development | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published December 22, 2017 at 8:15AM

New Renderings of Crystal City Development — Property owner JBG Smith “has unveiled never-before-seen concept images of its planned 50,000-square-foot Alamo Drafthouse Cinema fronting Crystal Drive, a yet-unnamed specialty grocer and the future look of an office building it plans to convert to multifamily. The images were presented to Arlington County’s Site Plan Review Committee earlier this month.” [Washington Business Journal]

Pentagon City Mall Holiday Hours — Arlington’s biggest shopping mall, the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, will be open from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on Christmas Eve (Sunday) for last-minute shoppers. The mall will be closed on Christmas and open from 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m. on Boxing Day (Tuesday).

Around Town

Ballston Quarter Mall to Add 18-Restaurant Food Hall

By Chris Teale

Published December 12, 2017 at 10:00AM | Updated December 12, 2017 at 10:52AM

Courtesy photo

The renovated Ballston Quarter Mall will have a 25,000-square-foot food hall, developer Forest City announced today (Tuesday).

Called Quarter Market, the food hall will feature 18 restaurants, and officials hope it will serve as the anchor for the revamped mall.

News

Apartment Developer AvalonBay Moving Headquarters to Liberty Center in Ballston

By Chris Teale

Published December 7, 2017 at 4:15PM | Updated January 3, 2018 at 3:39PM

4040 Wilson Blvd rendering via Shooshan Company

Two years after being put on hold, construction will resume next year on the Liberty Center’s final building in Ballston after it signed an office tenant.

AvalonBay Communities, a publicly-traded apartment developer and real estate investment trust, will relocate its headquarters to 4040 Wilson Blvd, which is set to be a 22-story mixed-use building with offices, retail and residential. It will be Ballston’s tallest building.

News

Board Approves Another Loan to Redevelop Affordable Housing Complex

By Chris Teale

Published November 29, 2017 at 4:45PM

The Berkeley apartments rendering

The Arlington County Board approved an additional loan Tuesday night to help redevelop an affordable housing complex near Four Mile Run.

The Board loaned $13.5 million from the county’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund to the Berkeley II project at 2900 S. Glebe Road to help with the cost of construction.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 29, 2017 at 8:15AM

Career Center Site May Expand — The Arlington County Board and School Board have created a joint working group to explore options for adding more high school seats at the Arlington Career Center Site near Columbia Pike. The working group will consider how the site “may be developed in phases to accommodate more high school capacity and new community amenities.” It will also “identify opportunities to expand the Career Center site by leasing space in adjacent buildings and/or through land acquisition.” [Arlington County]

ACPD Warns of Holiday Phone Scams — Arlington County Police are cautioning residents against automatically trusting phone calls claiming to be on behalf of charitable organizations around the holidays. Scammers falsely identifying themselves as charitable solicitors are trying to steal money and personal information. In particular, the police department says, calls claiming to be collecting money on behalf of ACPD are bogus. [Arlington County]

Around Town

Jumping Joeys Children’s Gym Closed in Virginia Square

By Chris Teale

Published November 21, 2017 at 1:45PM | Updated November 21, 2017 at 4:02PM

(Updated at 4 p.m.) One of the last remaining businesses has departed the Buck property in Virginia Square, ahead of potential redevelopment of the site.

The Jumping Joeys children’s gym closed its doors at 1425 N. Quincy Street, across from Washington-Lee High School, on Sunday, November 12, according to a post on its website. It was part of the “Quincy Street Technology Center,” which included gyms and an Arlington Public Schools building and is zoned for light industrial use.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 20, 2017 at 8:15AM

County HQ to Be Named After Bozman — “The Arlington County Board today voted unanimously to name the County Office Building at 2100 Clarendon Boulevard for Ellen M. Bozman, the six-time Board Chair who served on the Board through some of Arlington’s most transformative years, and who died in 2009.” [Arlington County]

Blue, Yellow Line Service Disruption — Metrorail service on the Blue and Yellow lines was suspended earlier this morning due to “fire department activity” at the Pentagon station. Arlington County Fire Department units investigated the incident and turned the scene back over to Metro around 6 a.m. Service has since been restored. [Twitter, Twitter, Fox 5]

News

Key Bridge Marriott Site May Be Set for Redevelopment

By ARLnow.com

Published November 17, 2017 at 4:35PM

Key Bridge Marriott (photo via Google Maps)

The Key Bridge Marriott and the 5.5 acres of prime Rosslyn real estate around it are being purchased by a pair of Los Angeles investment firms for $190 million, the Washington Business Journal reported today (Friday).

The firms plan to invest in rehabbing the hotel, WBJ reports, and a portion of the partially-wooded site between Lee Highway and the GW Parkway is expected to be redeveloped as new residential properties and possibly some retail. The buyers were among a number of companies with redevelopment visions bidding to acquire the site, ARLnow.com hears.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 31, 2017 at 8:30AM

New Protected Bike Lane — The stretch of Army Navy Drive between S. Joyce Street and Army Navy Country Club, near Pentagon City, has a received a new, protected bike lane. “Both the protected lane and the buffered bike lane enhance bicycle safety and connectivity in the area, and also serve to narrow the relatively wide street and calm vehicle speeds,” county transportation officials said. [Arlington County]

Runner With Cerebral Palsy Training for Marathon — Arlington resident Jamie Watts, a regular at local 5K and 10K races, is now training hard for the New Jersey Marathon in April. Watts, who has cerebral palsy, runs with a cane and is being allowed to start the race early. [WUSA 9]

News

Co-Working Company TechSpace to Expand into Ballston

By Chris Teale

Published October 18, 2017 at 2:30PM

A new co-working space will move into Ballston next year, across the street from the under-construction Ballston Quarter mall.

TechSpace will move into the eighth floor of Two Liberty Center (4075 Wilson Blvd); its 10th location in the United States. It expects to open in June 2018. TechSpace already has similar co-working spaces in New York, California and Texas.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 18, 2017 at 9:00AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 10:54AM

Apples at the Rosslyn farmers' market (Flickr pool photo via TheBeltWalk)

Metro Station Closures Promoted Big Lines at DCA — Shutting down the National Airport and Crystal City Metro stations caused long lines for shuttles and cabs and very pricy Uber and Lyft rides for travelers trying to leave the airport this past weekend. [Washington Post]

Chase Starts in Arlington, Ends in Alexandria — Arlington County Police spotted a stolen car heading southbound on I-395 yesterday afternoon and initiated a traffic stop. The driver, however, refused to stop and instead fled down the King Street exit. Virginia State Police gave chase down King Street and Braddock Road near Fairlington — Arlington units stayed behind per department policy — and eventually the car was stopped and two people arrested in Alexandria. [Twitter, Twitter]

Opinion

Letter: Am I a Burden on Arlington?

By ARLnow.com

Published October 16, 2017 at 10:30AM

The following letter was written by Jane Green, who recently moved to Pentagon City.

As a new resident of Arlington, am I a burden or an opportunity?