Chamber of Commerce | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published May 13, 2016 at 9:15AM

More Metro Issues This Morning — A signal problem near the King Street Metro station has led to significant delays on the Blue and Yellow lines this morning. [Twitter, Twitter]

Big Changes Planned for Ballston Church — The Central United Methodist Church at 4201 Fairfax Drive in Ballston is planning a complete redevelopment of its 30,000 square foot property. Preliminary plans have been filed to build “a new church, a new preschool space, and a seven-story, 132-unit apartment building — 60 percent market-rate and 40 percent dedicated affordable.” [Washington Business Journal]

News

Arlington Chamber of Commerce to Hold County Board Candidate Forum

By ARLnow.com

Published April 29, 2016 at 2:45PM | Updated April 29, 2016 at 3:35PM

Erik Gutshall and Libby Garvey debate at an Arlington Young Democrats event in April 2016

The forum is being organized by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. It will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the Hyatt in Rosslyn (1325 Wilson Blvd). ARLnow.com, a Chamber member, is the event’s media sponsor.

During the forum, incumbent Libby Garvey and challenger Erik Gutshall will be asked a variety of questions, with a special focus on local business.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 21, 2016 at 10:30AM | Updated April 21, 2016 at 10:49AM

Valor Awards Recount Harrowing Moments — Saving a suicidal woman who was about to jump from the seventh floor of a parking garage. Saving the life of a man who had just been run over by an SUV twice. Smashing a car window in order to resuscitate the victim of a major crash on I-395. Those are a few of the acts of valor recognized at the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s Valor Awards this week. [InsideNova, Arlington Chamber]

WaPo Questions Crystal City-Brooklyn Comparison — The Washington Post isn’t letting the New York Times get away with a quote that compared Crystal City to Brooklyn. The area’s hometown paper instead quoted a number of Twitter critics, one of whom called Crystal City a “Ballardian hellscape.” The Times story suggests that Crystal City — with its new restaurants, emerging tech scene, transportation improvements and community events — is experiencing something of a mini renaissance. [Washington Post]

Around Town

Arlington Chamber Plans Cuba Trip

By ARLnow.com

Published March 30, 2016 at 10:55AM

The trip will take place Nov. 10-14. With the thaw in relations between the United States and Cuba, many in the business community see a land of opportunity in the Communist-ruled island nation just 90 miles from Key West.

A press release from the Chamber (below) has details on the itinerary and the costs.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 10, 2016 at 10:20AM | Updated March 10, 2016 at 11:06AM

Police Seek Witness in Pentagon City Investigation — Arlington County Police are trying to find a witness who rendered aid to an injured man found face down in the street in Pentagon City. The incident happened around 9:30 p.m. on February 25, on the 1200 block of S. Eads Street. The 65-year-old man remains in critical but stable condition. [Arlington County]

Group Forms to Oppose Gun Store — Updated at 11:05 a.m. — A group called Act4LyonPark has formed to oppose NOVA Armory, the gun store that’s planning to open on March 26 at 2300 N. Pershing Drive. So far, Act4LyonPark has raised $6,300 to support its activities. The group says that in a recent vote, 88 percent of residents who responded voted for the Lyon Park Citizens Association to take an official stance against the gun shop.

Opinion

Op-Ed: Why the Hotel Tax Surcharge is Important to Arlington’s Economy

By ARLnow.com

Published February 18, 2016 at 10:45AM | Updated February 18, 2016 at 2:42PM

In 2014, Arlington had 6 million visitors who spent nearly $3 billion in the County, making Arlington the number one county for economic impact of tourism in Virginia.

This is a substantial boost to our local economy. In just tax dollars alone, tourism revenue generates approximately $81 million in County taxes and $108 million in state taxes per year. Without these revenues, each Arlington household would pay an average of $1,800 each year in taxes to receive the same services.

News

County Board Approves New Retail Action Plan, Despite Some Concerns

By ARLnow.com

Published July 20, 2015 at 5:00PM | Updated July 20, 2015 at 5:30PM

The County Board voted 4-1 on Saturday to approve the plan, which has been years in the making and will replace an outdated retail plan originally passed in 2001. The new plan moves Arlington from a “retail everywhere” approach — policies designed to put ground floor retail in most commercial buildings, regardless of whether a business could actually survive in a given location — to what’s billed as a flexible but “curated” approach.

Color-coded maps will now define where the county would like certain types of retail businesses to set up shop. The owners of buildings in high foot traffic areas will be encouraged to adopt certain building standards that are conducive to ground floor retailers, from higher ceilings to smaller building lobbies.

News

Hynes: Streetcar Cancellation Was Hardest Decision in Office

By ARLnow.com

Published June 24, 2015 at 10:30AM | Updated June 24, 2015 at 3:06PM

Hynes, who’s retiring at the end of the year, made the remarks during a question-and-answer session following her “State of the County” address.

“The hardest decision I had to make not just on the County Board but in 20 years of elected office was to discontinue the streetcar,” said Hynes, who previously served on the School Board for 12 years.

Opinion

Chamber: Business Works for Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published June 19, 2015 at 11:45AM

The following op-ed article is written by Kate Roche, president & CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.

The current office vacancy rate is 21.7%, over ten percent higher than the 15-year historical average. A ten percent improvement in occupancy rates (4.4 million sq. ft.) would represent $34 million annually in local tax revenues. No matter what issues are important to you as a citizen – great schools, social services, parks, art – a healthy business community is utterly essential to sustainably fund those initiatives.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 28, 2015 at 9:10AM

School Bus Stop Violations in Arlington — There were 155 traffic violations issued over a three year period in Arlington for drivers who passed school buses at bus stops. That compares 655 such violations issued in Fairfax County over a three year period. [NBC Washington]

County Board Art Debate? — The operatic organization Opera Nova is trying to host a forum among Democratic Arlington County Board candidates that will cover the topics of the arts, humanities and civic engagement. Should the candidates accept their invitation, the candidate forum will be held on Friday, June 5, just a few days before the June 9 Democratic primary. [InsideNova]

Events

Arlington Chamber Holds ‘Shark Tank’ for Students

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 29, 2015 at 3:30PM | Updated April 29, 2015 at 4:08PM

Students and a mentor at the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (photo courtesy Arlington Chamber of Commerce)

(Updated at 4:00 p.m.) Some of Arlington’s most ambitious teenagers will go before a panel of judges, “Shark Tank”-style, to present business ideas they have cultivated for weeks.

The event is called the Young Entrepreneurs Academy Investor Panel, is May 7 at Marymount University’s Reinsch Library (2807 N. Glebe Road), from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. It’s hosted by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, which has taken a dozen students from ages 12 to 18 from Arlington schools and taught them the fundamentals of starting a business, every Wednesday evening since Jan. 7.

News

Can Arlington Land Marriott’s New HQ?

By Ethan Rothstein

Published March 9, 2015 at 4:45PM | Updated March 9, 2015 at 6:15PM

The Key Bridge Marriott hotel in 2015 (file photo)

Marriott International occupies 900,000 square feet of office space in Bethesda, but CEO Arne Sorenson told the Washington Post last month that the hotel chain with more than $12 billion in annual revenue “will be moving.” Sorenson said he still wants the company to stay in the D.C. region, and made more comments sure to make Arlington real estate owners’ ears perk up.

“I think it’s essential we be accessible to Metro and that limits the options,” Sorenson told the Post’s Jonathan O’Connell. “I think as with many other things our younger folks are more inclined to be Metro-accessible and more urban.”