(Updated at 4:20 p.m.) Initial preparations are underway for a major transformation of the George Mason University campus in Virginia Square.
Fencing is currently going up around the former Kann’s Department Store on the GMU Arlington campus, next to the FDIC office complex, in preparation for demolition. The aging, mid-century brick building, at 3401 Fairfax Drive, is set to be torn down starting in early 2021.
(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) The mid-century rambler near Williamsburg Middle School that was home to astronaut John Glenn and his family has been torn down.
The demolition came just days after the death of Annie Glenn, widow of the former U.S. senator and first American to orbit the earth. She died on Tuesday, May 19 from complications of COVID-19, as a backhoe sat in the front yard of the place she called home for nearly five years, including during John’s history-making Friendship 7 mission in 1962.
The old warehouses that once stood along S. Eads Street, between 12th and 15th streets, are no more.
The buildings have been torn down over the course of the past month to make way for the first half of Amazon’s permanent HQ2, which is expected to open in 2023.
Demolition Starts at HQ2 Site — “Roughly a dozen demolition workers from construction firm ACECO were on site in yellow vests and hard hats, along with a couple of excavators, one of which sat on a mound of bricks as it tore down the southeast side of the single-story building.” [Washington Business Journal]
Apartments are Hot Near HQ2 — “The development patterns that are taking place in Crystal City make it a more live-work-play area versus being an office-dominated submarket that has an underground mall… That area is evolving with new product coming online and Amazon making its presence in the region. All of those things have helped generate demand for multifamily housing.” [Bisnow]
Stolen Car Leads to Arrests — Several people were arrested after fleeing a reported stolen car on foot in the Green Valley neighborhood Monday afternoon. At least one of those arrested was a juvenile, according to scanner traffic. [Twitter]
Group Lists Properties Set for Demolition — “Demolition permits for a total of 159 homes, plus a number of other properties, were approved by the Arlington County government in 2019, according to an analysis by Preservation Arlington… In addition to homes, three garden apartments, 11 commercial buildings, two civic buildings and several other structures also were being readied for razing.” [InsideNova]
Up to three new businesses are set to replace the long-vacant Cardinal Bank building at the Lee-Harrison Shopping Center.
According to the shopping center’s developer A.J. Dwoskin & Associates, the bank’s demolition began earlier this week, and the new building will be “going up as quickly as possible.”
The new Bob and Edith’s Diner at 5050 Lee Highway will be housed in a new a retro-styled building.
Demolition of the old building, which formerly housed Linda’s Cafe, is mostly complete and work on the new building — described architecturally as sporting a “new Mid Century flavor” — should be starting soon.
The former Linda’s Cafe along Lee Highway has been given the figurative People’s Elbow.
Already down for the count and set to be replaced by a new Bob and Edith’s Diner location, the building that housed Linda’s is now no more. Gone is the one-time home of “excellent burgers” and an extra-spicy Twitter account.
Arlington County will begin tearing down the S. Clark Street bridge over 18th Street S. in Crystal City next week, which is expected to generate noise and traffic disruptions for the rest of the month.
Demolition work will begin Monday, June 10, according to the county’s website. The work is part of a $6 million project to tear down the elevated section of S. Clark Street and rebuild a “new open space” in what will soon become a hotspot with the arrival of Amazon’s second headquarters.
A developer wants to knock down the single-family home near the Colonial Village Apartments complex in order to build several townhouses.
The new Colonial Village Townhouses project aims to to build seven, four-story townhouses on a 15,920-square-foot “sliver” of land located between N. Veitch Street and 18th Street N., according to newly filed preliminary site development plans.
The S. Clark Street bridge over 18th Street S. in Crystal City is set to be torn down this month, prompting some detours.
Knocking down the bridge is “tentatively set for late May,” the county wrote in a press release, noting that the exact date could be three to four weeks from today.
By next summer, the formerly 2-3 story office building across from the Whole Foods in Clarendon is slated to reopen as a four-story, mixed office-retail building called The Loft.
Today, however, it’s a noisy demolition — one that briefly caught on fire last week.
