development | ARLnow.com

Ballston Quarter Delays Opening to Late October

Published September 19, 2018 at 10:45AM | Updated September 19, 2018 at 6:05PM

Ballston Quarter construction from Wilson Blvd

The developer behind Ballston Quarter is now promising a grand opening late next month, a minor departure from the September date originally targeted for the revamped Ballston Common Mall to begin welcoming customers once more.

Forest City is now targeting Oct. 25 for the development to open its doors “barring any unforeseen delays,” Forest City Regional Director of Marketing Jill Fredrick told ARLnow, via a PR rep. The bevy of restaurants and retailers set to call Ballston Quarter home won’t open all at once, but on a “rolling basis” over the next nine months, Fredrick added.

News

Developer Aims to Slash Parking Offered in Red Top Cab Overhaul

By Alex Koma

Published September 18, 2018 at 4:45PM

A 2015 rendering of the first phase of the Red Top Cab redevelopment (Photo via Arlington County)

The developer looking to transform the Red Top Cab properties in Clarendon into three mixed-use buildings now hopes to cut back on the parking offered on the properties, prompting some worries from neighbors.

The Shooshan Company is asking the County Board for permission to remove one floor from both of the underground lots planned for the site, a reduction of about 178 parking spaces in all. Work is set to begin soon on the long-delayed development, which will replace Red Top’s headquarters (located where Washington Boulevard meets 13th Street N.) and the lot the company once used for vehicle maintenance at 1200 N. Hudson Street.

News

Planning Commission Looks to Pump the Brakes on Virginia Hospital Center Expansion

By Alex Koma

Published September 12, 2018 at 2:45PM | Updated September 12, 2018 at 3:08PM

A rendering of the expanded Virginia Hospital Center (via HDR)

Arlington’s Planning Commission isn’t ready to lend its seal of approval to a major expansion of the Virginia Hospital Center, urging the county’s lone hospital to re-work its plans for the project.

The commission unanimously voted last night (Tuesday) to urge the County Board to delay its consideration of the project, perhaps providing a major speed bump for an expansion the hospital has claimed is essential for serving the county’s growing population in the coming years.

News

Plans Coming Together for Redevelopment of Ballston Harris Teeter

By Alex Koma

Published September 4, 2018 at 9:45AM

A rendering of a redeveloped Harris Teeter, seen from along N. Glebe Road.

Plans seem to be taking shape for a full redevelopment of the Harris Teeter and adjacent Mercedes Benz dealership lot in Ballston.

The grocery store’s owners are hoping to team up with a Georgia-based developer to build 700 residential units on the property with 83,600 square feet of retail on the ground floor of two buildings, including a newly renovated Harris Teeter store to replace the existing location.

News

Parking Plans Spark Debate Over Pentagon City’s PenPlace Development

By Alex Koma

Published August 28, 2018 at 1:45PM | Updated August 28, 2018 at 5:10PM

Parking lot plans at the PenPlace development in Pentagon City (via Arlington County)

Plans for a new parking lot at the large “PenPlace” development in Pentagon City are shaping up to cause a bit of friction between county staff and the project’s developer.

JBG Smith is hoping to build a temporary, 204-space retail parking lot adjacent to the development, located on a nine-acre plot of land along S. Fern Street and just off Army Navy Drive. But Arlington officials would much rather see the developer construct a lot roughly a quarter of that size, over fears that so much parking would contribute to a car-dependent culture in the area.

Opinion

Letter to the Editor: VHC Expansion Too Important to be ‘Held Hostage’ By Neighbors

By ARLnow.com

Published August 21, 2018 at 5:45PM

A rendering of the expanded Virginia Hospital Center (via HDR)

After many long months of debate, county officials are set to have their say next month on an extensive proposal for the Virginia Hospital Center’s expansion.

The project has attracted plenty of criticism from neighbors and transit advocates alike, prompting a brief delay of the county’s consideration of the 101-bed expansion of Arlington’s lone hospital.

News

Workers Start Cutting Down Large Dawn Redwood Tree in Williamsburg

By Alex Koma

Published August 21, 2018 at 3:45PM

Workers began cutting down a 114-foot-tall dawn redwood tree in front of a Williamsburg home today (Tuesday), just a few days after county officials announced they couldn’t find any way to save the tree and meet the demands of local conservationists.

Activists with the Arlington Tree Action Group told ARLnow that workers are now on-site at the property along the 3200 block of N. Ohio Street, removing branches from the massive tree in preparation for removing it entirely.

News

Report: Residential Development Surged in Arlington This Spring

By Alex Koma

Published August 20, 2018 at 4:45PM

Construction at 750 N. Glebe Road, to include apartments and an onsite Target

Arlington added more homes this spring than it has during any three-month period dating back to last summer, according to a new county report.

Between April 1 and June 30, the county saw construction work wrap up on a total of 278 new homes, including 236 apartments and townhomes and 42 single-family homes. The county totaled up these latest numbers as part of a quarterly analysis of development in Arlington.

News

Massive Dawn Redwood Tree in Williamsburg Set to be Chopped Down

By Alex Koma

Published August 17, 2018 at 9:45AM

A 114-foot-tall dawn redwood tree along N. Ohio Street (photo via Google Maps)

Despite some intense opposition from conservationists and the community, plans to chop down a massive dawn redwood tree in North Arlington are moving ahead.

Since April, a developer has been hoping to remove the 114-foot-tall tree as part of a larger project on a property along the 3200 block of N. Ohio Street in Williamsburg.

News

Density, Development Debates Take Center Stage as Lee Highway Planning Nears

By Alex Koma

Published August 15, 2018 at 10:45AM

A rendering of possible new development at the Lee Heights shopping center (via Arlington County)

In many ways, the Lee Highway corridor is the last part of Arlington that looks like the rest of the Northern Virginia suburbs.

With high rises coming to define both the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and Crystal City, and neighborhoods along Columbia Pike becoming ever more dense, Lee Highway has remained persistently suburban in character with its procession of low-slung shopping centers and vast parking lots.

News

Chamber Urges Swift Approval for Virginia Hospital Center Expansion

By Alex Koma

Published July 31, 2018 at 1:45PM

A rendering of the expanded Virginia Hospital Center (via HDR)

Arlington’s business community is urging county leaders to approve the Virginia Hospital Center’s expansion plans, arguing the project’s delays have already cost the company dearly.

The county’s lone hospital rolled out plans last fall to add a seven-story outpatient facility and a 10-story parking garage next to its existing campus at 1701 N. George Mason Drive. The County Board approved a land swap last summer to make the expansion possible, trading a parcel of land near the hospital on N. Edison Street for a property along S. Carlin Springs Road, and VHC has spent the ensuing months hammering out designs for the new buildings.

News

Plans to Redevelop American Legion Post into Affordable Housing Complex Take Shape

By Alex Koma

Published July 23, 2018 at 1:45PM

A rendering of the planned redevelopment of Virginia Square's American Legion post (via Arlington County)

Plans to redevelop the American Legion post in Virginia Square into a seven-story affordable housing complex are inching forward.

The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing has drawn up a preliminary proposal for the property at 3445 Washington Blvd, advancing plans to purchase the site and someday build 161 multifamily homes there. APAH would also include about 8,000-square-feet on the bottom floor of the building to let American Legion Post 139 stay on the property, which it’s called home for decades.