News

Changes could be coming to Army Navy Drive that will make the intersection-laden and car-clogged stretch of road a lot friendlier to bicyclists.

This weekend, the county board is expected to accept $210,000 in federal grant money to help plan a bike route on the busy Pentagon City thoroughfare. The funds will also help plan a bike route on South Joyce Street that will connect Army Navy Drive, Columbia Pike and an existing pedestrian path.


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The neighborhood booster group pitted mixologists from three Rosslyn hotel bars against one another. Their goal: to concoct a drink worthy of being dubbed Rosslyn’s “Skyline cocktail.”

Guests sampled their spirits — multiple times, in some cases, to be thorough — and then voted for their favorite by placing dollar bills in each mixologist’s jar. The winner was the home team: with nearly 300 votes cast (and donated to A-SPAN) Hotel Palomar’s tropical, fruity cocktail beat out cocktails from the Marriott and the Hyatt.


News

Wilson Boulevard Paving — Paving on Wilson Boulevard between Courthouse and Clarendon tied up traffic for the better part of yesterday afternoon. At one point, the lone open lane was blocked thanks to a construction foreman arguing a parking ticket with a parking enforcement officer.

TangySweet’s Clarendon Salad Shop Gets Name — “Rabbit” is the new name of the salad component of the future TangySweet store in Clarendon. As we first reported in May, store owner Aaron Gordon wants Rabbit to “improve on the salad offerings of competitors like SweetGreen, Mixt Greens and Chop’t.” Rabbit’s opening date depends on the construction of the Clarendon Center project, in which it will be housed. Look for a March or an April opening, says the Washington City Paper.


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Thanks to a $48 million bank loan, local developer Ironwood Realty is moving forward with construction of a 163,000 square foot mixed-use building on the site, which was most-recently home to a CVS Pharmacy. Work is set to begin in the next 2-3 weeks, according to the Washington Business Journal.

When completed, the development — dubbed Garfield Park at Clarendon Village — will house 149 luxury apartment units, 20,000 square feet of retail space and nearly 300 underground parking spaces.


News

Arlington police officers positioned themselves at the busy intersection of Wilson Boulevard and North Lynn Street during the morning traffic rush and the lunch time pedestrian rush, in an effort to catch people violating basic traffic safety laws. During the course of the morning rush hour alone, they handed out 33 citations to drivers and gave 50 verbal warnings to pedestrians and cyclists.

The enforcement was part of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s eighth annual Street Smart safety campaign, which officially launched today with a lunchtime press conference in Rosslyn.


News

(Updated at 12:55 p.m.) An office building on the 1500 block of Wilson Boulevard was evacuated around 12:15 this afternoon after smoke started pouring from a shaft in the building’s parking garage.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the small blaze by spraying water from a grate above the garage.


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That transportation option was the electric trolley. More than 100 years later, Arlington’s leaders are moving forward with a $200 million streetcar project that will stop in some of the same places as its long-forgotten predecessor.

Aurora Highlands Civic Association president Michael Dowell recently wrote about the area’s transportation history in the group’s monthly newsletter.


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The company still hasn’t signed a lease, we learned; it’s waiting for the Arlington County board to approve a site plan amendment for the space it wants to occupy in the Clarendon Center development. That approval is expected next Tuesday, with county staff recommending the changes laid out in the amendment.

With the lease signed, Trader Joe’s expects to be able to open in late spring or early summer. No specific dates were discussed.


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It was July when we first learned that the upscale Greek eatery would be opening up in a 4,000 square foot space on Clarendon Boulevard. Despite questions about whether the restaurant might have scrapped its plans, we’re hearing that owner Ted Xenohristos is still very much moving forward with the Clarendon Cava.

According to a tipster, Xenohristos is telling people that the restaurant is 4-5 months away from opening. A banner will soon be posted outside the boarded-up storefront, and Facebook and Twitter announcements will soon follow, we’re told.


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