Renovate, renovate, renovate.
That’s the plan announced by real estate firm Penzance earlier this week for its 17-story office tower at 1500 Wilson Boulevard. Most of the building, minus ground-level retailers like Santa Fe Cafe and a couple of lower floors, will be vacated next year thanks to the Base Realignment and Closure Act, and Penzance is planning to spruce things up.
“The Campaign is a voluntary effort through which retailers pledge to keep their doors closed if the air conditioning or heat is running,” said county spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel. “Arlington is asking retailers to make this commitment to close their doors, which will help save them money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create a more comfortable indoor environment for staff and customers.”
It’s “a win-win situation all around,” Whalen McDaniel said.
“It’s too good to be true,” she said of the lines that formed outside the truck while it was parked in Rosslyn last week. “It’s amazing.”
The Gorees, along with their one full-time employee, were serving between 200 and 250 customers a day last week. By 1:30 p.m., most of the menu was sold out. And that was perfectly okay with Anna.
Wild Animals Rescued During Hurricane — Given this week’s weather, Hurricane Irene is increasingly looking like a brief summer rain shower. Nonetheless, the hurricane created a dangerous situation for humans and animals alike. Animal control officers from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington rescued more than 20 wild animals during the storm, mostly baby squirrels. [Washington Post]
Defense Contractor Moving HQ to Arlington — Defense contractor ATK is moving its headquarters from Minneapolis to Rosslyn. The move will only affect the top brass at the company, however. Fewer than 10 employees, mostly executives, are expected to make the move. [DefenseNews]
A new food truck is promising to bring some of the flavors of New Orleans to the streets of Arlington.
Willie’s Po Boy truck expects to make its Arlington debut on Monday. Its Twitter and Facebook pages are up and running, while its web site is still a work in progress. The truck’s menu will include:
The Crystal Plaza Apartments in Crystal City (2111 Jefferson Davis Highway) are under new ownership.
Archstone sold the building to real estate investor Ralph Dweck at the end of last month. No word yet on why Archstone, a major Crystal City land holder, decided to sell the apartment complex.
That news comes as Washington Post employees reported on Twitter that the Post is shuttering all of its Virginia and Maryland local bureaus, with the exception of Richmond and Annapolis. The Post currently has local bureaus in Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun County, Prince William County and elsewhere.
The Poynter Institute’s Jim Romenesko has a memo from the Washington Post Guild’s Facebook page confirming the closures. “The closure of the physical buildings does not mean that the Post will reduce its local coverage,” according to the memo.
There was more bad blood over the shuttering of Courthouse-area Irish pub Kitty O’Shea’s (2403 Wilson Blvd) this afternoon.
The pub closed over the weekend, the culmination of a long legal battle between owner Danny McFadden and landlord Ray Schupp over McFadden’s lease. Today, just after 3:00 p.m., police were called to Kitty O’Shea’s for a dispute.
Now, with a new look, a new chef, an expanded menu, and expended beer and whiskey offerings Four Courts is gearing up to hold a grand reopening party.
The event, which is also being held to commemorate “4C’s” 15th anniversary, will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. tomorrow, Aug. 31.
Storm Shopping Clears Shelves — Residents are taking the advice of emergency officials and shopping for essential items in advance of Hurricane Irene. At the Potomac Yard Target store last night, shopping carts were at a premium, milk was running low and bottled water was completely sold out.
Two Candidates Challenge Brink — Del. Bob Brink will have to work a bit harder to keep his 48th District House of Delegates seat. Brink is facing general election challenges from Independent Green candidate Janet Murphy and from McLean resident Kathleen Gillette Mallard, who has ties to the Tea Party. [Sun Gazette]
“Saturday, August 27, is our last day of operation,” the note says. “Feel free to express your displeasure with Schupp Companies – Park Street Development.”
Kitty O’Shea’s owner Danny McFadden has been engaged in a costly legal battle with his landlord, the Schupp Companies, over what McFadden says is an attempt to evict him so the property can be redeveloped. McFadden claims that he still has four more years on his lease, while landlord Ray Schupp says the lease ended in 2010.
A drive through parts of Lyon Park, Clarendon and Rosslyn today revealed significant progress on three large residential developments, as well as clean-up work on one ill-fated project.
In Rosslyn, Clark Construction crews are busy cleaning up from last week’s retaining wall failure at the Sedona and Slate apartment site. Workers were busy reinforcing the adjacent Swansen Apartments building, which nearly collapsed into the construction pit after the failure.
