development | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published June 20, 2016 at 9:00AM | Updated June 20, 2016 at 9:22AM

Courthouse, Columbia Pike Developments Approved — At its Saturday meeting, the Arlington County Board approved a 90-unit condominium building at 2000 Clarendon Blvd in Courthouse. The Board voted 4-1, with John Vihstadt voting against, after hearing objections from residents of the nearby Odyssey condo tower. Also on Saturday, the Board unanimously approved a 105-unit condo building on the Rappahannock Coffee site on Columbia Pike. [Arlington County, Arlington County]

Plans Filed for New Affordable Complex in Rosslyn — The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing has filed preliminary plans to redevelop the 39-unit Queens Court apartment complex into a new, 12-story, 250-unit affordable apartment building, with underground parking and a 9,000 square foot public park and playground. The redevelopment was included in 2015’s Western Rosslyn Area Plan, or WRAP. [Washington Business Journal]

News

County Board to Consider Residential Developments This Weekend

By Tim Regan

Published June 17, 2016 at 11:00AM

Rendering of 2400 Columbia Pike development

The Arlington County Board will consider planned residential developments in Courthouse and on Columbia Pike this weekend.

The Board will discuss a new residential tower planned in Courthouse and the redevelopment of the Rappahannock Coffee site on Columbia Pike during its monthly meeting Saturday.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 17, 2016 at 10:00AM | Updated November 18, 2016 at 2:45PM

Some Developers Are Pessimistic About the Pike — “The mood is not good,” Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization chairman John Murphy said of developers. “Some of them made big investments, big bets based on the county saying we’re going to do the streetcar. They feel betrayed, they’re not happy at all.” [Bisnow]

Board to Buy Bungalow to Bolster Benjamin Banneker — The Arlington County Board this weekend is expected to approve the purchase of a $637,500 property on 17th Street N. in order to expand Benjamin Banneker Park, near the East Falls Church Metro station. [InsideNova]

Opinion

Progressive Voice: Will YIMBY Come to Arlington?

By Larry Roberts

Published June 2, 2016 at 1:00PM

By Lawrence Roberts

In generations past, the American dream for many was a home in the suburbs. That dream served our country and our County well for those who could afford to make that dream a reality.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 2, 2016 at 9:30AM

Groundbreaking for Hotel Project — Developer B.F. Saul broke ground yesterday on a new hotel project. A 10-story Homewood Suites hotel will be replacing the former Colony House Furniture store at 1700 Lee Highway near Rosslyn. Demolition of the store is now proceeding, five years after it closed its doors. [Washington Business Journal]

Kojo Controversy Defused — Arlington County Board candidate Erik Gutshall wasn’t happy with the choice of political operative Ben Tribbett as a call-in guest for a Kojo Nnamdi Show segment on the County Board race — and the candidate made his feelings known via Twitter. Tribbett had done some paid polling work for incumbent Libby Garvey earlier this year, Gutshall pointed out. In the end, Gutshall himself joined the segment as a call-in guest, along with Tribbett and ARLnow.com editor Scott Brodbeck. [Storify]

Opinion

Morning Poll: YIMBY or NIMBY?

By ARLnow.com

Published May 25, 2016 at 10:00AM

You’ve heard the term NIMBY — Not In My Backyard — used as a pejorative to describe those who oppose new development near them, even though they might not be opposed to the same project elsewhere. In San Francisco, Seattle, New York and elsewhere, however, YIMBYs are starting to organize.

The Yes In My Backyard movement supports efforts to build more housing, with the goal of building enough housing that supply and demand find an equilibrium and people stop getting priced out of the housing market.

News

County Board Approves Redevelopment of Affordable Housing Complex

By Adrian Cruz

Published May 18, 2016 at 4:55PM | Updated May 18, 2016 at 5:17PM

The Berkeley apartments rendering

The Arlington County Board has approved the redevelopment of the Berkeley Apartments near Four Mile Run.

The Berkeley, located at 2910 S. Glebe Road near the Arlington-Alexandria border, currently contains 137 apartments in two four-story buildings. Of those, 110 are committed affordable.

Around Town

Courthouse Hotel Project Running Ahead of Schedule

By ARLnow.com

Published May 17, 2016 at 10:55AM

Construction of the Hyatt Hotel on 2401 Wilson Blvd.

Here are some words we do not have an opportunity to write often: a construction project in Arlington is running ahead of schedule.

Construction on the new eight-story, 161-room Hyatt Place hotel in Courthouse is entering the home stretch.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 13, 2016 at 9:15AM

More Metro Issues This Morning — A signal problem near the King Street Metro station has led to significant delays on the Blue and Yellow lines this morning. [Twitter, Twitter]

Big Changes Planned for Ballston Church — The Central United Methodist Church at 4201 Fairfax Drive in Ballston is planning a complete redevelopment of its 30,000 square foot property. Preliminary plans have been filed to build “a new church, a new preschool space, and a seven-story, 132-unit apartment building — 60 percent market-rate and 40 percent dedicated affordable.” [Washington Business Journal]

Around Town

Petition to ‘Save Food Star’ Has More Than 1,800 Supporters

By ARLnow.com

Published May 12, 2016 at 11:30AM

The existing Food Star on Columbia Pike

A Change.org petition called “Help Save the Food Star Supermarket” had 1,817 supporters as of 11 a.m. today.

The petition is a response to the redevelopment of the Food Star strip mall site, which was approved by the Arlington County Board in February. The shopping center is slated to be torn down and replaced by a six-story apartment building with 365 market-rate units and, on the ground floor, an array of retail locations including a 50,000 square foot Harris Teeter store.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 20, 2016 at 8:45AM | Updated November 22, 2016 at 2:42PM

Times Lauds Crystal City’s ‘Reboot’ — Arlington’s Crystal City community is “is quietly and persistently reinventing itself,” with tech startups and co-working spaces moving in and taking advantage of office space left vacant by departed federal and military tenants. Crystal City stakeholders are positioning it as a less expensive but still amenity-filled alternative to the District. “Think Brooklyn and Manhattan,” said Mitchell Schear, president of property owner Vornado/Charles E. Smith. [New York Times]

Ballston Named One of the Area’s ‘Hottest Neighborhoods’ — Ballston is among the top 5 “hottest neighborhoods in Washington,” according to Washingtonian. The magazine notes that Ballston’s median home price rose by nearby 10 percent last year, and that the forthcoming renovation of Ballston Common Mall will convert it into “an airy, downtown-like destination, akin to Fairfax’s Mosaic district.” The other four hot neighborhoods are Mount Pleasant, Trinidad, Shaw and Hyattsville. [Washingtonian]

News

Displaced Tenants to Get Bigger Payout

By ARLnow.com

Published April 18, 2016 at 11:50AM

Arlington residents getting displaced from their apartments due to redevelopment, renovations or other work will be getting a bigger payout from their landlords starting July 1.

The Arlington County Board on Saturday approved the county’s first increase in tenant relocation payments since 2004.