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Morning Notes

Published February 14, 2018 at 9:25AM | Updated February 14, 2018 at 12:32PM

Crystal City Could Be Big Budget Winner — Commercial real estate analysts expect Crystal City and the Dulles Toll Road corridor to be the big winners from the new spending bill that was signed into law last week, boosting domestic and military budgets. Crystal City is also among the Northern Virginia locales under consideration for Amazon’s HQ2. [Bisnow]

Park Police Chief Cancels Meeting with Beyer — Updated at 12:30 p.m. — The chief of the U.S. Park Police cancelled a scheduled meeting yesterday with Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. Beyer and Norton are seeking answers in the fatal Park Police shooting of Bijan Ghaisar, who fled from a reported crash and then from officers before being shot in Fairfax County. USPP later released a statement explaining the chief’s decision. [WUSA 9, PDF]

Around Town

Software Company Moves Headquarters to Ballston

By Anna Merod

Published February 13, 2018 at 4:35PM

OpenWater, a company that develops a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for award ceremonies such as the TONY and James Beard awards, has move its headquarters from the District to the Ballston neighborhood.

The 35-person company signed a seven year lease at 4401 Fairfax Drive and moved in earlier this year, according to a press release by the company. OpenWater previously resided in D.C. for 8 years and was able to expand its footprint by 120 percent as a result of the move.

Students Fall in Love with Learning at The Sycamore School in Ballston

Published February 13, 2018 at 12:45PM

The Sycamore School

by Karyn Ewart, PhD., Founder & Head of School, The Sycamore School

“He used to love school,” is a common refrain I hear from parents.

Around Town

Ballston Quarter to Be ‘Entertainment Hub’ With Addition of New ‘Experiential’ Tenants

By ARLnow.com

Published February 7, 2018 at 10:00AM

5 Wits (photo courtesy Ballston Quarter)

With the addition of new experience-oriented tenants, Ballston Quarter is billing itself as “one of the largest experiential and entertainment hubs in the D.C. area.”

The center is bucking its identity as a mall as construction continues on what was once the Ballston Common Mall. Set to open this fall, Ballston Quarter has already announced hip food options in its 18-restaurant food hall and a marquee entertainment tenant in the planned 25,000 square foot Punch Bowl Social.

Around Town

‘Little Community Pantry’ Helps to Feed the Hungry in Ballston

By Anna Merod

Published January 31, 2018 at 3:45PM

Tori Phillips and the community pantry in Ballston

After the 2016 presidential election, Tori Phillips said she felt “helpless” and thought there was a community divide in Arlington.

To address that, Phillips reached out to multiple churches in 2017 with the idea of launching a “Little Community Pantry.” The idea is similar to that of a “Little Free Library,” from which people can give and take books as they please, except with Phillips’ pantry people can donate non-perishable food items and other items such as foot and hand warmers, packaged toothbrushes and tampons.

Around Town

Freshbikes Has Closed in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Published January 30, 2018 at 8:35AM

Local bicycling retailer and bike ride organizer Freshbikes has closed.

The store’s Ballston location, at 3924 Wilson Blvd, is shuttered. The Freshbikes location in Bethesda has also reportedly closed. Its Mosaic District store in Fairfax County closed last year.

Schools

Nonprofit The Sycamore School to Expand Campus, Add Grades

By Chris Teale

Published January 26, 2018 at 3:45PM

The Sycamore School will add 4,225 square feet of space at its current location at The Arlington Center (4600 Fairfax Drive, Suite 300) in Ballston, the school said in a press release. That extra space will include a math and science suite, black box theater, an engineering room and an additional electives room.

In addition, the school will expand to include students from fifth to 10th grade next school year. It opened in September 2017 with an inaugural class of students from sixth to eighth grade.

News

County Board to Vote on Taking Control of Fairfax Drive from VDOT

By Anna Merod

Published January 23, 2018 at 3:45PM

Arlington County is one final step away from controlling sections of Fairfax Drive and 10th Street N. along the Orange Line corridor.

The Arlington County Board will vote on Saturday (January 27) to approve a deal that would give the county control of the road between its intersections with N. Glebe Road and N. Barton Street, from roughly the Ballston to Courthouse neighborhoods. The roadway is currently controlled by the Virginia Department of Transportation.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 19, 2018 at 9:45AM

More Stuff Coming to Ballston — Even more hip food-and-drink spots are on the way for Ballston. A 3,000 square foot Union Kitchen Grocery store is coming to the ground floor of the revamped Ballston Quarter mall, at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Randolph Street, while a Compass Coffee cafe will also be opening in the mall. [Washington Business Journal]

Wheels Stolen Off the Lot at Dealership — Someone stole tires from three vehicles parked in the lot of a car dealership on Lee Highway just after midnight Wednesday. “An unknown suspect(s) removed the tires from and tampered with multiple vehicles in the parking lot of a business,” police said in a crime report. There is no suspect description and no surveillance footage, we’re told. There is a Toyota dealership on the 4000 block of Lee Highway, where police said the crime occurred, but also a Honda dealership nearby. [Arlington County]

News

Rosslyn-Ballston Office Vacancy Rate Expected to Keep Dropping This Year

By Chris Teale

Published January 18, 2018 at 1:45PM

A rendering of the renovated 4201 and 4121 Wilson Blvd (photo courtesy Jamestown LP)

The office vacancy rate in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor continued to recover in 2017, with new tenants moving in this year expected to maintain that recovery.

Commercial real estate firm JLL found that the recovery continued for the third straight year, after tenants moved out in droves from 2009 to 2014 following BRAC and sequestration at the federal level. That contributed to Arlington County’s total office vacancy rate being at 22.7 percent in 2017.

Around Town

Photos: CarPool Demolished in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Published December 22, 2017 at 9:45AM | Updated December 22, 2017 at 10:33AM

Long-time Ballston watering hole CarPool closed earlier this year, and now it has been bulldozed to make way for a new development.

Photos show the bar flattened as construction crews prepare to build a new 22-story luxury residential building.

Around Town

UPDATED: Fast-Casual Pizza Chain &pizza to Open Wednesday, Dec. 27 in Ballston

By Chris Teale

Published December 19, 2017 at 11:30AM | Updated December 21, 2017 at 1:46PM

Update December 21 at 1:45 p.m. — &pizza will open on Wednesday, December 27 after a spokesman said the eatery hit “a few last-minute details that needed to be addressed and the team simply ran up against the Christmas break.” Multiple tipsters said that staff at the restaurant said it had run into permitting issues with the county.

Earlier: The new fast-casual pizzeria &pizza will open to the public on Thursday in Ballston.