Around Town

Good Tuesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Jun 4, 2024.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

⛈️ Wednesday’s forecast

Expect showers and thunderstorms, increasing in likelihood after 2pm with a high near 83°F and a southeast wind of 5-8 mph. Precipitation has an 80% chance; new rainfall may vary from a tenth to a quarter of an inch, with higher amounts in thunderstorms. Wednesday night also has an 80% chance of precipitation, with showers and thunderstorms before 5am, followed by a slight chance of showers, low around 71°F, and a south wind around 7 mph; rainfall amounts similar to the daytime are expected. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
– Theodore Roosevelt

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.


Sponsored

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: Does the cost of renting a home in Arlington increase at a similar rate as the cost of buying a home in Arlington?

Answer: The cost of renting and buying a detached home increases at a similar rate, but the cost of renting a condo has outpaced the cost of buying a condo.

Condo Rents Rising Faster than Condo Prices

Since 2020, the cost of renting a detached home in Arlington increased at a similar rate as the cost of buying a detached home; 26% and 28%, respectively.

However, the cost of renting a condo increased significantly faster than the cost of buying a condo; 21% and 6%, respectively.

Sale Price to Rental Rate Multiple Shifts with Interest Rates

The table below shows the average price and $/SF of buying a detached home or condo relative to the average annual rent for a detached home or condo, in Arlington. Higher multiples show that buying is becoming more expensive relative to renting.

Takeaway: Condo buyers are more rate sensitive than detached home buyers and are more likely to rent (higher rental demand = strong condo rent appreciation) than buy (weakened purchase demand = low condo value appreciation) when interest rates increase. Notice how quickly the sale price to rental rate multiple drops from 2020/2021 to 2022/2023 (rates skyrocketed spring/summer 2022). (more…)


News

The first Missing Middle case to be heard in Arlington Circuit Court was dismissed last week, but legal fees in another lawsuit against the county continue to balloon.

The dismissed lawsuit related to a pair of planned six-plexes in Alcova Heights, approved after the Expanded Housing Option changes. A judge struck the suit down on Friday “due to technical defects,” Zachary Williams, an attorney for developer Classic Cottages, told ARLnow.


Announcement

Local rising kindergartener, Phin, has advanced to the Top 5 in his group in the national Jr. Ranger Contest, a competition that celebrates children who are passionate about nature, wildlife, and exploration. After making it through earlier rounds with strong community support, Phin is now in 4th place and working toward the top spot needed to move on to the quarterfinals.

The contest encourages kids to engage with the outdoors and highlights their curiosity and love for learning about the natural world. For Phin and his family, this experience has been both exciting and meaningful, made even more special by the encouragement from friends, neighbors, and the broader community.


Around Town

Young Arlington readers can meet a Nats notable this weekend and earn tickets to games later this summer through free library programs.

Pitching strategist (and former reliever) Sean Doolittle will be signing autographs for children on Saturday morning after reading a story at Arlington Central Library. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. and the event lasts until 11 a.m.


Event

Join us for a delightful Sunday afternoon at the BlackRock Center for the Arts as Cruise Planners Beth & Rod present a special travel-inspired matinee featuring the beloved film Under the Tuscan Sun.

Date & Time: Sunday, May 31 | 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM


Around Town

A local chain of New Mexico-inspired restaurants has set its sights on Arlington.

Anita’s, which has served New Mexican cuisine across Northern Virginia for nearly 50 years, intends to open a fast-casual location in Virginia Square later this year, Vice President of Operations Tommy Tellez told ARLnow.


Events

A free concert is coming to Metropolitan Park tomorrow (Wednesday) as Amazon prepares to celebrate HQ2’s one-year anniversary later this month.

Indie rock artist Zach Person will be performing his sophomore album, “Let’s Get Loud,” from 5-5:45 p.m. on the park’s Central Green at 525 14th Street S. A “loud and raw” blend of “high-energy rock anthems and head-bobbing funk rhythms” is promised, along with free picnic blankets.


Around Town

One of Arlington’s own has secured her place among the world’s top Jiu-Jitsu martial artists.

With only a few years of training under her belt, last week, Beatrice Jin, a 28-year-old journalist from Arlington, clinched bronze at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Championships at the Walter Pyramid in Anaheim, California.


Opinion
ARLnow Reader Choice logo

ARLnow is thinking about bringing back The Arlies, but under a different name and with a new way to vote.

We paused the Arlington Community Awards program two-and-a-half years ago to re-think how best to differentiate it from other local awards. Another consideration: how to encourage more people to vote while discouraging repeat voting.

Now, as we near the latter half of 2024, we think we might have the answer to both. The current plan is to:

  • Rebrand The Arlies as the ARLnow Readers’ Choice awards
  • Vote on one category each week, throughout the year, using the same voting system as Morning Poll posts like this one (the Arlies used a survey system, in which one had to click a link and then vote by typing in an answer)
  • Have up to 10 choices for each category, selected via automatic qualification (highest rated on Yelp, etc.) and reader nomination (with annual promotion/relegation depending on nominations/votes received the prior year)
  • Utilize our voting system’s ability to disqualify instances of repeat voting from the same computer
  • Announce the official winners for the previous week in each weekly voting post

The other local awards are great, but voting for and then announcing the winners all at once is perhaps not ideal. We believe that voting for one category at a time, while showing the unofficial results in real time, could be more fun and not as overwhelming — while encouraging voting from a broader swath of Arlington residents.

What do you think?


News
Sunset over Rosslyn (photo courtesy James Mahony)

Development Plan on County Border — “The new 250-unit residential-over-retail building and parking garage would be constructed on much of what is now surface parking lot serving a 220-unit mid-rise at 6200 Wilson Blvd., known as the Cavalier Club, per a rezoning application filed May 31 with Fairfax County’s planning department.” [Washington Business Journal]

Local Who Found Dead Bear Talks — “‘The day is beautiful, you’re just taking a walk and then, all of a sudden, you encounter something … So yeah, you jump quickly from one state of mind to another,’ she said. ‘I had this uneasy feeling that something was wrong and I wondered, ‘How did this animal, this creature, end up in a bag?”” [WTOP]

Pedestrian Struck Monday Afternoon — “Police and medics on scene of a pedestrian struck at the intersection of 10th Street and N. Barton Street, south of Courthouse. The pedestrian was seen lying on sidewalk but eventually got up and walked slowly to an ambulance. The apparent striking driver stayed on scene.” [Twitter]

Coffee Shop Unionization Effort — “A group of Compass Coffee workers announced plans Friday to unionize more than a third of its stores, pressing the D.C.-based chain to end its no-tipping policy and improve benefits and working conditions…. The campaign — which involves four cafes in downtown D.C. and one each in Georgetown, Spring Valley and Rosslyn, Va. — is one of several playing out at independent and regional coffee shops across the country.” [Washington Post]

Rogue County Commission Crackdown — “‘Unless explicitly prescribed by the group’s charter or other governing ordinance, members [of advisory bodies] are prohibited from communicating or coordinating with other federal, state or local agencies or governing bodies on behalf of the advisory group or the county [government] without explicit approval from the County Board,’ the draft statement notes.” [Gazette Leader]

New Food Security Grants — “The Arlington County Department of Human Services has announced a grant funding opportunity to boost food security in Arlington. Funding will be available to area 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, faith-based organizations, and public schools and universities with projects that support aspects of the Food Security Strategic Plan.” [Arlington County]

Marymount Rolling Out AI Degree — “Designed to equip students with foundational skills necessary to excel in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, Marymount University’s new Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence (AI) degree fills a critical need for today’s and tomorrow’s workforce.” [Press Release]

ACPD Focuses on Officer Wellness — “ACPD’s wellness initiative goes beyond work/life balance, promoting a holistic approach to physical, mental, and emotional health. Patrol officers enjoy the equivalent of a 37.5-hour work week with 4 and 5 consecutive days off to provide better work-life balance. ACPD also provides a range of accessible, evidence-based programs to accommodate staff needs.” [WJLA]

Arlington Tech Company Expands — “Two Six Technologies held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Wednesday (May 29) to celebrate the opening of its new office at 13865 Sunrise Valley Drive… just east of Dulles International Airport. Headquartered in Arlington, the company’s Herndon location currently consists of more than 27,000 square feet of offices, labs and ‘specialized equipment.'” [ALXnow]

It’s Tuesday — Some isolated showers and thunderstorms starting after 2pm. Otherwise mostly sunny skies and a high near 86. Precipitation chances are 20%. Tuesday night, isolated storms will clear up before 8pm, with a slight possibility of showers resuming after 2am. It will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 67 and a southeast wind of 5 to 8 mph. The chance of precipitation remains 20%. [NWS]