Melwood's property at 750 23rd Street S. in Aurora Highlands (via Google Maps)
Plans to build an affordable housing development near Crystal City could take a key step forward next week despite a neighborhood association’s objections.
A request to advertise hearings on a possible land-use amendment for the Melwood property in Aurora Highlands is scheduled to go before the Arlington County Board on Tuesday. At issue is the possibility of shifting the site’s zoning designation from “public” to “low-medium residential” — bringing a proposal to build 104 units of affordable housing “within the realm of consideration,” a county report says.
Bobby Lee and Cindy Mascia hold a sign announcing return of Mister Days in Clarendon (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Former Clarendon mainstay Mister Days Sports Rock Cafe is set to reopen in June with only slight changes to its concept and dining options.
Under the leadership of its original owner, Bobby Lee, the restaurant aims to revive aspects of the beloved sports bar atmosphere that patrons enjoyed at its previous Clarendon location — now home to The Renegade — before Mister Days closed in 2019.
Looking east down Wilson Blvd from the pedestrian bridge in Ballston, on a rainy day (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
We’re #1 for Retirement Income — “Arlington, Virginia, ranked highest in retirement income, followed by Cambridge, Massachusetts, and The Woodlands, Texas, according to a SmartAsset analysis of the Census Bureau’s 2022 1-year American Community Survey. Three of the top eight large cities with the highest incomes were in the Washington, DC, area.” [Business Insider, SmartAsset]
Wine Shop Coming to Crystal City — “The popular Flight Wine Bar that shuttered in Chinatown late last year is reconstituting itself as a retail store in Crystal City. The 2,175-square-foot Flight Wine Shop is slated to open by the end of the year at The Grace, the multifamily building developed by JBG Smith Properties at the larger site known as 1900 Crystal Drive in Arlington.” [Washington Business Journal]
Arlington By the Numbers — From the Dept. of Environmental Services: “It’s #InfrastructureWeek. Seriously. Some Arlington numbers.” Stats cited by DES include 22 million gallons of wastewater treated daily and 1,400 tons of glass collected at recycling stations annually. [Twitter]
County Board Election Guide — “Your ballot will look a bit different because of ranked choice voting, and the results on election night likely will too. Last year, Arlington elections officials released the tally of the first-choice votes on Election Night, but county residents had to wait until Friday for the preliminary tabulation of the results.” [WAMU]
Clement Wants More Federal Offices — “Clement also referenced an executive order made by President Carter in 1978. ‘The order stipulates that whenever a federal agency relocates, it must give priority to an available space located in a city’s central business district rather than in a suburb,’ Clement said – and in this case, Arlington is counted as part of the central core rather than suburbia… ‘If elected, I am going to insist upon it,’ she said.” [Gazette Leader]
Karantonis Makes Endorsements — Arlington County Board Vice-Chair Takis Karantonis has endorsed both JD Spain and Tenley Peterson in the Democratic County Board primary. [Twitter, Twitter]
Board Member Is Hiring — From Maureen Coffey: “I’m hiring!!! This aide role will support me day to day. Have you ever wanted to see how local gov works and also have a cool hip boss? This is your chance!! Job includes admin, emails, scheduling w/significant opportunities for research/policy projects.” [Twitter]
F.C. Approves Tax Rate Decrease — “The FY2025 General Fund budget, inclusive of Schools and General Government, totals $137.8 million. The budget provides for a 7% growth for the General Government expenditures and local funding for City schools. The approved budget reduces the real estate tax rate by two cents from $1.23 to $1.21 per $100 of assessed value. The median homeowner’s real estate tax bill will increase by $174 or 1.5% with the rising assessed value of homes in the City due to market appreciation.” [City of Falls Church]
It’s Wednesday — Expect showers and possible thunderstorms after 2pm, alongside patchy fog from 7am to 2pm, with a high near 65, and a northeast wind of 8-10 mph. Precipitation is 80%, and new rainfall may reach up to three quarters of an inch. On Wednesday night there’s a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low around 59. [NWS]
223 23rd Street S. on May 14, 2024 (staff photo by Dan Egitto)
Temporary pickleball and beach volleyball courts could be coming to Crystal City as plans to build two apartment towers face significant delays.
A pair of 30-story apartment buildings are ultimately expected to bring 1,439 residential units and over 22,000 square feet of retail to 223 23rd Street S. and 2250 Crystal Drive. But the project approved in early 2023 won’t be getting off the ground until “construction costs and interest rates normalize” — likely next year at the earliest, developer JBG Smith told ARLnow.
An abandoned storefront at the Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Plans to redevelop a Columbia Pike retail strip as a 247-unit apartment building have fallen through.
Following a year and a half of delays and recent issues with vermin and vandalism, the would-be developer has filed to abandon former ambitions and return the Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center to its former status as a strip mall.
Blooms at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove near the Pentagon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Rosslyn-Based Solidcore for Sale — “A little over a year after taking over a majority stake in the fitness chain Solidcore Holdings LLC, its private equity-equity owners are reportedly exploring a sale of the Arlington company.” [Washington Business Journal]
Ballston-Based Company Expanding — “A Northern Virginia technology firm plans to establish a new 57,000-square-foot research-and-development facility across in Montgomery County to accommodate its growing workforce. [BlueHalo’s] headquarters is in Arlington’s Ballston neighborhood and it also has offices in Chantilly, Reston, Herndon and Leesburg.” [Washington Business Journal]
Low Turnout for Caucus — “Turnout of 1,941 votes was about 1.2 percent of Arlington’s 160,000 active registered voters, emblematic of a race that was both out of sight and out of mind of the large majority of the county’s residents. While there likely will be other candidates in the Nov. 5 School Board race, being endorsed by the Arlington County Democratic Committee is all but tantamount to election.” [Gazette Leader]
Commission Vote on Israel-Hamas — “Citing several factors, the Arlington County government’s Human Rights Commission has opted against taking a stance in the ongoing Israel-Hamas fighting. Activists wanted commission members to support a military ceasefire in the region. But on a 7-1 vote, commission members on May 9 decided they should contain their efforts largely within the county’s 26 square miles, leaving the planet’s 197 million other square miles to others.” [Gazette Leader]
Missing Arlington Teen — “Arlington County Police are asking the public’s help in locating [a] 15-year-old… who was last seen Saturday in the 2400 block of S. Glebe Road. Police described [him] as standing 5-foot-11, with brown eyes and black hair.” [Patch]
Marymount Commencement Recap — “Is there a doctor in the house? In the Garrett family, there are now two. Shantia Garrett, a teacher in the Baltimore city school system, earned a doctorate in education during May 12 commencement exercises for Marymount University’s College of Health and Education. Appropriately enough for Mother’s Day, Garrett became a second-generation Ed.D. holder, following in the footsteps of her mother.” [Gazette Leader]
Public Feedback on DCA Noise — “Alexandria is looking to gather more public feedback on an issue that’s impacted Old Town since the popularization of the jet engine: noise from Washington National Airport (DCA). Alexandria, Fairfax County and Prince George’s County have hired Vianair Consulting to spearhead a collaborative effort… to recommend changes to DCA airspace and flight procedures.” [ALXnow]
Metro Considering Bus Changes — “With your help, Metro has developed our #BetterBus 2025 Proposed Network, the one that better serves you! The public comment period is NOW OPEN.” [Twitter, WMATA]
It’s Tuesday — Expect showers and potential thunderstorms after 5pm, accompanied by cloudy skies and a high of 72°F. South winds will range from 8-11 mph, gusting up to 18 mph, with a 70% chance of precipitation and rainfall of a tenth to a quarter inch. Tuesday night brings a low of 62°F, south winds of 6-10 mph, a 90% chance of precipitation, and additional rainfall amounts between a quarter and half inch. [NWS]
The two Warriors teams combined to win 17 events in the meet
By wide margins and with many individual contributors, the host Wakefield Warriors won the girls and boys Liberty District outdoor track and field championships on their own turf over the evenings of May 9 and 10.
‘Reclining Liberty’ still relaxing in Virginia Square (Flickr pool photo by Jason Gooljar)
Another Boeing Protest Planned — A protest is planned outside of Boeing’s corporate headquarters near Long Bridge Park at noon today. This time, firefighters are planning to protest in response to a labor dispute between the company and its union firefighters. [Twitter]
Crystal City Apartment Building Sold — “The FORTIS Cos. has paid $48.5 million for Marlowe Apartments, a 162-unit community in Arlington, Va., public records show. Equity Residential was the previous owner… The 17-story building came online in 1987 and comprises one- and two-bedroom layouts ranging from 661 to 1,044 square feet.” [Multi-Housing News]
Century Mark for Courthouse Marker — “Happy 100th anniversary to the Mother’s Tree in Courthouse, dedicated this day [May 11] in 1924,” according to a marker next to the tree. [Twitter]
Arlington Nat’l Cemetery Anniversary — “[Today] at 10 a.m. & 2 p.m.! Special walking tours to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the first service members brought to Arlington for burial. ANC historians will take visitors on a tour of Section 27.” [Twitter]
Wanted Suspect Arrested in Clarendon — “At approximately 7:42 a.m. on May 9, police were dispatched to the area of 18th Street N. and N. Highland Street to the report of an exposure. Upon arrival, an officer located an individual matching the description of the suspect and briefly detained him before subsequently releasing him from the scene. It was later determined the individual was wanted by the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Officers canvassed the area for the suspect and located him in the area of the 3100 block of Clarendon Boulevard in possession of a suspected stolen bicycle and took him into custody.” [ACPD]
I-395 Crash Caught on Camera — “I-395N at Exit 10C is like the movie ‘Groundhog Day’. It’s as if the same crash occurs day after day. It seems that way because that’s pretty much what occurs. This driver made their left turn to the exit toward Memorial Bridge from the center lane.” [Twitter]
County Gets Vision Zero Award — “Arlington County was recognized Friday by the National Center for Safe Routes to School as the 2024 recipient of the Vision Zero for Youth U.S. Leadership Award. Arlington County and Arlington Public Schools received praise for their commitment, leadership and collaboration to improve safety for Arlington’s youngest travelers through the Vision Zero initiative.” [Arlington County]
New Delegate Expecting First Child — From Del. Adele McClure: “Happy Mother’s Day! Super excited to tell y’all that I’ll be joining the ranks this Fall!” [Twitter]
Free Fitness Classes — “Bored with your usual workout routine? Try something new by attending a free outdoor class. All on the options on this list are open to participants of any ability level and most welcome drop-ins. Bonus: Most take place in spots with nearby shopping and restaurants. In addition to these summer specials, check your nearest library’s event calendar. Many offer free, year-round yoga classes.” [Arlington Magazine]
Local Money Diary — “Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money… This week: a full-time high school biology teacher and part-time intermediate care nurse who makes $90,000 per year and spends some of her money this week on a raincoat for her dog.” [Refinery 29]
It’s Monday — Expect mostly sunny skies today with a high near 76, as a light south wind increases to 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Tonight, there will be a slight chance of showers after 2am, under partly cloudy conditions and a low around 59. The south wind will continue at around 8 mph, and the probability of precipitation is 20%. [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.
