Firefighters from Arlington, Alexandria and other departments battled a smoky kitchen fire at a large Crystal City apartment complex Thursday night.
The fire broke out shortly before 7 p.m. in the kitchen of a first floor apartment at Crystal Towers (1600 S. Eads Street). The blaze was extinguished, but not before smoke spread to multiple floors of the apartment complex’s south tower.
A new Maryland law greases the wheels for Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) train service to come to the new Crystal City station set to open in 2024.
HB 1236 — First Step for MARC Commuters Act — calls for the Maryland Transit Authority to “engage in good-faith negotiations” for a pilot program that would extend MARC service into Arlington and Alexandria. It could one day allow workers at Amazon’s HQ2 to commute in via rail from Baltimore or the Maryland exurbs.
Arlington County police are stepping up patrols around Crystal City and surrounding neighborhoods amid a rash of carjackings.
There have been 18 carjackings in Arlington since January 2020, the police department said, compared to three total over from 2018 to 2019. Most — 13 out of 18 — have occurred along the Route 1 corridor, including 7 in the immediate vicinity of the Pentagon City mall.
Planned coffee shop and restaurant The Freshman, at 2011 Crystal Drive in Crystal City, could open in a few months after being in the works for a little over two years.
Owner Nick Freshman told ARLnow that he’s looking at opening The Freshman sometime in April or May, though no date is set in stone yet.
Two male suspects in a stolen car robbed a woman while threatening another who tried to photograph them, according to Arlington County police.
The incident happened Friday afternoon around 4:30 p.m., near the intersection of S. Eads Street and 15th Street S. in the Crystal City area, across from Amazon’s future HQ2.
For the second time in two weeks a carjacking has been reported along Arlington’s Yellow Line corridor.
The latest carjacking happened Wednesday night along the 23rd Street restaurant row, on the 500 block of 23rd Street S. Three men, two armed with guns, stole a Ford Mustang after the victims exited their car, according to an Arlington County Police Department crime report.
Amazon has unveiled plans for the PenPlace site in the second phase of its $2.5 billion HQ2 in Pentagon City, including a lush office building shaped like a double helix.
The company will build 2.8 million square feet of office space across three 22-story buildings, an amenity building with a community gathering space and daycare center, and three retail pavilions. The focal point will be The Helix: a 350-foot tall spiraling office building that recreates a climb in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
A new co-working and flexible office space has opened in Crystal City.
Hana, a subsidiary of the real estate company CBRE Group, announced on Thursday that it has opened a new location at 2451 Crystal Drive — a stone’s throw away from two of Amazon’s temporary office spaces for HQ2 employees.
New signage is coming to National Landing and Ballston.
The business improvements districts that serve as boosters for the areas are planning to put hundreds of new banners on light poles. The County Board approved the use of such non-commercial signs in the public right-of-way at its meeting last weekend.
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) Arlington County has asked JBG Smith to go back to the drawing board after reviewing its plans to upgrade the Crystal City Water Park.
The privately-owned park at 1601 Crystal Drive currently includes water features, trees, and a food stand. It has frequently been used for local events and gatherings.
The project to upgrade it will be deferred two months so that JBG Smith can address pedestrian and cyclist safety concerns raised by Arlington County Board members and community members during the Board's Tuesday night meeting.
"This is not a fully baked plan yet," Board member Christian Dorsey said.
The Bethesda-based real estate company is proposing a new performance area, more outdoor seating, preserving and updating the existing water fountain, and incorporating a new water feature in the center of the site. The proposal also includes a number of retail structures: small kiosks, a bar, and a trailhead restroom facility.
Most of the discussion was devoted to two paths -- one ADA-accessible -- that JBG Smith proposed to build to connect people to the nearby VRE station and the Mount Vernon Trail. A small pathway linked the two connections.
Community members and County Board members said these paths, as proposed, would create conflicts between pedestrians and bicyclists. People would have to cross the Mount Vernon Trail connector to get to the rest of the park and cyclists would be battling a grade change while avoiding pedestrians.
"We thought we were being helpful, but we're hearing loudly and clearly that this is scaring people, and we should reconsider it," said Robin Mosle, a consultant on the project.
The Bethesda-based real estate company opted out of a public design process -- something that drew the frustration of some Board members, including Takis Karantonis.
"This would be a conversation that we would have had in the Park and Recreation Commission in advance of the meeting," Karantonis said.
The County Board is now expected to see the project again when it meets in March.
News of a plan to invigorate the park with new retail dates back at least to 2017, when ARLnow reported that the concession stand in the park had closed. A few months later, The Stand opened in its place, hosting many pop-up eateries. In April, D.C. food truck Peruvian Brothers took it over.
Photos via Arlington County
Broadcasting legend Larry King died on Saturday, at the age of 87. Though his status as a television celebrity is well established, less well known is where he rose to fame: here in Arlington.
King moved to Arlington from Miami shortly after his Larry King Show picked up national syndication from the Arlington-based Mutual Broadcasting System in 1978.
(Updated at 3:30 p.m.) Coworking giant WeWork is planning to shut down its Crystal City location next month, according to an email sent to members this morning.
“I am reaching out to regretfully inform you that the WeWork Crystal City location will be closing,” said the email, which was shared with ARLnow by a member. “This location has stood strong for 5 years, and leaves a historic mark on the legacy of WeWork.”
