Demolition of Alpine Restaurant is Approved, Kickstarting Work on The Children’s School

(Updated at 2 p.m.) Plans to demolish Alpine Restaurant on Lee Highway have been approved, inching forward the planned construction of The Children’s School daycare facility.

Despite the approval, the permit to demolish the building at 4770 Lee Highway, held by Trinity Group Construction, has yet to be issued.

“Once a payment is received, the permit is then issued,” said Andrew Pribulka, a spokesperson for the Arlington Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development, in an email. “Demolition may not begin until permits have been issued and posted.”

Trinity has applied for two other permits, one to excavate and another to build the facility.

Requests for comment from Trinity and The Children’s School were not returned.

The progress comes two-and-a-half years after the County Board unanimously approved a permit to build a three-story daycare facility for children of employees of Arlington Public Schools, to be built where the long-time restaurant has stood vacant for a decade.

The private, nonprofit child care center will oversee no more than 235 children of APS staff between the ages of two months and five years old. This new facility will also be home to Integration Station, a program for kids with developmental or other disabilities.

Both the co-op daycare and Integration Station are temporarily housed in the same Ballston office building at 4420 N. Fairfax Drive. The programs were co-located in the Reed School building in Westover, but were forced out when APS decided to open a new elementary school there.

The Reed School is set to open to students in 2021.

One year after approving the project, the Board approved a request to eliminate off-site parking and modify initial architectural plans.

Most parking is below-ground with some above ground, and the plans now includes a third-story rear play deck and an expanded rear wall to shield neighboring houses from car headlights, a concern from residents.

Alpine Restaurant served Italian cuisine and was in business for 44 years before closing in 2010 upon the owner’s retirement. It was acquired by the owners of the Liberty Tavern Restaurant Group, which ultimately decided against opening a new restaurant there.

Photo via Google Maps