(Updated 10:45 a.m.) Nearly 60 residents and families on Columbia Pike are scrambling to find new housing options under the shadow of a looming redevelopment project.
The impacted tenants live at Columbia Gardens Apartments (5309 8th Road S.), a collection of market-rate affordable garden apartments. Some families have lived there for upward of 20 years, but now, 62 units will be replaced with townhouses through a by-right development project.
Before Five Guys was a big burger chain, it was a small fry tucked away in a shopping center on Columbia Pike.
Today, Five Guys Burgers & Fries has more than 1,500 locations worldwide and grosses nearly a billion dollars in revenue. But 35 years ago, it was nothing more than a tiny beloved burger joint at the corner of S. Glebe Road and Columbia Pike in Westmont Shopping Center, a strip mall that’s now rubble and in the midst of redevelopment.
Arlington County is looking to buy and eventually redevelop an office building on Columbia Pike.
The county says the vacant, three-story building at 3108 Columbia Pike would make a good home for both the Columbia Pike library branch — currently located on the ground floor of the Arlington Career Center — and affordable housing. Until that project materializes, it will serve as a parking lot.
A whiff of freshly brewed coffee and the sound of bacon sizzling greets customers walking through the door at Bob & Edith’s Diner on Columbia Pike.
Old framed photos line the white, tiled walls. Alternating blue and yellow stools line the counter as the grill behind it smokes. Blue-tabled booths, adorned with ketchup bottles, are ready for diners.
Many small businesses in Arlington are hurting amid the pandemic, and that’s on top of some of the unique issues faced by Black and female business owners.
That was the topic of a pair of discussions held by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) in Arlington on Friday (Feb. 4)
The Arlington Planning Commission gave a proposed Columbia Pike residential redevelopment the thumbs-up.
Now, plans to replace an aging, one-story retail strip in the 2600 block of Columbia Pike will head to the County Board for approval during its recessed meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
Police are investigating a pair of assaults in and across from Penrose Square along Columbia Pike.
The first happened around 8 p.m. Saturday at a Penrose Square business.
Pole Finally Removed from Pike — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “That utility pole awkwardly lingering in the intersection of Columbia Pike and S Frederick Street has been removed. Good night for a cozy fire.” [Twitter]
Men at Memorial Still a Jan. 6 Mystery — “A few months after the Capitol attack, in March 2021, ARLnow published a story that featured several of Westcott’s photos with the faces of the men blurred out. Westcott was also in touch with some of the online sleuths investigating the Capitol attack, but nothing emerged that definitively identified the men or linked them to the broader Oath Keepers conspiracy, or figured out precisely how they fit into the puzzle.” [Huffpost]
A new family-owned, halal pizza shop is looking to open next month on Columbia Pike.
Papa Deeno’s Pizza at 4109 Columbia Pike was initially supposed to open at the end of last year, but a family health emergency and supply chain challenges has pushed the opening by a few months.
Takohachi Japanese Restaurant at Penrose Square is planning to finally open within the week, owner Tsutomu Nakano tells ARLnow.
Back in July, the four-year-old sushi restaurant was forced to close its location at Westmont Shopping Center on Columbia Pike due to the shopping center’s impending redevelopment. However, plans were in place for the restaurant to move up the Pike to Penrose Square with a hoped-for opening date in September.
An Arlington man is facing numerous charges after an alleged abduction and shot fired along Columbia Pike.
The incident happened Tuesday night near the western end of the Pike in Arlington.
Columbia Pike Optician Robbed — “Security camera video captured the tense moments when a group of thieves robbed an Arlington County store owned by a man known in the community for his charity work… The five suspects take hammers to the cases and fill bags with Cartier, Dior and Gucci frames, about $60,000 of merchandise.” [NBC4]
Mail Delays Frustrate Residents — “Residents across the D.C. region have become increasingly frustrated over delays in mail deliveries, with last week’s snowstorms, a spike in coronavirus cases and long-standing problems with the U.S. Postal Service contributing to a breakdown in services… Arlington resident Diana Wahl said she received no mail between Dec. 27 and Jan. 9. She finally received some mail on Monday and Tuesday, but older mail.” [Washington Post]
