development | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published June 3, 2014 at 9:00AM

County Releases Development Report — Arlington County has issued its Development Tracking Report for the first quarter of 2014. In Q1, the County Board approved 170,834 square feet of office space, 4,280 square feet of retail, 387 apartment units, and 161 hotel rooms. [Arlington County]

Library Honors Outstanding Volunteers — Arlington Public Library has presented its annual Outstanding Volunteer of the Year awards. The awards went to Deborah Jones, who helps to manage nine book clubs, and to the Talking Books and Homebound Services team. [Arlington Public Library]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 28, 2014 at 9:00AM | Updated May 28, 2014 at 9:28AM

Arlington CEO Pleads Guilty to Hacking — Ariel Friedler, the 36-year-old CEO of Arlington-based Symplicity Corporation, has pleaded guilty to federal computer hacking charges. Prosecutors say Friedler and his Chief Technology Officer gained access to the customer section of two competitors’ websites using hacked user credentials in order to steal customer and product design information and gain “an unfair business advantage.” [Pacific Standard, USDOJ]

Wizards Player Helping Clarendon Ice Cream Shop — Washington Wizards swingman Martell Webster tweeted last week that he is working part time at Nicecream Factory, the new Clarendon ice cream store. It turns out that Webster is merely helping out with the store’s marketing effort, which is being led by a long-time friend and former collegiate basketball player. [Washington Post]

Around Town

New Clarendon Apartments Could Open This Fall

By Ethan Rothstein

Published May 20, 2014 at 4:30PM | Updated May 23, 2014 at 11:23AM

The apartment construction at the intersection of Washington Blvd, Wilson Blvd and N. Irving Street is expected to be complete this fall, bringing 187 new apartments to the market.

The Beacon at Clarendon West will have two towers — one with 10 stories, one with six stories — and retail frontage on Washington Blvd. Construction on the ground floor and leasing center, according to contractor Donohoe Construction Company, will be complete by the end of June. The six-story tower is expected to be completed by the end of summer and the 10-story tower — and the complete project — should come on line this fall.

News

‘Micro-Unit’ Apartments Proposed for Crystal City

By Ethan Rothstein

Published May 13, 2014 at 11:00AM

One of the region’s first “micro-unit” apartment buildings is coming to Crystal City.

A new apartment concept is planned for a vacant Crystal City office building, one that would bring the office trend of co-working spaces to the residential real estate market. The project, called WeLive, is being developed by co-working space company WeWork in partnership with Vornado. The building planned to be redeveloped and repurposed is 2221 S. Clark Street, at the corner of 23rd Street S. and Jefferson Davis Highway.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 5, 2014 at 10:00AM | Updated May 5, 2014 at 10:19AM

CEB May Anchor New Rosslyn Skyscraper — The Corporate Executive Board is considering jumping ship from its current Rosslyn office to anchor the planned office skyscraper in JBG’s Central Place development in Rosslyn. Should a deal with JBG go through, construction would start on the office skyscraper, which is currently on hold even though its companion residential skyscraper is being built. [Washington Business Journal]

WaPo Takes on Clarendon — “In the past decade and a half, Clarendon has seen a steady influx of hip eateries, high-rise condo buildings and happy 20-somethings in search of organic quinoa,” writes the Washington Post, in an article about “what to do in Clarendon.” [Washington Post]

Around Town

New Townhouse Development Coming to Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

Published April 29, 2014 at 4:10PM | Updated April 29, 2014 at 4:27PM

A new townhouse development is coming to Rosslyn.

Dubbed “Rosslyn Commons,” the development will consist of 25 upscale, single-family attached townhomes on a “large landscaped plaza.” It’s being built on what is now a vacant lot along N. Oak Street, behind the new Sedona and Slate apartment complex and across the street from the Belvedere condominium.

News

DEVELOPING: APS Exploring New School on Wilson Blvd Property

By ARLnow.com

Published April 23, 2014 at 7:00PM | Updated April 24, 2014 at 12:01PM

Located at 1601 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn, the Wilson School was built in 1910 and preservationists have been calling for it to be restored rather than torn down. Under a plan approved by the School Board last summer, it was to be demolished to make way for a private mixed-use development with affordable housing, a new fire station and a 1.5 acre park.

Now, according to a press release (after the jump), that plan has been scrapped in favor of retaining the property and perhaps building a new secondary school at the site, to address the school system’s capacity crunch.

News

Office Building Planned to Replace Courthouse Wendy’s

By Ethan Rothstein

Published March 27, 2014 at 1:30PM | Updated March 27, 2014 at 1:59PM

(Updated at 2:00 p.m) The Wendy’s fast food restaurant at the intersection of N. Courthouse Road, Wilson Blvd and Clarendon Blvd appears likely to be replaced by a 12-story office building in the coming years.

Carr Properties submitted a preliminary site plan to the county’s zoning division yesterday outlining its plans for the 12-story building with about 6,800 square feet of ground story retail. The building — called 2025 Clarendon Blvd — will replace the Wendy’s at 2038 Wilson Blvd and the Wells Fargo bank at 2026 Wilson Blvd. The plan calls for the Wells Fargo to occupy some of the ground floor retail space in the new building.

News

Groundbreaking for ‘Verde Pointe’ on Lee Highway

By ARLnow.com

Published March 21, 2014 at 11:15AM | Updated March 21, 2014 at 2:25PM

Courtesy photo

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) A groundbreaking was held Thursday for Verde Pointe, the new residential and retail development on the former Bergmann’s Dry Cleaning site.

The ceremony was held at the site, at Lee Highway and N. Veitch Street, and featured Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette and representatives from the developer and other companies involved in the $80 million project.

News

County Asks Residents to ‘Envision Courthouse Square’

By Ethan Rothstein

Published March 19, 2014 at 10:30AM

The first community planning workshop for “Envision Courthouse Square” will be held at Key Elementary School (2300 Key Blvd) in the cafeteria on Wednesday, March 26.

The county has dubbed a 9-acre area around the county’s large surface parking lot “Courthouse Square.” A mix of county- and privately-owned land and buildings, Courthouse Square could potentially be transformed into a mix of new developments, roads and open space.

News

Board Approves Hotel in Wilson Tavern Space

By Ethan Rothstein

Published March 17, 2014 at 1:45PM

The hotel construction will displace Wilson Tavern and Northern Virginia Mixed Martial Arts on the 2400 block of Wilson Blvd.

The construction will also include four single-family homes behind the hotel on 16th Street N., acting as a buffer between the new building and Lyon Village’s existing single-family homes. The houses standing now, which are occupied by renters, according to the county, will be torn down and replaced.

News

Board Expected to Downgrade Historic Status of Pike Buildings

By Ethan Rothstein

Published March 13, 2014 at 12:00PM

The County Board will likely decide on Saturday to designate 2408 Columbia Pike and 2338-2344 Columbia Pike as “historic facades,” a step down from their current “historic buildings” designation, which grants them full preservation.

The two buildings were designated as historic in 2002 as part of the Columbia Pike revitalization plan. According to the county’s staff report, they were again designated historic in the plan’s 2005 update.