A new chiropractic clinic focusing on women’s health and pediatric care is set to open in Clarendon.
Located at 1148 N. Irving Street, next door to the recently shuttered Jimmy John’s, Aura Chiropractic is expected to hold its first appointments today (Tuesday), according the clinic’s website.
Drag Event Draws Several Hundred — “Between 200 and 250 people, including parents and their children, turned out on Saturday, May 4, for a ‘Love Fest‘ Drag Story Hour brunch hosted by the Arlington, Va., LGBTQ establishment Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant. Local drag performer Tara Hoot, who read children’s stories and handed out coloring books to the kids attending the event, was joined by members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington.” [Washington Blade]
Crash on George Mason Drive — “A crash at N. George Mason Dr and 4th Street in Buckingham is being cleared after blocking traffic earlier. It was reported as a single-vehicle crash into a pole with a driver potentially suffering a medical emergency.” [Twitter]
Repeat Peeper Arrested — “At approximately 2:03 a.m. on May 6, police were dispatched to the report of a suspicious person. Upon arrival, it was determined the victims were inside their home when they observed the male suspect, who they recognized from a previous peeping incident on March 27 (2024-03274019), outside their residence and called police. Responding officers canvassed the area for the suspect and located an individual matching the description.” [ACPD]
Shorter Shredding Hours — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “Starting in July, free monthly paper shredding at the Trades Center will have reduced hours, 8am to noon.” [Twitter]
Apartment Rent Remains High — “Median apartment-rental costs in Arlington last month were the fifth highest among the nation’s 100 largest urban areas, as tracked by ApartmentList. The county’s overall median monthly rental price of $2,512 was up 1.4 percent from a month before, up 3.6 percent year-to-date (second highest in the survey) and up 5.4 percent year-over-year.” [Gazette Leader]
Grants for Fridges and Freezers — “More cold storage means more access to healthy food. That’s why we’ve just awarded more than $700,000 to 22 food businesses and nonprofits in the D.C. area. — including four in Arlington and Fairfax County.” [Capital Impact Partners]
Fair Housing ‘Tag Team’ — “Details and procedural hurdles remain to be worked through, but there may be a meeting of the minds, collaboration-wise, between two of the Arlington government’s advisory commissions. The Housing Commission and Human Rights Commission are attempting to work out kinks in the creation of a joint subcommittee that would focus on fair-housing issues.” [Gazette Leader]
Street Smart Campaign Underway — “A pedestrian and bicyclist safety campaign continues in Arlington County as police hold enforcement activities Monday. The effort is part of the Street Smart campaign, a public education and enforcement program across the D.C. area, designed to reduce pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and deaths.” [Fox 5]
It’s Tuesday — Showers and possible thunderstorms after 11am, with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 78. Light winds becoming southeast at 6 mph in the afternoon, and a 50% chance of precipitation. Tuesday night: cloudy with a low near 65, and southeast wind around 6 mph, with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms. [NWS]
Is your home starting to feel a little too cozy?
Summer is often the time when many Arlington homeowners start to notice their homes feeling cramped, whether you have school-aged kids still at home, your college student has moved back in for the summer, or you’re preparing to welcome aging parents for an extended stay.
While it’s too late to complete a major renovation this summer, it’s the perfect time to start planning so you can live more comfortably next year. Your Arlington lot may be small, and Arlington zoning ordinances are notoriously tricky to navigate, but your property likely has untapped potential. You can maximize your lot through a side or rear addition, popping the top, adding an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or outdoor living space, and/or finishing an underutilized basement.
With thoughtful planning, you can create the space your family needs while staying in the community you love, even on a small lot.
Before jumping into any addition or major renovation, it’s important to understand what your property can support and how your family’s needs may evolve over time.
One of the first steps is reviewing your plat (survey) to understand your buildable area, as one of the unique home-construction challenges in Arlington is that a majority of homes were built before current setback requirements were enacted, which impacts the scope of many construction projects. Setback requirements refer to the distance by which a home must be “set back” from the front, side, and rear property lines.
A word of caution: If your builder isn’t deeply familiar with Arlington’s setback rules and the available legal workarounds, your project can be derailed before it even starts.
As part of the strategic planning process, make sure you evaluate your long-term goals and create a master plan that accounts for all the spaces you intend to renovate. For example, renovating a basement without considering future plumbing, electrical, or HVAC needs can lead to unnecessary rework later.
And if you are undertaking a significant addition project, we generally recommend including a basement foundation, as it is not feasible to add one after initial construction is complete. Even if you choose to finish the basement later, it remains a more cost-effective way to add square footage than other areas of the house.
A thoughtful, whole-home approach helps create a smoother renovation process and a home that continues to meet your needs over time. Additionally, consider if you plan to live in your home late in your life – something we call aging in place. If so, knowing that is your long-term goal will influence your renovation project.
For many Arlington homeowners, a rear or side addition is the most straightforward way to gain usable square footage, as long as their plat allows for it. By adding square footage to your home, you can make space for a larger kitchen and family room, add a mudroom as your dedicated “drop zone” for all your kids’ sports equipment, and even add a main-level guest suite. Rear and side additions can be single or multi-story, even if you don’t pop the top on the existing structure.
One key consideration for a home addition in Arlington County, however, is understanding how the Department of Environmental Services calculates whether you are over or under 2,500 square feet of disturbed area. If your project clears, digs up, or grades more than 2,500 square feet of land, per their definition, you’ll be required to pay for extra county permits, civil engineering plans, and potentially expensive drainage systems to handle rainwater runoff.
When your lot coverage is limited by setback requirements, the only way to go is up!
We recently transformed an outdated 1,300-square-foot rental property in Highview Park into a spacious, modern home for a young family. Adhering to zoning guidelines required preserving the existing foundation, so we took the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home down to its foundation, expanded it slightly on the left side, and built up! The result is an essentially brand-new four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath custom home that boasts 2,916 square feet across three floors.
Good Monday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — May 6, 2024.
Here is what’s going on Tuesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Showers and possible thunderstorms after 11am, with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 78. Light winds becoming southeast at 6 mph in the afternoon, and a 50% chance of precipitation. Tuesday night: cloudy with a low near 65, and southeast wind around 6 mph, with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms. See more from Weather.gov.
“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”
– Dalai Lama
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.
Starting June 22nd, EvolveAll Martial Arts and Training Studio is opening its doors for Intro Week — one full week where every class is free to try, no experience or membership required.
Whether you want to try something active this summer or are looking for a fitness routine that actually sticks, next week is your chance to walk in and see what EvolveAll is all about.
Mary Ellen Craig (Age 78)
Mary Ellen Craig, age 78, passed away at her home on May 1, 2024. Born on December 7, 1945, in Cambridge, MA, she was daughter to the late Edward L. Craig, Jr. and the late Flore L. (Piston) Craig of Concord, MA. The oldest of five children, Mary Ellen graduated from the now closed Marian High School in Framingham, MA (’63). Her fellow Marian classmate, former Congressman James P. “Jim” Moran, fondly remembers that exactly 60 years prior to the day of her passing, Mary Ellen was crowned Queen of the May, a title bestowed in honor of the Blessed Mother. “Standing up there in front of the entire crowd, she had never looked happier or more beautiful”, Jim recollected.
Since 2005, Mamistad has helped 1000’s of first-time moms find their new mom tribes. Let’s connect you with yours! Join us for a quick FREE virtual call and you’ll be all set to join your group – sometimes even the same day!
When you’re expecting or just had your first baby, you can be blindsided by all the newness that comes with it. All those feelings you’re having are normal – it’s NOT JUST YOU! Pregnancy and new mom groups are a lifesaver when it comes to normalizing those feelings we just can’t be prepared for – mainly the changes YOU will go through as a mother.
A 90-year-old Tiffany stained glass window has a new home in Arlington.
Christ in Blessing was salvaged from a bankrupt mausoleum by Arlington County. The private mausoleum, built in the 1920s near Arlington National Cemetery, was torn down by the Navy about 20 years ago.
Free jazz concerts are returning to Metropolitan Park in Pentagon City starting this week.
The first performance, featuring the JoGo Project, will take place this Thursday from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Attendees are invited to bring chairs or sit on the green at 1330 S. Fair Street starting at 4 p.m.
Here in Arlington, real estate is a spectator sport. Let’s take a look at some of the most and least expensive condos sold last month (April 2024).
Most expensive condos sold
On the recent anniversary of an online referendum on the fate of one of Arlington’s largest “buy nothing” groups, some 400 people gathered in a Rock Spring back yard.
Wandering among tables set with everything from gardening items to designer purses, members of Buy Nothing Arlington (Northwest), VA perused and picked out finds from dozens of people last month. It was like a big yard sale, organizers said — except, in keeping with the Facebook group’s identity of giving and receiving at no cost, everything was free.
Firefighters battled a blaze at a large condominium building in the Rosslyn area Monday morning.
Smoke was reported around 10 a.m. at the Atrium Condominium at 1530 Key Blvd. Initial reports suggest that some sort of fire in the parking garage spread smoke to parts of the building.
The Arlington Home Energy Hub is a new resource provided by Arlington County to help residents make their homes more energy efficient, healthier and powered by clean energy. Arlington residents can now explore a new webpage with information and resources to learn about, plan for and implement home energy upgrades.
The Home Energy Coach is a new resource that provides free, virtual technical support to help Arlington residents make energy upgrades. Home Energy Coaches are available to help with any type of energy upgrade, such as installing new heating and cooling equipment, improving insulation and adopting solar energy. Homeowners can meet with a Home Energy Coach individually and renters can join a group coaching session. To get started, Arlington residents can submit an interest form online and a Coach will follow up with more information.
