Construction activity starts on the vacant Wendy’s lot in Courthouse

Early site work appears to have started at the long-vacant former Wendy’s lot in Courthouse.

Greystar Real Estate Partners is building an apartment building at 2025 Clarendon Blvd, about a block from the Courthouse Metro station, where the fast food spot and a bank used to be.

And this week, people nearby have observed that a fence has gone up and digging has started.

It appears construction has finally started in the empty Wendy’s lot @ARLnowDOTcom pic.twitter.com/ds17abjdAo

— Corey Inganamort (@TheBirdWords) November 2, 2022

This June, Greystar has applied for permits for sheeting and shoring work as well as for construction of a two-level underground parking garage and the 16-story apartment building with an in-ground, rooftop pool, according to Arlington County permit records.

Those plans are still being reviewed.

Representatives from Greystar were not able to respond by deadline to comment with a construction timeline.

Greystar will turn the 0.57-acre lot into a 16-story apartment building with 231 residential units and 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. Residents will have 75 vehicle parking spaces and one bike parking spot for every unit.

As part of the project, Greystar is adding a public plaza at the tip of western edge of the site — in a prominent location a block from the Metro station, where N. Courthouse Road and Wilson and Clarendon Blvd intersect — as well as an alley along the eastern edge.

The planned building will be taller than what plans for the neighborhood recommend. Greystar was able to nearly double the number of units and increase the building height by six stories by transferring development rights from Wakefield Manor, a small garden-apartment complex deemed to be historic, less than a half-mile away.

The Wendy’s and bank were torn down and initially set to be replaced with a 12-story office building, which was never built because the developer, Carr Properties, couldn’t find a tenant.

For years, the lot sat vacant. It most recently was used as a staging area for 2000 Clarendon, a condo project across the street, while Greystar bought the site and worked up apartment plans.

Meanwhile, construction continues across the street at “The Commodore” apartments. Construction crews officially broke ground on the project in October 2021 and has been adding floors at a relatively quick pace as of late.

“The Commodore” replaces low-slung brick commercial buildings that housed Jerry’s Subs, Cosi, Boston Market and Summers Restaurant. Completion of the 20-story, 423-unit building is expected next fall, Greystar previously said in a press release.

The Commodore’s ground floor retail space is close to being leased out, according to CBRE. Five businesses have struck preliminary agreements to move into the building, while one retail space is still available for leasing.

The real estate company says it’s focused on attracting “a mix of local and regional food & beverage offerings as well as daily goods & service offerings, from conveniences to luxuries, for the [Courthouse] and Clarendon communities.”

The project, located in the “Landmark Block” in Courthouse, is poised to realize a significant portion of a 2015 vision to redevelop a portion of the neighborhood dubbed “Courthouse Square” and centered around the county’s surface parking lot.