Since August, JBG Smith has been assembling the bones needed to turn part of Arlington and Alexandria into the world’s first large-scale “Smart City.”
And today (Tuesday), the developer is set to cinch two crucial parts of the skeleton. This morning, it announced a partnership with AT&T to install 5G network throughout Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard, collectively known as National Landing.
Nerds of all backgrounds are reveling in their geekdom this weekend in Crystal City.
BlerDCon — an anime, gaming, comics and sci-fi convention — has returned to the Hyatt Regency Crystal City (2799 Richmond Hwy), one year after the 2020 convention was canceled due to the pandemic. It’s taking place today through Sunday, July 18.
Arlington Getting Hipper Restaurants? — “Clarkson said the Clarendon-Courthouse area is drawing some bar and restaurant operators from the District who previously haven’t had any locations in Virginia. He said he has seen this type of interest as his team has begun to lease the 17,500 SF of retail in the Landmark Block project. ‘You’re starting to see good retail from D.C., Shaw-type retailers, plant flags in the R-B corridor in Clarendon,’ Clarkson said. ‘Folks I never thought would consider the R-B corridor are now interested… Hopefully there will be some names that haven’t necessarily been seen in Virginia yet, especially on the [food and beverage] and bar side.'” [Bisnow]
Committee Critiques HQ2 Phase 2 Plan — “‘I am still seeing three — on the bulky side, seems to me from the rendering I’ve seen – office buildings at 22 stories high,’ Siegel said. ‘I think the community — certainly, speaking for myself — had hoped for more of a varied skyline.’ James Schroll, the committee chair, said he agreed with Siegel’s concerns. ‘While we appreciate the modifications, I don’t think they achieve what folks were after in our last discussion,’ he said.” [Washington Business Journal]
Crystal City could get more affordable housing under a new agreement between Amazon and Arlington County, announced earlier today.
The tech giant said in a new blog post that it would hand over to the county the rights to $40 million in vacant land within the Crystal House apartment property, on which Arlington County could develop more than 550 new affordable homes.
Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County. If you’d like your event considered, fill out the event submission form to submit it to our event calendar.
The Nova Fencing & Archery Club is offering an introduction to the Olympic sport of fencing. The class is aimed at ages 7-12 and meets twice a week for four weeks.
(Updated 10:35 a.m.) Tacombi, a New York City-based taqueria chain, is expected to open in Crystal City in a couple of months.
The new spot will be located in the revamped Central District Retail shopping plaza, also known as “Crystal Square.” This recently redone property at 1550 Crystal Drive, owned by JBG Smith, has attracted a number of other retail options that have opened already or are set to open over the course of the year.
(Updated at 9:45 a.m. on 7/8/21) Three water “elements” will be the focal points of the planned park space at PenPlace, the second phase of proposed Amazon’s HQ2.
And Kate Orff, the landscape architect designing this park, is drawing her inspiration from Roaches Run and the historic Alexandria Canal, as well as the churning waters of Great Falls Park and the sylvan streams of Rock Creek Park.
(Updated at 2:05 p.m.) Plans to build a second entrance to the Crystal City Metro station are a third of the way to completion, and the public has a new window to comment on them.
The second entrance set for the corner of 18th Street S. and Crystal Drive will be the product of a public-private partnership with developer JBG Smith, the preeminent property owner in Crystal City. The County Board approved the partnership last summer.
Rasa, a fast-casual Indian restaurant, is opening in Crystal City later this week.
The D.C.-based eatery will open its third location — its first in Virginia — at 2200 Crystal Drive on Friday, July 2. Rasa initially announced its expansion into Arlington nearly two years ago.
Big Changes Proposed for Shirlington — “A proposal to re-imagine the streets of Shirlington is being put forward. Last July, the Arlington County Board approved mixed-use rezoning for nearly ten acres of the Village at Shirlington. Now, Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT) is putting forth a vision to transform the streetscape throughout the area… Campbell Avenue will be the focal point for these improvements, updated with patterned pavers and interactive sculptures.” [UrbanTurf]
Yorktown Soccer in State Final — “Somewhere in the mess of bodies, Patriots senior Gibson Lusk poked the ball into the net. It gave Yorktown a lead for good and punctuated the full turnaround of a game that started slow and sloppy for the Patriots. Now, they are headed to the Virginia Class 6 title game after a 3-1 victory Monday.” [Washington Post]
Armed suspects robbed the 7-Eleven store in Penrose early Sunday morning.
The robbery happened around 3:30 a.m., at the convenience store on the 2300 block of 2nd Street S.
Freddie Lutz has a lot of stories.
One of his favorites was a time when several men came into his bar, Freddie’s Beach Bar (555 23rd Street S.), and started stirring up trouble. As they started causing trouble and making crude remarks, all Lutz had to do was pick up the phone and a few seconds later a few burly, “football player” friends showed up from a nearby sports bar and gently escorted the troublemakers away.
