What was once the Lee Center strip mall is now a big, dusty hole in the ground.
Construction is well underway on what is known as the 2201 North Pershing Drive project. When work wraps up in mid-to-late 2012, the $75 million project at Route 50 and Pershing Drive will consist of 188 rental apartments and nearly 33,500 square feet of ground-level retail space.
The recognizable building has been sold to the B.F. Saul Company, the Bethesda-based developer behind the recent Clarendon Center project. Last week representatives from Saul presented their redevelopment plan to the North Rosslyn Civic Association. Under the plan, an eight story extended stay hotel will be built on the 1.2 acre site at the corner of Lee Highway and N. Quinn Street. The hotel will include eight stories of guest rooms on top of two stories of above-ground parking.
(The parking must be built above ground since the site sits on solid rock. The building will technically be ten stories high from the Lee Highway side, but will only be considered eight stories due to the steep elevation near the rear of the site.)
Originally, all of the 22 condo units were under contract in 2004. But progress stalled in 2006, when the county issued a stop-work order due to the building being structurally unsound. The developer, Ed Peete Company was given the opportunity to remedy the issues or demolish the structure. After some waffling, Ed Peete chose demolition, but the deadline for that came and went in July 2008.
While this was being hashed out, the building sat vacant for years. A flurry of lawsuits followed, including those against contractors and engineers hired by Ed Peete. Ultimately the developer decided to keep the structure and reinforce it as part of a settlement reached in 2009.
County Board Member Mary Hynes seemed a bit surprised at last night’s Bluemont Civic Association meeting when she started fielding questions about a development plan for the North Arlington neighborhood.
“It’s not on the county’s radar,” she told anxious residents and businesses owners who had gathered in the library of the Arlington Traditional School.
What was once a muddy construction pit is now a lush, grassy field.
Sod was recently planted at the Penrose Square development on Columbia Pike. The sidewalk in front of the development, which was once completely blocked by construction, is now navigable by pedestrians.
In 2010, developers began construction on more than 600,000 square feet of retail and office space, while construction wrapped up construction on another 600,000 square feet of space. Construction started on 477 multifamily (apartment and condo) units, while 1,438 units were completed.
A majority – 68 percent – of on-going commercial construction last year took place in Ballston. A similar majority of the multifamily construction – 67 percent – took place on Columbia Pike.
HOT Lanes Lawsuit Bill Reaches $2 Million — The county emerged victorious in February when VDOT abandoned its plan to build High Occupancy Toll lanes on I-395. But the legal battle has proven costly. The lawsuit Arlington filed against the project has cost county taxpayers nearly $2 million. [Sun Gazette]
East Falls Church Dissent Goes Both Ways — Sometimes it can be hard to please everybody in Arlington. Charlie Clark reports that there were three different camps at Saturday’s County Board meeting with respect to the board’s vote on the East Falls Church development plan. One group wanted more development than was called for, another vocal group wanted less development, and the people who drafted the plan thought it struck a good balance. [Falls Church News-Press]
Local Mexican restaurant chain Taqueria Poblano will opening a new location on Columbia Pike.
“Coming soon” signs are up on the ground floor of the Penrose Square development, at the corner of Columbia Pike and South Adams Street.
The plan calls for the creation of a mixed-use “neighborhood center” with open spaces, a public plaza and ground level retail. Some of the new development will be built on the Metro Park and Ride lot. The single family neighborhoods surrounding the station, meanwhile, will be preserved.
The height of the new residential buildings — a major source of concern for East Falls Church residents — will range from nine stories along I-66 to three stories closer to the single family homes. Lee Highway, Washington Boulevard and Sycamore Street will be redesigned to add bike lanes, on-street parking, trees and pedestrian improvements. The plan is also expected to add 100-250 units of committed affordable housing to the East Falls Church area.
H-B Woodlawn Student Wins Arlington Idol — We have a new Arlington Idol. H-B Woodlawn junior Mary Shields (above) placed first at the annual singing competition Thursday night. Watch her winning performance here. Shields will now perform at a July 8 summer concert at Washington-Lee High School. [Arlington Public Schools]
Discussion of Pike/Glebe Development Tonight — Arlington’s site plan review commission will discuss early plans for a mixed used development at the Rosenthal auto dealership site at Columbia Pike and South Glebe Road tonight. The development plan calls for ground floor retail space, 259 residential units and 44 town homes. The meeting is open to the public. [Pike Wire]
Kathi Moore, who co-owns the bar with her ex-husband, Jay Moore, says their lease is up at then end of the year and she does not expect the landlord to renew it. The landlord, an ownership group led by Clarendon-based Buck and Associates, is under contract with a developer that plans to redevelop the land occupied by Jay’s and two small, adjacent commercial buildings.
That is not to say that Jay’s will close at the end of the year — they may be kept on a month-to-month lease until the developer is ready to proceed with its project. But one thing is for sure: Jay’s days are numbered.
On Saturday afternoon, county staff and urban planning consultants will meet with residents to discuss some of those possible changes. The meeting is being billed as a “mini-charrette” — a hands-on brainstorming session, of sorts.
“Participants will work in small groups with members of the planning team to draw ideas for the future of the neighborhood,” says a flyer distributed to Foxcroft’s 400+ residents. “Ideas could include desired enhancements to transportation networks or open spaces, and potential for building revitalization or redevelopment.”
