commercial real estate | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published March 15, 2019 at 7:30AM | Updated March 15, 2019 at 8:38AM

Baby Boy for Cristol — Arlington County Board member Katie Cristol gave birth to her first child, a baby boy, this past weekend. She plans to call in to Saturday’s County Board meeting and participate in the crucial Amazon incentive package vote. [Twitter]

Building Plans for Temporary Amazon Office — JBG Smith “submitted plans March 7 to make common area improvements throughout the 12-story, 221,000-square-foot [office building at] 1800 S. Bell St., to be leased in full by Amazon.” [Washington Business Journal]

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 12, 2019 at 7:30AM | Updated March 12, 2019 at 10:25AM

Seven Corners Suspicious Death — Updated at 10:25 a.m. — Fairfax County Police are investigating a “suspicious death” on the 6100 block of Arlington Blvd in Seven Corners, near the Arlington border. That block is home to the Willston Centre shopping center, a McDonald’s, a hotel and a number of commercial offices. [Twitter, Twitter]

What’s Up With the ‘Psychedelic Tower?’ — “You’ve probably seen the tower if you’ve ever driven across the 14th Street Bridge… It’s a hexagonal, granite structure that sits about a third of the way down the bridge, closer to the Virginia side. By day, it doesn’t look like much. But by night, its windows light up like a gigantic kaleidoscope.” [WAMU]

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 19, 2019 at 7:30AM

New Ballston pedestrian bridge being installed (photo courtesy Dennis Dimick)

Rabid Raccoon in Tara-Leeway Heights — “On Wednesday, February 13, 2019, a raccoon was reported in the area of 1500 block of N. Greenbrier Street acting lethargic. The raccoon was captured and removed from the community. It was later found to be carrying rabies.” [Twitter, AWLA]

Crash Knocks Out Traffic Signals — Traffic signals at at least three intersections in the Clarendon area were rendered inoperable over the weekend due to electrical transformer damage following a single-vehicle crash at Wilson Boulevard and 10th Street N. Power to the signals was reported to have been restored Monday night. [Arlington County, Twitter]

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Plans Taking Shape for Large New Mixed-Use Development on Amazon’s Doorstep in Crystal City

By Alex Koma

Published February 11, 2019 at 10:00AM

JBG Smith's plans for a redevelopment at 1900 Crystal Drive.

JBG Smith is starting to sketch out its plans for a major redevelopment of a Crystal City property that will drop hundreds of new apartments and thousands of square feet of retail space directly adjacent to some of Amazon’s new office space in the area.

The developer has now filed preliminary plans with the county detailing the future of a vacant office building at 1900 Crystal Drive. The company has already started some demolition work for the current structure, and previously announced plans to build two new mixed-use buildings in its place, accelerating the project now that Amazon is on the way.

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Marymount Buys Ballston Apartment Building, Converting It to Housing for Students and Staff

By Alex Koma

Published February 8, 2019 at 3:30PM | Updated February 8, 2019 at 3:47PM

The Rixey apartments in Ballston

Marymount University is buying a Ballston apartment complex adjacent to one of its other office buildings in the area, with plans to convert the space into upscale housing for its students and staff.

The university announced today (Friday) that it’s spending $95 million to acquire “The Rixey,” located at 1008 N. Glebe Road. The building opened in October 2017, with a total of 267 apartments in the 15-floor structure.

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Long-Vacant Ballston Office Building Could Soon Lure New Tenants as Part of Revitalization Bid

By Alex Koma

Published January 25, 2019 at 2:45PM

A Ballston office building that’s sat largely empty ever since a federal agency moved out a few years back could soon lure a bevy of new tenants to the space.

The Arlington Square building, located at 4401 Fairfax Drive, looks set to experience a bit of a revitalization. The County Board is set to consider a series of zoning changes for the property tomorrow (Saturday) to lure in two tenants, and other retailers look to be on the way as well.

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Ballston Redevelopment Project Faces More Delays, Impacting Plans for New Metro Station Entrance

By Alex Koma

Published January 24, 2019 at 1:45PM

An office building at 4420 Fairfax Drive in Ballston, slated for redevelopment (via Washington Capitol Partners)

A Ballston redevelopment project that’s been in the works for more than a decade now could soon face yet another delay, complicating Arlington’s push to build a second entrance for the neighborhood’s Metro station in the process.

Since 2005, a rotating cast of developers has sought to tear down the office building at 4420 Fairfax Drive and transform it into a mixed-use building instead. Current plans call for a new, 23-story structure to be built on the property, complete with 237 apartments and 9,200 square feet of retail space.

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Market Common Clarendon Redevelopment Kicks Off, With New ‘Luxury Fitness Club’ On the Way

By Alex Koma

Published January 17, 2019 at 12:45PM

A rendering of the Market Common plans, with a view from Clarendon Blvd at N. Edgewood Street (via county staff report)

Work is now set to kick off on a major redevelopment project in Clarendon, with a “luxury fitness club” set to become the first tenant to move into the new, Whole Foods-adjacent building.

The developers controlling the Market Common Clarendon properties, located along the 2700 and 2800 blocks of Clarendon Blvd, announced yesterday (Wednesday) that they’re ready to start construction on an at-times controversial project transforming the old Clarendon Education Center into new office and retail space.

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PBS Agrees to Keep Headquarters in Crystal City, Plans to Relocate to New Building

By Alex Koma

Published January 15, 2019 at 9:45AM | Updated January 15, 2019 at 10:44AM

A building at 1225 S. Clark Street in Crystal City, set to become home to the PBS headquarters.

(Updated at 10:45 a.m.) PBS has signed a new deal to keep its headquarters in Arlington, though it will be relocating to a different building in Crystal City.

The media company announced today (Tuesday) that it will be moving from its current space at 2100 Crystal Drive to a 120,000-square-foot office at 1225 S. Clark Street. PBS agreed to a 15-year lease in the building, and plans to make the move sometime in “mid-2020,” per a press release.

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With Amazon On Board, JBG Smith Prepares to Bet Big on ‘National Landing’

By Alex Koma

Published December 17, 2018 at 3:45PM

JBG Smith is gearing up to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard, arguing that Amazon’s impending arrival could make the “National Landing” area nearly as in-demand as D.C. itself.

In documents delivered to investors last week, the developer revealed its most detailed plans yet for how it expects to work with the tech giant as it moves its 25,000 workers to the county.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 14, 2018 at 9:05AM

Rolling Thunder to Coming to a Stop — The 2019 Rolling Thunder rally will be the group’s last Memorial Day rally in the D.C. area, organizers say. The rally has brought thousands of bikers, along with road closures and motorcycle noise, to Arlington over the past three decades. [Washington Post]

The Gritty Pre-History of Crystal City — “Before development flourished (the entrepreneurs offered bargain rates to federal agencies), the area ‘was a conglomeration of places that sold junk, used tires, a drive-in movie theater, a run-down ice skating rink, second-hand materials — it was very unattractive…’ The industrial area leading to the Potomac Yard railway tracks for decades was bordered by sketchy bar-rooms of the 19th-century Jackson City and National Airport’s precursor, Hoover Field.” [Falls Church News-Press]

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Rosslyn High Rise Owner Rolls Out ‘Flexible’ Leasing Options to Lure Government Contractors

By Alex Koma

Published December 12, 2018 at 9:45AM

Renderings of the 'Space+" offerings in Rosslyn (courtesy of Washington REIT)

The owner of a Rosslyn office building is changing up how it leases out some of its space, in a bid to be more flexible and responsive to the needs of government contractors.

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust announced today (Wednesday) that it’s rebranding some of its space at the Arlington Tower (1300 17th Street N.) as “Space+.” The firm acquired the property, located just across the street from Dark Star Park, back in January for about $250 million.