Residents of Arlington, D.C. and part of Fairfax County will notice a different taste to their tap water today.
The Washington Aqueduct, from which our tap water is pumped across the Potomac and throughout Arlington, is starting its annual spring pipe cleaning today. The seasonal switch in the disinfectant used by the aqueduct will run through May 16.
Is Arlington experiencing a Gen Z takeover?
Zoomers — the generation born after 1997 — make up the “only active generation of apartment seekers nationwide,” and they are disproportionately choosing Arlington County, according to a new study from RentCafe.
Welcome to the new column, Kami’s Korner, where we will take a deep dive into Arlington’s condominium market by focusing on what’s coming next. From emerging developments to shifting trends, this space will spotlight the opportunities and insights shaping the future of condo living in Arlington.
I’d like to share some market insight. Let’s begin with a brief overview of the three upcoming Arlington condominium projects in the planning stages for Arlington…
All three projects will have the benefit of the extended building height afforded in Rosslyn over DC and the rest of Arlington, and therefore will be built in concrete and boast Potomac River/DC views.
Concurrently, the target market for many of these includes urbanized singles and couples as well as downsizing empty nesters. The baby boomer generation has raised their children in Northern Virginia and they want to be rid of the suburban house. They would have done it years ago but there wasn’t a for-sale option that suited due to the interruption of COVID-19. Arlington has everything they want, and they don’t have to uproot their personal or social lives to make a lifestyle change. They have significant equity in their homes, have built financial wealth, and are essentially unaffected by interest rates. They can pay cash for what they want.
Condominiums designed for this luxury group are some of the only condominium projects that work in today’s market due to several converging factors. The first is that construction costs are up 30%+, and concrete is one of the most expensive components. They skyrocketed after COVID-19, and although they are no longer rising as steadily, they are stubbornly elevated. Most existing condo stock in Arlington could not be built today for what they are currently selling for in the marketplace. (more…)
Earlier this month, the Arlington School Board meeting featured some business casual attire on the dais.
That was not well received by the Sun Gazette’s Scott McCaffrey. He took to his editor’s blog to rail against the “sans cravate” look for elected members and other top officials:
It’s a cold winter night in Almost, Maine — a small town so remote it never quite got around to being officially incorporated. The Northern Lights shimmer overhead, and something in the air makes ordinary moments feel a little electric. Over the course of one enchanted evening, love stories unfold across town: couples fall into each other, fall apart, fall back together. A man carries the weight of his broken heart in a paper bag. A woman returns the love she borrowed from a relationship that didn’t work out. Two strangers find themselves drawn together in ways neither can explain.
John Cariani’s Almost, Maine is funny and aching in equal measure — the kind of play that makes you laugh out loud one moment and go quiet the next. It’s about how love surprises us, how it shows up when we’re not looking, and how hard it is to say the thing we most need to say. It has become one of the most-produced plays in American high school theater for good reason: it speaks to everyone who has ever loved someone and struggled to find the words.
Construction Milestone for HQ2 — “Metropolitan Park, the first phase of our second headquarters’ development in Arlington, Virginia, is taking shape as we celebrate an important milestone: the ‘topping out,’ or completion of the highest floor of the building. So much has changed since we began construction more than two years ago in National Landing, and we can’t wait to welcome Amazon employees and the Arlington community to Metropolitan Park in 2023.” [Amazon, Twitter]
Covid Rate Low in the ER — From Virginia Hospital Center emergency department chief Dr. Mike Silverman: “This past week was the best COVID week we’ve had in a long time in the ER. We actually didn’t have any positive cases among our ‘symptomatic’ patients and just a handful or so among all comers to the ER. Our percent positivity rate was <2%. Hospitalizations remains low and we are returning to normal with in-person meetings and some options about mask wearing in non-clinical areas.” [Facebook]
St. Agnes Catholic Church in Arlington, VA is starting a running & walking group. The first event is a 3-mile route on May 14 (Thr) at 7pm starting (and ending at) at Courthaus Social (2300 Clarendon Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201) near Court House Metro. We will run/walk to the Marine Corps Memorial and back. Extra points if you wear Catholic swag (e.g., Notre Dame t-shirt, Georgetown jersey, your hometown elementary school shirt). Please RSVP, so we can keep you updated.
Another day of trucker convoys in the area have resulted in major traffic headaches for those heading into D.C.
Police have just lifted a series of road closures in District, implemented to try to mitigate the vehicular demonstrations against Covid-related policies. Several convoys headed through Arlington earlier this afternoon, and there were recent reports of a slow-moving group on Route 110 near the Pentagon.
It seems spring weather may be here to stay — just in time for the first day of (astronomical) spring this Sunday.
After strong winds and snow last weekend, daytime temperatures have been mostly in the upper 50s, 60s and 70s each day this week. Those temps will continue through Tuesday, before some rain is expected, according to the National Weather Service.
(Updated at 3:05 p.m.) Arlington County and JBG Smith are changing up plans for a second entrance to the Crystal City Metro station due to projected cost overruns.
An east entrance to the station — a long-standing goal of county transportation planners — is being built through a public-private partnership with the developer, which the County Board authorized in the summer of 2020.
Marymount University is seeking Arlington County Board approval to convert some of its student housing in Ballston into hotel rooms permanently.
The conversions would occur at “The Rixey,” an apartment building Marymount owns and operates at 1008 N. Glebe Road as graduate student housing. Marymount intends to repurpose 133 of the 267 units into hotel rooms to give students studying hotellery practical experience.
Another week and another round of open houses!
Though St. Patrick’s Day has passed, that doesn’t mean your luck has and your dream home could be found this weekend. From spacious single-family homes to cozy condos, Arlington has a variety of open houses across the area.
