit would require the association provide handouts with off-site parking information to anyone who applies to rent the facility.
Because the house and park are owned by the Lyon Park Citizens Association, county money will not be used for the renovations. The association has been fundraising to finance the project.
If the County Board follows the staff recommendation to approve the permit, the association hopes to begin construction sometime this year.
Morning Notes
Hope Proposes Cigarette Tax Hike — Arlington’s Del. Patrick Hope (D) is planning to introduce a bill that would increase Virginia’s relatively low cigarette tax. Unlike past years when Hope has proposed a cigarette tax hike only to have it promptly killed by Republicans, Hope is now proposing that revenue from the tax go directly to car tax relief, rather than to anti-smoking programs or Medicaid funding. [WTVR]
Record Profit for Virginia ABC — Virginia’s state-owned ABC liquor stores and restaurant wholesale business saw record sales and a record profit in fiscal year 2011. The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control says it recorded an all-time high profit of $121 million last fiscal year, amid record demand for wine, liquor and mixers at stores and from restaurants. The state’s top-selling liquor, meanwhile, is Jack Daniels. [Associated Press]
Lime Fresh Now Open in Clarendon — Lime Fresh Mexican Grill officially opened in Clarendon on Monday. The restaurant, at 2900 Wilson Boulevard, is the first D.C. location for the Florida-based chain. Another Lime Fresh location is planned for Pentagon Row. The chain originally got its start in 2004 as a restaurant on Miami’s South Beach. The Clarendon Lime Fresh location will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days a week.
Lyon Park Community Center Renovations — The County Board is expected to consider a use permit in March for planned renovations to the Lyon Park Community Center. [Sun Gazette]
Flickr pool photo by Alex
Progress on 2201 North Pershing Drive Project
What was once the Lee Center strip mall is now a big, dusty hole in the ground.
Construction is well underway on what is known as the 2201 North Pershing Drive project. When work wraps up in mid-to-late 2012, the $75 million project at Route 50 and Pershing Drive will consist of 188 rental apartments and nearly 33,500 square feet of ground-level retail space.
For now, motorists on Pershing Drive have to put up with regular lane closures, slow-moving construction equipment and flagmen directing traffic.
Lyon Park to Hold Spring Fair, Big Wheel Grand Prix
Lyon Park will hold its annual Spring Fair and Big Wheel Grand Prix on Saturday.
The fair is being held on the grounds of the Lyon Park Community Center (414 N. Fillmore Street) from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The event will feature carnival games, pony rides, moon bounces, a bake sale, a plant sale, food and drink concession stands, and live bluegrass music.
Following the fair, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m, the third annual Lyon Park Big Wheel Grand Prix will be held. Helmet-clad competitors — kids and adults — will careen down N. Garfield Street on plastic “big wheel” tricycles for racing glory — and to raise money for the community center’s upcoming renovation.
“Danger and adversity is no match for our fierce community,” says the official Lyon Park Big Wheel Grand Prix web site.
The fair is one of more than a dozen Arlington Neighborhood Day events planned for Saturday.
Flyer image via the Lyon Park Citizens Association
Ashton Heights to Celebrate 90th Anniversary With House Tour
The annual Lyon Park-Ashton Heights house tour will be held this weekend.
This year’s event will mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of Ashton Heights. The tour will feature homes built between 1904 and 2009. Along the way there will be antique cars, retro costumes, old documents and demonstrations of green technology.
The tour will take place on Sunday between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. Here’s how organizers are describing it:
Ninety years after real estate developer Ashton Jones created the subdivision he named after himself and appealed to Washingtonians to move to one of the first commuter neighborhoods in Arlington, the Ashton Heights Civic Association kicks off its anniversary celebration with the annual Lyon Park-Ashton Heights Villas & Vistas house tour showcasing the area’s history and charm.
This year’s Villas & Vistas house tour will celebrate Ashton Heights’ 90th anniversary with proceeds benefiting the renovation of the Lyon Park Community Center, a 1920s historic structure. The tour features twelve houses spanning 1904-2009, from bungalows to colonials, and the way residents have adapted them over nine decades through remodeling and green opportunities. Tour participants also will experience some fun vintage surprises–old cars, retro costumes, and original house documents–along the way. Owners will be on hand to demonstrate aspects of green technology, display building materials, point out original details, describe renovation/design parameters, and share product information (as well as fascinating stories about former owners.) A limited number of the Ashton Heights Style Guide, an illustrative how-to on planning additions to period houses, will be available.
See a list of homes on the tour here.
Other events being held this year in honor of Ashton Height’s 90th anniversary include a neighborhood picnic, lectures on neighborhood history and “a celebration of long-time residents.”
Courtesy photo
Water Main Break in Lyon Park
Arlington’s Office of Emergency Management issued the following statement tonight regarding a water main break in Lyon Park.
Commuters should avoid the intersection of Pershing Drive and N. Barton Street due to a water main repair now underway. Pershing Drive between Wayne Street and N. Barton Street is one travel lane with flaggers. Access from Barton Street onto Pershing Drive is affected. The break occured today during the installation of a new 12-inch water main. One residential block of N. Barton Street from Pershing Drive to N. 9th Street and a small number of businesses in the 2200 block of N. Pershing Drive have been notified that they will remain without water while repairs are made into the evening.
Lyon Villagers Press County Officials On Parking, Traffic Issues
Residents of the quiet neighborhoods that surround Arlington’s urban villages have a very peculiar relationship with the automobile. At least, that’s the conclusion one could draw based on citizen input at a Lyon Village community meeting that focused on parking and street-related issues.
Residents are quite opposed to the county taking away parking on one side of narrow neighborhood streets to allow fire engines and garbage trucks to operate safely. But they also want more zone parking to keep outsiders from parking on the same streets. And at least one gentleman wanted folks who rent houses to have their street parking limited to just two cars.
Residents expressed indignation that their streets weren’t plowed during snow storms, making navigation treacherous. Then some asked if there was any way streets could be closed to through traffic. One man earnestly suggested quadrupling the number of speed humps and lowering the speed limit to 15 miles per hour.
In short, when it comes to cars, some residents want things their way and want others to stay on the highway.
Lucky for them, Arlington County seems perfectly willing to listen and respond to their requests.
Last night Arlington County Director of Transportation Dennis Leach and Traffic Engineering and Operations Chief Wayne Wentz sat down for a 90 minutes discussion with about 30 residents at the Lyon Village Community House. Although the meeting was ostensibly about street parking, all manner of street-related issues were brought up. The meeting was attended by Lyon Village residents and by representatives of other local civic associations, who are worried about the county’s recent move to restrict street parking on certain narrow streets.
Wentz and Leach explained that while the county is not actively looking for narrow streets, one complaint about a street’s width — from the fire department, a garbage contractor or an anonymous resident — is all it takes for county staff to be sent out with measuring tapes. They will visit a street several times, on different days and at different times, to study parking utilization. If the street is less than 28 feet wide and heavily parked on both sides, parking restrictions will likely be recommended — although first the county will notify residents and initiate a neighborhood discussion about the changes.
Lyon Village Parking Restrictions In the Works?
What started as a fight over planned parking restrictions on one Lyon Park street seems to be spreading.
Last week, residents of N. Danville Street and several other Lyon Village streets noticed county staff measuring street widths. Staff were reportedly checking to see if the streets were too narrow for trash trucks and fire trucks, as was the case with N. Edgewood Street in Lyon Park.
According to Lyon Village Citizens Association President H.K. Park, the county is considering restricting parking to one side of Danville and other neighborhood streets that county staffers have deemed too narrow. On Monday, the LVCA will meet to discuss the possible parking changes with county staff.
According to an email sent to residents, the meeting will address:
- “The justification for this new policy–whether your street may be next and how the county will select which side.”
- “The frequency of garbage truck and fire truck problems.”
- “How this policy comports with policies that encourage fewer driveways and garages and more on-street parking.”
- “Whether any accommodation will be made for handicapped, elderly, and parents with infants who need close access to cars.”
- “Whether the ‘problem’ is caused primarily by construction, commuter, and other non-resident vehicles that might be regulated in some other way.”
- “Possible unintended consequences of any such restrictions, such as making it easier for cars to cut through the neighborhood and travel at higher speeds.”
Representatives from several other civic associations have said they plan to attend the meeting “because they believe their neighborhoods are next,” according to Park.
Among those who will be in attendance is Natalie Roy, president of the Lyon Park Citizens Association.
Lyon Park Shell Station Is Closed, But Not For Good
Several people have emailed us and asked about the Shell station at 2835 Washington Boulevard in Lyon Park. Fences have been erected around the station and heavy equipment brought in to dig up the concrete around the pumps. That has led some to fear that another area gas station might have fallen victim to development.
Fear not, the station is merely upgrading.
County records show that the station is replacing three underground 10,000 gallon tanks. The construction crew is merely digging to reach the tanks.
Workers we talked to said the station will likely be closed for about a month.
Neighborhood Wants County to Delay Parking Restrictions
The Lyon Park Citizens Association is asking the county board to defer plans to restrict parking on part of Edgewood Street “pending a review of current County parking policy.”
County staff notified residents that they intended to restrict parking to one side Edgewood Street between 1st Road and 2nd Road after finding that some fire trucks are too wide to fit down the narrow street with cars parked on both sides. As we reported after the Feb. 12 board meeting, members of the board seemed sympathetic to the association’s request that the restrictions to be put on hold until the county and neighbors could come to a mutually agreeable solution.
In a letter to County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman, LPCA President Natalie Roy makes it clear that the association views the parking question as an issue of county-wide importance. Roy says the group is worried about how the county plans to implement restrictions on other narrow streets.
“There are numerous streets similar to Edgewood in Arlington that are too narrow for a ladder truck – why single out Edgewood Street at this time?” she asks. “The parking policy should be reviewed immediately to arrive at a more objective, cohesive, defendable, and democratic approach to governing parking within the County.”
While acknowledging that Edgewood Street is indeed too narrow for a ladder truck to navigate, Roy suggested that the trucks may be less costly to change than the streets.
“To be clear, the LPCA is concerned about safety first,” Roy writes. “As opposed to re-engineering streets throughout the entire County, it might prove more cost-effective and less disruptive to explore acquisition of different emergency vehicle.”
See the full letter, after the jump.
County Tries to Balance Safety With Parking in Lyon Park
(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) Arlington County wants to put residents on a car-free diet, but a spat over on-street parking in Lyon Park shows that residents with cars still have plenty of pull with the county board.
The county’s streets bureau, responding to a complaint from a trash collector, determined that a curvy, two-block stretch of North Edgewood Street is too narrow. With cars parked on either side, firefighters brought in to test the width did not have enough room to open the bins on either side of their fire engine.
Acting upon the results of the test, the streets bureau sent notice to residents that they were planning on restricting parking to one side of the street. But residents fought back and, this weekend, seemed to get some cover from the county board.
Lyon Park Civic Association President Natalie Roy spoke before the board and asked why the county has not found fault with the street’s width until now. She said that elderly residents whose houses lack driveways rely on street parking. Residents tried to create an alternative plan for dealing with the situation, she added, but that county staff made “Draconian” changes to it.
Most board members were sympathetic to the parking concerns.
“The fire truck can be a once in several year occurrence,” said County Board Vice Chair Mary Hynes. “I don’t want a solution for the once every five year event. I want solutions that make livability on this street reasonable.”
“If safety is such a priority, why do we wait until a complaint?” board member Jay Fisette asked, pointing out that there are plenty of other county streets that could potentially be considered too narrow.
Red, Red Wine at EatBar
Wintertime temperatures for wine drinkers mean red wine, and EatBar will have plenty of it available Saturday.
The popular gastropub will present its Viva Le Rouge! Red, Red Wine tasting from 1 to 4 p.m., offering those who may be new to drinking wine to the most experienced wine drinkers the chance to try something new, and to buy their favorites at reduced prices.
“Over the years, we’ve learned people love to taste new things and they like to stock up for Valentine’s Day,” said EatBar spokeswoman Jennifer Eberline.
Nearly 20 wines will be offered during the tasting and the obvious catch for the Red, Red Wine Tasting: they’re all the same rougey color. (more…)
