Progressive Voice is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
By Progressive Voice Editors
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Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1812 N. Moore Street in Rosslyn.
When Arlington resident Michael Morgan suffered an anxiety attack, he had no idea that the source of his recovery would one day become a business.
When your home no longer feels quite right, it can be hard to know what to do next.
Maybe your family needs more space, your layout no longer works, or your 1940s Cape Cod is simply ready for a modern update. Deciding whether to remodel, rebuild, or move requires thoughtful planning and a clear understanding of the costs, timelines, and trade-offs involved.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Every home, lot, and family is different, which is why working with an experienced local builder can help you make a more informed decision.
Here are four key questions to ask before you decide.
1. Is staying in your neighborhood a non-negotiable?
For many Arlington homeowners, the neighborhood is the reason they bought the home in the first place. If your neighbors, schools, walkability, or favorite local spots make Arlington feel like home, remodeling or rebuilding may be worth exploring before deciding to sell.
If you plan to stay for the next five years, a thoughtful remodel or addition can help preserve the location and character you love while improving the home’s functionality. However, if you truly see this as your “forever home”, a larger renovation or a teardown-and-rebuild might be a better option to give you the space and comfort you need, without trying to force an older home to work around its existing limitations.
Some homeowners choose to phase renovations over time. That approach can work well, as long as you start with a clear master plan to ensure each stage supports the next and avoids costly rework later.
On the flip side, if you plan to sell soon, a smaller-scale remodel, such as a kitchen renovation, might make more sense to avoid overinvesting in a project that may not recoup its full value.
2. Will the investment make sense for your home?
Arlington is unique because much of a home’s value comes from the land and location. This means that, in general, Arlington property values will always support just about anything you would like to do to your house or property. The real question is how much you want to invest.
A major renovation, addition, or new custom build may affect appraisal and financing differently. New construction often appraises higher initially than a similar remodeled home, but over time, a well-executed renovation can ultimately be worth more than a newly built home.
As you plan a renovation, you may reach a point where building new makes more sense than continuing to work around an older home’s limitations. A new build can provide a more functional layout, better efficiency, and stronger long-term value. On the other hand, some homeowners considering new construction may find that a thoughtful remodel and addition can accomplish everything they need while making their dollars go further.
That is why understanding the numbers early matters. (more…)
At the end of the long road from a pop-up in 2019, The Freshman is ready to graduate this week from long-delayed concept to Crystal City’s newest restaurant.
The Freshman is the creation of Nick Freshman, owner of Spider Kelly’s in Clarendon. The restaurant, which offers an all-day breakfast menu as well as lunch and dinner options, advertises itself as one of the first to come into the area in the wake of the Amazon HQ2 announcement.
This Memorial Weekend: Argentine Festival USA Returns May 23
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:
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(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) After being cancelled last year, Ballston’s Quarterfest is back on next month.
The Ballston Business Improvement District and its charity BallstonGives is hosting the second annual Ballston Quarterfest Crawl — the event that replaced Taste of Arlington in 2019 — from 12-7 p.m on Saturday, May 15.
Ghost Limb is a timely and haunting examination of authoritarianism set during Argentina’s Dirty War that draws poetic inspiration from the Persephone and Demeter myth. When Consuelo’s son is “disappeared” by the military, she discovers a psychic link between her injured arm and her tortured child-and races to find him before it’s too late.
The rate of new coronavirus cases in Arlington has reached the lowest point since October.
A total of 167 cases have been reported over the past week. That follows about two months of the case total fluctuating between about 200-300 new cases per week.
Covid Testing Unit Coming to Marymount — “The mobile testing unit, operated by Quest Diagnostics, will operate at the university in the parking lot by Reinsch Library, from April 19 – May 7, open Monday-Friday from 9 AM – 4 PM. It will offer no-cost, no-appointment COVID-19 testing to the general public, as well as Marymount students, staff and faculty.” [Arlington County]
School Board Candidate’s Emails FOIAed — “Arlington School Board candidate Mary Kadera said a political opposition-research effort is unlikely to turn up any dirt on her. In a note to supporters, Kadera (one of two candidates in the upcoming Democratic caucus) noted that a local resident had submitted a request under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act in order to gain access to all the e-mails she has sent to School Board members over the past two years.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s a sunny, if a bit chilly end to the work week.
On a more somber note, today is also a day to remember those killed and wounded at Virginia Tech on this day in 2007.
This is set to be a pivotal year for how Arlington County represents itself in its logo and its infrastructure.
At the close of 2020, Arlington County kickstarted the process of updating its logo — a process that will soon be inviting public input — and this fall, County Board members expect to review a new framework for considering the possibility of new names for things like parks, streets and building.
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Don Zientara, owner of the legendary Inner Ear Studio — long the seat of Arlington’s punk rock scene — is at a crossroads.
This Saturday, Arlington County is set to consider buying two parcels of land near Shirlington — 2700 S. Nelson Street and 2701 S. Oakland Street — and the warehouse that sits on it, which houses Inner Ear.