Punch Bowl Social (photo courtesy Ballston Quarter)
Punch Bowl Social, a combination bar and entertainment venue that’s a key part of the new Ballston Quarter development, now seems set to open its doors next month.
Details remain scarce on when the newly revamped Ballston Common mall will open its doors, with the development blowing past proposed opening dates in both September and October. But new ads for Punch Bowl Social posted inside the Ballston Metro station indicate the establishment is planning a “grand opening” on Dec. 8.
This regularly scheduled column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. If you would like to work with Eli and his team in Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. Metro area, you can reach him directly at[email protected].
Question: Why would anybody waste thousands of dollars each year on condo fees?
Answer: Most people associate paying condo fees with throwing money down the drain, but most people do not look at condo fees the right way.
In this June 20 article, the Wall Street Journal reported a study by Angi (formerly Angie’s List) that home maintenance and emergency repairs have increased by 85% and 175%, respectively, from 2019 to 2025.
By comparison, condo fees in Arlington increased by an average of just 32% from 2019 to 2025, making them a steep bargain for condo owners compared to other homeowners.
What Do Condo Fees Pay For?
For those who haven’t spent time studying condo budgets, some of the main expenses in a condo budget include:
Maintenance, Emergency Repairs, and Utilities: general upkeep and operations of the building
Reserves: a building’s savings account for major repairs or replacement of things like the roof, elevators, carpet, etc
Property Management/Staff: contracts for a property manager, front desk, janitorial services, and engineer
Master Insurance: this policy usually protects everything except your personal items and improvements within each unit
A map of proposed bike and pedestrian crossing associated with the Long Bridge (via the Long Bridge Project)
A coalition of businesses, neighborhood groups and transportation advocates are urging planners to include a bike and pedestrian trail along the long-planned replacement for the Long Bridge, a key railroad connection from Virginia into D.C.
A total of 15 organizations from Arlington, the District and the rest of the metropolitan Washington region penned a new letter last Thursday (Nov. 1) to both local and federal transportation officials working on the project, calling the inclusion of a trail alongside the bridge part of “a once in a generation opportunity to transform our regional transportation network.”
Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County. If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out the event submission form.
Due to the extended period of extreme heat forecasted for the next several days in our area, the Civic Jam event originally scheduled for Friday, July 3, 2026, has been postponed to Friday, July 24, 2026.
Commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary of the United States of America at Civic Jam! Celebrate the City of Falls Church’s diverse community, civic engagement, and classic summer fun. Jam out to live, local music, sip on local brews, enjoy tasty treats and eats, and a full evening of festivities for all ages on Friday, July 3, 2026, from 6 to 10 p.m.
Proposed interim changes for S. Four Mile Run Drive (via Arlington County)
Though the biggest changes to the Four Mile Run Valley and its parks are still a few years out, Arlington officials are gearing up to make a few road changes in the area before major construction starts.
The county is planning some interim parking tweaks to free up space primarily along S. Four Mile Run Drive as it approaches Jennie Dean Park, in a bid to prepare for more substantial pedestrian and parking changes as the area evolves in the future. Officials are convening a community meeting to discuss the temporary changes tonight (Monday) at the Charles Drew Community Center (3500 23rd Street S.), starting at 7:30 p.m.
This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Northern Virginia that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.
Several dozen Dominion customers are currently without power in the Clarendon area.
The traffic signals at several intersections are dark, according to scanner traffic. A number of businesses, including the Trader Joe’s store and Pete’s Apizza, are without electricity, according to a passerby.
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.
Convene, a New York-based company offering flexible meeting and event spaces, has moved into a new space in Rosslyn.
Opponents of the Arlington School Board’s decision to change the name of Washington-Lee High School have now poured thousands of dollars into Audrey Clement’s independent bid to unseat incumbent Board member Barbara Kanninen, providing the perennial candidate with her largest fundraising haul across any of her eight bids for local office.
Clement managed to raise just over $13,300 over the month of October alone, according to campaign finance documents, far outpacing Kanninen’s $4,200 raised over the same time period. Of that amount, nearly $10,200 came from two outspoken opponents of the Board’s vote in June to strip Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s name from the school.