Author: ARLnow.com

Ballston Development Approved — “Penzance, a leading owner, operator and developer in the Mid-Atlantic region for over two decades, has received approval from Arlington County for its proposed redevelopment of Ballston One at 4601 N. Fairfax Drive. The approved plan will convert the existing office building into a vibrant new residential community.” [Press Release, WBJ]

More on Crystal City Conversion — “JBG SMITH… has received approval from Arlington County to transform more than 550,000 square feet of vacant office space across two out-of-service National Landing office buildings into a 195-unit apartment building and a 344-room, dual-branded hotel.” [Press Release]

Food Hall Replacing Brown’s — “The oldest business in Falls Church will be replaced by the hottest new thing in food halls. Wonder, the food hall concept featuring recreated recipes from celebrity chefs and nationally known restaurants, has filed paperwork to open at 100 W. Broad St., replacing Brown’s Hardware, which closed earlier this year.” [WBJ]

Business Sustainability Partnership — “The Arlington County Board voted to approve a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Arlington County and Ceres, formalizing a strategic partnership for the development and implementation of the Arlington Corporate Climate Leaders (ACCL) program to be launched later this year.” [Arlington County]

Crash at Tricky Intersection — “A driver running a red signal appeared to have caused a crash yesterday at the newly revamped intersection of Army Navy Drive & S. Hayes Street in Pentagon City… In the view from my driver’s seat, you can see how that right turn signal lines up with my car. I was in the same lane as the driver in the video.” [Dave Statter/X]

New Certification at MU — “Marymount University has launched its new Workday Pro Platform Administrator Certification, becoming one of only two higher education institutions in the nation to partner with global cloud-based software leader Workday to offer certification programs to the public.” [Press Release]

Economic Diversification Plans — The Northern Virginia Chamber has released a plan to diversify the region’s economy away from federal jobs, attracting investment and creating jobs in key industries like AI and biotech. The initiative aims to address economic challenges from recent federal workforce cuts and will advocate for strategies such as affordable housing and child care. [WBJ]

PSL Date Announced — “The unofficial start of fall has a date: Tuesday, August 26, when Starbucks will bring back the Pumpkin Spice Latte… the latte’s actual launch date is four days later than last year’s, and marks the latest release since 2022.” [Axios]

Smoke Today, Heat Later — “We could have just a bit of haze in the sky… courtesy of wildfire smoke from Canada. But it shouldn’t be enough smoke to greatly impact air quality… Enjoy this less hot and humid weather while it lasts. Sweltering heat is in the forecast for Friday and Saturday.” [CWG]

It’s Tuesday — Expect sunshine and a high of around 85 with a gentle northeast wind at 6 mph. Tonight the sky will be mostly clear, with the temperature dropping to around 68. [NWS]

Proposal for Fmr. Verizon Building — “Quadrangle Development Corp. has proposed converting a mostly vacant office building in Courthouse to apartments. The D.C.-based developer filed an adaptive reuse application July 15 with Arlington County, outlining a proposal to transform the 12-story office at 1320 N. Courthouse Road into 295 multifamily units.” [WBJ]

Big Blow for Shirlington-Based WETA — “Of Greater Washington’s stations, WETA, D.C’s primary Public Broadcasting Service member station and producer of “PBS News Hour,” has the most on the chopping block, according to annual financial reports required by the CPB. In 2024, WETA-TV received more than $34 million in funding from the CPB and nearly $11 million from PBS. That represents to 27.5% of its budget.” [WBJ]

Vehicle Break-Ins on S. Glebe Road — “During the overnight hours, approximately 8 vehicles inside a parking garage were broken into, including some by force. The vehicles were rummaged through and personal property, including sporting equipment and a firearm, were stolen from two of the vehicles.” [ACPD]

Fight at Columbia Pike Bar — “A fight a short time ago at the Pike Cornerstone restaurant in Arlington. It was still going on when @ArlingtonVaPD officers arrived at Columbia Pike and Walter Reed. They arrested a man the restaurant’s staff appeared to be trying to get out of the building.” [Dave Statter/X]

Van Driver Saves Man — “Shout out to the driver of a work van early Friday morning who stepped in to prevent a man, apparently in crisis, from being killed. The man was on foot, walking down the lane markings in the middle of I-395S north of the Pentagon. The van driver knew this was likely to end very poorly. They put their own safety at risk, positioning the van so that other drivers going at speed didn’t hit the pedestrian.” [Dave Statter/X]

Police Escort for ‘Thank You’ Walk — “ACPD assisted @PFPAOfficial in escorting Jordan Ramirez from @ArlingtonVaFD Station 5 to the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon as he spreads his message of gratitude to first responders and military personnel during his Thank You for Your Service tour.” [ACPD/X, Jordan Ramirez/IG]

HQ2 Jazz Band Performs — “A group of Amazon engineers, legal, and sustainability professionals entertained their fellow workers with the sweet sounds of smooth jazz at the tech company’s HQ2 campus in Arlington on Friday. The eight-piece jazz combo called HQBlue has been rehearsing in the evenings and during lunch in preparation for Friday’s performance in the lounge space adjacent to the second floor cafe in the Met 2 building.” [Patch]

It’s Monday — Expect a mostly sunny day with highs around 85°F and a northward wind at about 6 mph. In the evening, there will be clear skies, and temperatures will drop to around 66°F with a gentle northeastward breeze between 3 and 5 mph. [NWS]

Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been in an Industrious office for years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.

Child Drowning Warning — “Arlington County Public Health urges parents and caregivers to be extra careful around water this summer. Eight children under the age of five have accidentally drowned in Virginia pools since Memorial Day – that’s more than the total number of child drowning deaths in each of the last three years (three in 2024, two in 2023, and four in 2022). In Arlington, there have been two reports of near drownings in the past two weeks.” [Arlington County]

ICE in Arlington — “Guatemala national David Cabrera was collared by ICE last week after being set free by sanctuary-aligned jurisdiction Arlington County, who refused to honor a federal detainer and released him without notifying ICE… Cabrera entered the U.S. illegally in 2014 and was convicted of felony rape in 2015. He was sentenced to more than seven years in prison, although a portion of it was suspended.” [Fox News]

Crash on I-395 — “Two views as a single car crash takes out a sign and a pole on I-395S at Boundary Channel on Tuesday afternoon. The car drifted over three lanes and narrowly missed hitting other cars. I don’t know if this was from a medical problem or some other issue.” [Dave Statter/X]

Robbery in Arlington View — “The male victim was inside his parked vehicle when the male suspect drove up… and subsequently made threatening statements before stealing a personal item from the victim’s hands. The victim then exited his vehicle and was running away from the scene when the suspect chased the victim, began to assault him and attempted to steal the victim’s phone. When unsuccessful, the suspect fled the scene. The victim sustained minor injuries.” [ACPD]

Community Police Meetings — “The Arlington County Police Department’s (ACPD) Community Engagement Division invites the public to the summer quarterly community meetings covering community issues, crime prevention tips and quality of life concerns. All are welcome to attend.” [ACPD]

Roosevelt Bridge Work — “For the next 3½ years, the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge will be undergoing a major $128 million rehabilitation that will involve lane closures that increase over time. The work threatens to snarl commuter traffic… On Monday, that fourth eastbound lane was removed entirely, so there are only three lanes in each direction.” [Washington Post]

It’s Friday — Expect showers and thunderstorms after 5pm today, with otherwise partly sunny skies and a high near 87. The north wind of 6 mph will shift to the northwest in the afternoon, with a 30% chance of precipitation. Tonight, the showers and thunderstorms will most likely occur after 8pm, leading to mostly cloudy skies and a low around 73. A light southeast wind will accompany the 40% chance of precipitation. [NWS]