With about 36,000 combined entries and exits per weekday, the Pentagon City station is the second busiest station in Northern Virginia — second only to Rosslyn — and the 10th busiest in the entire Metro system.
A study conducted by WMATA in 2010, at the request of Arlington County, concluded that a new elevator should be built on the west side of S. Hayes Street, near the Pentagon City mall, and across from an existing elevator on the east side of Hayes.
While there’s no word on exactly when demolition is expected to begin, we’re told a crane has been sitting in the building’s parking lot for the past couple of weeks, while the Chamber just announced that it is in the process of moving to a temporary office in Ballston.
Replacing the office building will be a new 16-story, 254-unit apartment building called the Tellus. The mixed-use building will also include more than 15,000 square feet of office and retail space. Construction had been set to begin in 2010, but financial difficulties forced it to be delayed.
Building Boom in D.C., Arlington — In 2011, an otherwise slow year for residential construction, Arlington and the District of Columbia captured a disproportionately large portion of local building projects. According to the Washington Post: “… while the District and Arlington County have historically accounted for only about 8 percent of the region’s residential building permits over the past two decades, these two jurisdictions accounted for 36 percent of the building activity in 2011.” [Washington Post]
Moran Horse Slaughter Ban Passes Committee — A bill championed by Rep. Jim Moran (D), which would effectively ban the slaughter of horses for food, has passed the House Appropriations Committee. Moran tried to insert language banning horse slaughter in an agriculture bill last year, but the provision was ultimately removed. [Office of Rep. Jim Moran]
A new apartment building is coming to the Buckingham neighborhood, near Ballston.
Earlier this year, the Dittmar Company demolished an older, existing three-story garden apartment building near the corner of N. Henderson Road and N. Thomas Street. In its place, we’re told the developer is building a new four-story, 66-unit apartment building with underground parking.
Arlington County has launched a new website for residents and businesses. The site, Building Arlington, is being billed as a “one-stop shop for your Zoning, Permitting, Plan Review, Inspections and Code Enforcement needs.”
The project consists of two 390-foot towers — one office tower, one residential tower — both built across from the Rosslyn Metro station, between N. Lynn Street and N. Moore Street. JBG is asking the Board for the option to build the residential tower first, even though the developer’s original site plan called for the office tower to be built first.
The Board is expected to consider a site plan amendment on Saturday that would transfer the community benefits timed to coincide with the office tower construction — including the construction of a public plaza between the two planned buildings, a $3.5 million contribution for the construction of a new Rosslyn Metro entrance, and $5.4 million to the county’s affordable housing fund — to the timeline for the residential tower’s construction, presuming the residential tower is built before the office tower.
Archstone has broken ground on a new 227-unit apartment building next to the strip mall at the corner of N. Glebe Road and 20th Road N. in Waverly Hills.
Parkland Gardens, as the project is currently known, is billed as a high-end residential community in a “pedestrian-friendly, North Arlington neighborhood.” A press release (after the jump) claims the building will be “in close proximity to the Ballston Metrorail station,” though the station is a mile and a half away.
Developers ZOM Inc. and USAA Real Estate are planning to begin work on the 187-unit apartment building within the next 30 to 45 days, according to a letter sent to local residents. The developers will be holding a community meeting next Monday, June 11, to discuss the project. The meeting will be held at the Lyon Village Community House (1920 N. Highland Street) at 7:30 p.m.
Representatives from the Lyon Village, Lyon Park, Ashton Heights, Clarendon Courthouse and Ballston-Virginia Square civic associations have all been invited to the meeting, as have local business owners and property owners.
One notable aspect of the plan features an area specifically designed for skateboarders. The lower portion of the park is the area aimed at skaters, where special “sculptures” will be installed. The “skateable art” is meant to be functional for skateboarding, as well as visually appealing for other visitors.
Two basketball courts will sit in the middle of the park; they will be striped both for basketball and other sports like volleyball and futbol sala. The courts will be lit at night, as will the adjacent revamped field. The current stone dust field will be redone with a synthetic turf surface.
The revamp involves installing new landscaping, pavers, irrigation, seating, lighting, curbs and gutters. It’s designed to provide a larger public space where community functions, such as the farmers’ market, can be held.
The plaza’s fountain will stay, but will receive upgraded water lines. Additionally, the changes should improve drainage in the plaza.
At its meeting on Saturday, May 19, the County Board is expected to award a contract for construction of the dog park, at N. Herndon and 13th Street, to Avon Corporation. The contract will be worth more than $1.6 million.
The plan to revamp the park has been in the works since 2007. The county has been collaborating with nearby neighborhood associations to devise the final plan.
(Updated at 10:05 a.m.) After several years of delays, construction is finally about to get underway on the third phase of the Metropolitan Park development in Pentagon City.
Three Metropolitan Park will be an 18-story, 411-unit apartment building near the intersection of S. Fern Street and 12th Street S. It’s part of the same development that includes the luxury Millennium and the Gramercy apartment buildings, on the site of the former Cafritz warehouses across from the Costco parking lot on Fern Street.
